In a landmark judgment, the consumer disputes redressal forum has fined Loop Mobile (India) Limited for disconnecting a user’s two-year-old number, and thereafter alleging it was being used illegally.
In a landmark judgment, the consumer disputes redressal forum has fined Loop Mobile (India) Limited for disconnecting a user’s two-year-old number, and thereafter alleging it was being used illegally.
The telecom company will now have to pay the customer Rs10,000 for mental and physical harassment and Rs5,000 as complaint charges, apart from restoring the connection.
Jitendra Gada had approached the court in September last year when his privilege mobile number suddenly stopped working in March 2009 with a message stating “Sim card registration failed”.
Gada, a businessman, informed the court that he had bought a pre-paid Loop Mobile number ending with five 8s in 2007 to communicate with select clients and family members. For the privilege number, he had shelled out Rs40,000 to the owner of For U Communications, for which he was not issued a receipt.
Thereafter, he had also paid Rs3,000 to recharge the card.
After the disconnection, Gada wrote numerous letters and complaints which were not attended to. The company insisted that the card belonged to someone else and that Gada was using it illegally.
“We argued that if he took the number illegally, why did they allow him to use it for two years? A letter of purchase for the Sim card produced by us also helped,” said Gada’s advocate Tarsem Singh Manhas.
“The judgment is a wake-up call for service providers. The court has done a great job by stating categorically that such cases come under its jurisdiction. Service providers should remember that when customers will have an option of choosing service providers, their loyalty will be gained only by good service,” said Rajan Alimchandani, a consumer activist.
When asked to comment on the judgment, the Loop Mobile spokesperson said, “At Loop Mobile, we believe our subscribers have every right to expect the highest level of service standards at all times and we constantly strive to offer them beyond the best. We are a customer-centric organisation serving customers in Mumbai for the last 15 years. Any genuine customer grievance is always dealt with utmost priority and sensitivity.”
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