Consumer needs more protection
A few personal experiences make the point loud and clear: defrauding the customer is very easy in India.
Several recent experiences have convinced me that our corporations are running well ahead of our regulatory agencies in deploying deceptive schemes to boost profits at the expense of the innocent consumer. I narrate just three such experiences, which may ring familiar to many readers. During my visits to India, I have often used an Indiabased pre-paid cell phone. On more than one occasion, I have had episodes of balance disappearing or the SIM card being deactivated between two visits but overlooked them as part of the cost of the service.
But I experienced something more interesting during my latest visit. With no action on my part that I can recall, my cell phone got blessed with a service whereby every caller to my phone would be treated to a song before the phone rang. Because I only heard the ring, I had no idea that this was happening until my wife called me and having been treated to a song herself confronted me with the question why I was suddenly treating my callers to “Sheila Ki Jawani” . It was then that I checked with a few friends and found that this had been a common phenomenon. Services providers would surreptitiously connect the customer to the service and begin charging them Rs 30 per month.
But I experienced something more interesting during my latest visit. With no action on my part that I can recall, my cell phone got blessed with a service whereby every caller to my phone would be treated to a song before the phone rang. Because I only heard the ring, I had no idea that this was happening until my wife called me and having been treated to a song herself confronted me with the question why I was suddenly treating my callers to “Sheila Ki Jawani” . It was then that I checked with a few friends and found that this had been a common phenomenon. Services providers would surreptitiously connect the customer to the service and begin charging them Rs 30 per month.