Reliance admits to miscommunication

PUNE: Ramesh Satpute, a former Reliance sub-agent, was among those who did not read the fine print when taking up the Dhirubhai Ambani Pioneer offer, and had to shut shop after subscribers began pestering him about the “raw� deal they got.
When it was pointed out to him that none of the advertisements released by Reliance, whether in print or on television, had said that calls were “free�, Satpute said it was word-ofmouth publicity.
Then, what made people think it was “free�? Miscommunication? “Yes,� admits Reliance, but holds the Telecom Regulatory Authority India, which changed the rules of the game midway ( February) by introducing interconnect user charge regime — incoming calls between different networks chargeable as off-net. This change, the company claims, made it revise its tariffs and could have left communication loopholes.
“We had only said that on-net (within Reliance network) calls were free till March 30, 2003, a scheme which was later extended till April 1 and further till April end,� clarifies a company communiqué e-mailed to TNN. Reliance claims to have disseminated this to its customers through contact centres and brochures. At the same time, its spokesman in Mumbai agrees that the small SMS messages the company sent were misleading.
“It’s difficult to explain intricacies such as on-net and off-net through small messages, and this could have created confusion,� he said.
About the 40 per cent discount the company is offering on off-net STD calls made during the “free� period, the communiqué says it is to ease the distress caused customers. The discount is being passed on to customers over a period of six months, starting July.