Not a good idea, Sirji

Consumer forum slaps Rs 10,000 fine on Idea Cellular for overcharging customer Rs 3.50u00a0

Gone are the days when mobile companies could fool you with inflated bills and conveniently forget to answer your queries. Now, you can strike back. Delivering justice in a case against Idea Cellular Ltd, the Consumer Dispute Redressal Forum has slapped a fine of Rs 10,000 on the mobile firm for overcharging a user Rs 3.50.

President of the forum S K Tandon along with member secretary S Noor, heard the complaint filed by Delhi businessman Mohammad Rashid Ansari, and ordered Idea Cellular to compensate Ansari within one month.

"It's a victory for all mobile users. The harassment I've gone through amounts to much more than Rs 3.50. The compensation is meagre, but I was more interested in justice. I hope this judgement makes people aware of the tricks used by mobile companies to charge us extra," said Ansari, a hardware engineer.

The case
The story began about five-and-a-half years ago when Ansari was approached by executives from Idea who promised him better services. "I asked them to provide the facility of diverting all calls made to my old number to the new one. I also asked them to end the billing cycle on 17th of every month. But I received the first bill just after a week of getting the new connection. The call-divert facility was never activated," Ansari said.

Said Ansari's lawyer, Falak Mohammad Meo, "The mobile company took advan-ce rental for two years. The due amount was inflated by Rs 3.50. The bill was generated much before the due date."
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When Ansari, who by that time had allegedly lost more than 1,000 important phone numbers of clients and a sizeable business, decided to check the matter with the Idea customer care, he was stunned by the indifferent attitude. "I decided to file a suit when they did not even reply to my legal notice," said Ansari.

However, it proved to be a long wait. "The compensation awarded to me becomes insignificant when I compare it with the money I spent. The cost of fuel spent and calls made would be equal to the compensation sum. But
I at least got justice," said Ansari.