When you think of Vodafone, you probably remember the cute little Zoozoos running around to a pretty tune. And you may even be carried away by the professional services that the company advertises. But it appears that all is not as it seems with India’s Vodafone services. You only need to check the many consumer complaints forums to get an idea of the numerous problems faced by customers of the mobile service provider.
I was a recently done in by a scam involving a certain service called Vodafone Mobile Connect. The service lets users browse the internet without any ISP subscription or a modem and is priced @ 10p/10kb, which is all quite fair. However the scam lies in the fact that the service is activated without any prior intimation to the user.
I have been using Vodafone for over five years now and disconnected all of my additional numbers (about 3 of them, if not more) because of one reason or another. My billings have always hovered over a standard rate until recently when it spiked due to the large number of international calls that I’ve had to make. However, nothing shocked me more than a charge for a service I did not even know existed – Vodafone Mobile Connect.
Since my Android smartphone is connected to my home Wi-Fi, I have never had the need to browser the internet using another internet service , the reason why I have not availed of 3G or other internet services. And, now I find myself paying a hefty sum of money for a service I did not avail.
I quickly searched the internet only to find many people complaining about the same issue. Vodafone customer service executives are quick to point out that the charges are genuine as data usage is monitored and recorded. Sure they are.
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But is it Vodafone’s privilege to activate a paying service for a customer without his or her authorization? Common sense will tell you that its not.
This is an issue that has been raised several times by customers of Vodafone. No consumer will make a complaint to pay for a service he has opted for and used. Complaints are made only when something unwarranted or illegal has happened. And this is a clear case in point.
Having been aware of such a faulty system, Vodafone should have proceeded to make it a customer authorized service. But it blatantly continues to intentionally or otherwise defraud customers in India with this scheme.
So if you are a Vodafone customer or planning to get a new Vodafone connection, be forewarned about the Vodafone Mobile Connect scam that might hit you too!
This is just one that I felt the need to write about, but there are probably more. I let the first one regarding disconnection of services pass by, but feel that mobile customers in India need to be aware of this corporate fraud before making a choice.
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