[UAH] Airtel stealing customers air time! Confirmed

 

Today 18-06-2013 at about midday I top up my Airtel with exactly 500 UGX shillings. That made it 502 UGX shillings after Airtel extracted all my airtime/credit I have loaded previously leaving a balance of 2 UGX shillings only.

 

I noted this below last week -

1. I received a call from Uganda Telecom at 13.46 on 14 June 2013 that cost me 90 UGX shillings
2. I received a call from Airtel at 15.14 on 14 June 203 that cost me 200 UGX shillings
3. I called  Airtel free toll number 1100 complaining about the above that cost me 7 UGX
4. The remaining balance was extracted day after day until there was a balance of 2 UGX shillings only!

 

To Note for two weeks I have been calling Airtel complaining about why my credit/Airtime is being extracted- Explaination has been quick- you have internet even when I had deleted all configuration that will allow my handset to receive internet!

 

Today 18-06-2013 after toping up as explained above, I noted the following

 

1. I received an Airtel call 142 – at 12.03 2013-06-18
2. After about two hours later 200 UGX was extracted remaining only 302 UGX was extracted from my 500 credit!
3. I called Airtel free toll number 1100 at 13.45 2013-06-18 and complained once again. They explained that I was subscribed to 142 chat – I categorically deny that I have ever subscribed to this 142 "chat"
4. At 13:58.04 18 June 2013 I received a message from Airtel – the message reads thus below

U r subscribed to

Airtel Friendz

Chat for 1days

Ur ChatDID is <chatDID>

Ur charged 200 UGX/1day.

Call 142 4 UGX/sec n

Talk to fun loving peoples.

 

5. At 14:01:14 18 June 2013 I received another message

It read thus

You are unsubcribed from Friendz Chat.

Dail 142 to subscribe again.

 

I am calling a lawyer willing to take on this case to call me. I will give him the vouches I used and my mobile phone to use as evidence against Airtel.

_______________
Daniel Bwanika

 

---

From: BD_wanika <bwanika@yahoo.com>
To: uganda at hearts <ugandans-at-heart@googlegroups.com>; UGand police <info@upf.go.ug>
Sent: Saturday, 15 June 2013, 6:26
Subject: Airtel stealing customers air time?

 

Airtel is stealing your mobile phone credit

 

 

Find out

 

Go to Menu and then settings scrawl down to Configurations then click on Default Configuration settings. A number of service provider will come - Delete those settings one by one.

 

This will help you to make sure that it is not the internet eating up your money.

 

Credit your account with 1000 shillings

Keep the voucher card in a safe place

 

Then send an sms txt message to yourself. Some money will be extracted

 

Check the balance

 

Wait for two hour or so.

 

Then make a call to a free toll number i.e. Airtel 1100

 

Free toll too also cost some money

 

Ask a friend to call you – talk for 30 seconds

 

Check the balance once again – received calls also cost for some one to call you

_______________
Daniel Bwanika

 

Forumist

 

I have been trying to observe my balance accounts on mobile phones. Airtel appears to extracting time seamlessly. At least 300 shs daily – this might be too little money for a person using an I –phone and an Internet abled phone to realise. 300 shilling extracted on every phone set day from their 7 million customer base will make these people filthy rich.  

 

I have observed the same phenomenon with French Orange modems.

 

Now the onus is up to Airtel customers to watch their top up or airtime account and share their experience. The best thing to test, is to top up with a small amount i.e. 2000 shilling send a txt message to trigger the automated system that you are actually using the top up/Airtime amount and then wait for a few days.

 

Bwanika Nakyesawa Luwero