Reliance Jio to initiate strict action against stores indulging in “unethical practices”
Looks like billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s ambitious telecom plans are making a shaky take-off.
Much before the closure date of Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd’s (RJIL) welcome offer, which provides free Jio SIM and no billing till December 31, its Reliance Digital outlets and authorised mobile stores across India are either turning away hordes of people streaming in or charging them between Rs 50 and Rs 500 for the SIM.
RJIL’s services are free till December 31 and will become paid data service from January.
RJio subscribers however shared a different experience.
For instance, Deepak Verma, a resident of Ghaziabad, told DNA Money that he was also not able to secure a free sim at a Reliance Digital outlet. However, he was able to get one at a mobile store – Wadhwa Telecom – close to his home.
“I was given a free Jio SIM because it was the first day of the store. However, I know that they are now charging Rs250 for it. Since, everything is done digitally, there is not document or receipt issued for the transaction,” he says.
Radha Misra, an HR executive, bought a Jio SIM for Rs250 from the same mobile outlet on October 10, but it is yet to be activated. “I have been going to the store everyday but they say there is some technical problem,” she said.
Vinni Jain, who hails from Meerut, said charges for Jio SIM go up to as much as Rs500 in Meerut. A journalist from Mumbai suburb of Kalyan paid Rs50 to buy his Jio SIM. The storekeeper who sold Jio SIM to him, informed him that he sells around 150 SIMs per day. This works out to a revenue of Rs7500 per day.
“It’s free at Reliance Digital stores but it has now appointed third party stores that issue SIMs post registration through Aadhaar number and biometric verification. These stores are charging for the SIMs,” said another buyer.
Responding to dna money’s queries sent through an email, a RJIL spokesperson said it will take “strict action” against those indulging in “unethical practices”.
“There is zero tolerance for any unethical practices and strict action will be taken against any misdemeanours,” he wrote.
The company official said RJIL was working hard to meet the “overwhelming demand across the country”.
“To address overwhelming demand across the country, Jio has introduced Aadhaar-based paper-less Jio SIM activation across 3,100 cities and towns. This enables the customer to complete the SIM activation process in a matter of minutes, with only his/her Aadhaar number. This process will be extended across the country and fully stabilised for satisfactory on-boarding experience in the next few weeks,” said the Reliance Jio official.
A statement issued by RJIL claimed it had crossed 16 million subscribers in the first month of its operations. At the annual general meeting (AGM) of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), Ambani had urged his staff to reach a user-base of 100 million in the shortest possible time.
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