Grameenphone call drop cheating charge fuels Bangladesh social media anger

Grameenphone users have taken the social media by storm over accusations that it reneged on a compensatory talk-time offer without letting customers know.

Social Media Deskbdnews24.com
Published : 18 Sept 2015, 03:04 PM
Updated : 9 Oct 2015, 06:34 AM

Bangladeshis also poured scorn on bdnews24.com’s verified Facebook fan page about the internet and customer services of the country’s top mobile-phone operator.

The firestorm of complaints and condemnation has brought to the fore deep disappointment and hurt at Grameenphone since bdnews24.com ran a report on Thursday over customer complaints lodged with the BTRC.

Clients were unambiguous in criticising the Grameenphone services with one even saying the company should be “forced out of the country”.

Grameenphone responded carefully with promise of better customer care but did not quite address specific charges.

Its Head of External Communications Syed Talat Kamal in an email communication to bdnews24.com said: "Grameenphone is a customer centric company and is always working to ensure that our customers get the best experience on our network. We aim to resolve any problems that customers face and this is always an on-going process.

"Regarding speed, GP believes that in terms of quality the company is still the best to serve customers. We have some complaints but at the same time we have a huge customer base who are very satisfied by our service. In case of call drop, we are much below the regulator's QoS benchmark."

That did not placate subscribers.

One asked in the bdnews24.com’s feedback loop on Facebook that the only publicly-traded mobile operator of the country be held to account.

A reader going by the name Hasnat Md Rahim made no bones about what he thought about Grameenphone. He alleged the company turned a ‘Frankenstein’ using the 50 million-plus subscription base for perpetrating fraud on unsuspecting customers.

In Bangla, he wrote, as did others, “I have been using this SIM since the very beginning. It has become my identity, so I can’t dump it. I believe most of the clients can’t switch for the same reason. (Grameenphone) should be made accountable, but who will do that?”

A few others accused the mobile voice and data services provider, majority owned by Norway’s state-run Telenor, of charging customers as it pleases’.

Many Facebook users said they were “compelled” to continue with Grameenphone despite facing different forms of harassment only because they did not enjoy number portability.

Currently, mobile phone subscribers in Bangladesh cannot retain their existing number after switching operator.

Russel ZH, Mir Rahat and Bisu Tripura claimed they had used Grameenphone for a long time before they decided to discontinue owing to 'unnecessary harassment'.

Grameenphone accounts for nearly half of Bangladesh's more than 120 million mobile phone users and is also the most expensive of the six operators.

Its revenue topped Tk 51 billion in the first six months this year.

Millions of pre-paid or pay-as-you-go callers are trapped into accepting 10-sec pulse billing system rather than the usual one-sec pulse offered to post-paid subscribers.

Almost 95 percent of its 54 million customers subscribe to eight different pre-paid packages offered by the company.

Grameenphone charges as much as Tk 1.68 per minute for some of these packages.

A post-paid user pays Tk 1.20 plus VAT and other taxes per minute, much costlier than other operators.

Customers shot off complaints to regulators BTRC that there had been a big spike in the call drop rates recently because of poor network.

The operator’s high-spending marketing communications machine went to town big time over the 'one-minute compensatory talk-time' starting from Oct 1 last year to rope in new subscribers.

Then the service provider reneged on it, something that consumer rights campaigners say is 'nothing short of cheating'.

One Tanjjan Hossain wrote on bdnews24.com’s Facebook page: “It’s not only about call drop, the company does not notify customers if it increases charges for an offer.”

Arif Raihan went as far as to accuse Grameenphone of “stealing a lot of money”.

The sentiment was echoed by Shawkat Hossain. “Earlier, it used to give a minute’s free-talk time to compensate call drop,” he wrote.

“Now it has stopped even that. Day after day it is conning the customers into paying the money by saying its net connectivity is good. Even the government is not taking any action against it.”

AKM Mahbubur Rahman wrote he had accepted the offer of “free 1GB Facebook internet and 100 minutes at just Tk 77” by seeing the advertisement.

“Balance on my mobile phone was Tk 212. I could use the Facebook until the balance was exhausted. Once the balance was used up, internet stopped functioning.

“My internet balance is 1001mb, yet I’m unable to use my net. Despite having a free talk-time of 83 minutes, I am not even able to make a call. So be careful.”

A Grameenphone customer, Imran Talukdar narrating his experience alleged that after purchasing a 250mb Facebook pack for Tk 5, he found that his entire existing balance of Tk 38 was deducted.

Rubel Khan said though the operator had promised to provide 3mb for Tk 1, it was actually charging Tk 1.36 for the same, though after including VAT the charge should be Tk 1.18.

Sheikh Abdullah al Mamun wrote that he had recharged his mobile balance simultaneously for two days after being lured by the advertisement that promised 48-minute talk-time for a recharge of Tk 48.

However, he claimed he did not get the promised benefit.

A reader, Ahsan Habib commenting on bdnews24.com’s report wrote, “The biggest fraud is committed over internet connectivity. You must have noticed that after the expiry of your preferred internet package, charges of per kilobyte are automatically deducted from your balance.

“Why should they deduct the money unless I opt for any package? Definitely, our hard-earned money has some value. Is there any solution to this?”

Commenting on the bdnews24.com story, one Subhra Kanti Gupta from Kolkata wrote: "When GP introduced this compensatory talk time, Indians asked their own mobile operators to emulate them. Little knowing that GP would quietly renege on it.

“Smart business tactics but the smartest get caught at some point, don't they!"

Another calling himself just 'Oliver' had this to suggest to bdnews24.com. "You guys should also discuss their emergency balance scams. I had 9 taka in my phone but GP wouldn't let me call saying I had too little.

“They wouldn't let me register for emergency balance saying I had too much. I finally spent the 9 taka (via 3g) and then tried to get me some emergency balance. They never gave it to me on my end.

“But when I finally topped up my phone, they subtracted the 40 taka emergency balance that I didn't get."

Some others vented their outrage at the harassments they faced when they had called Grameenphone’s customer care for redress.

A reader calling himself Syed Atik Hossain complained that Grameenphone deducted mobile balance for no good reason. It made the subscribers wait for over 10 minutes when someone called the customer care, which meant much talk-time wasted. 

“They say they did not get any SMS about deducting the balance. They tell us to ‘call an hour later’. But an hour later, they say they didn’t deduct [the balance]. Then where did it (mobile credit) go?” the user wrote in Bangla.

Another reader using the name Md Shakil did not pull back punches either and wanted Grameenphone’s “cheating stopped”.

“Some sort of music is played when talking and the call drops after some time but they charge money. Calling customer care costs Tk 2 per minute. If you call 121, you’ll be told numerous things like ‘press 1 for Bangla’...” he wrote.

Drawing new Minister of State for Posts and Telecommunications Tarana Halim’s attention, the user said Grameenphone was “fleecing its users out of billions daily”.

“I urge State Minister Tarana Halim to pay attention to these and save subscribers like us.”

Another user, Md Mahmud Hossain said he was a ‘star subscriber’. “You can understand how much money they have taken. I think I’ve paid thrice the amount for the minutes I spoke on the phone so far.”

Grameenphone’s Talat Kamal declined comment about these allegations over phone.

Later, he sent the email response.

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