Reliance trapped in own web

PUNE: All''s not well with the Dhirubhai Ambani Pioneer offer. Although the offer ended on a winning note a few months ago, the subscribers who did not read the fine print, and the ''Webworlds'' which did not send out a clear message, are facing the aftershocks of miscommunication.
Subscribers, reeling under their first "exorbitant" bills, claim the company cheated them."The ''Webworld'' I subscribed through told me that all calls were free till Marchend," said Harish Bhawsar, adding, "Bolstered by the ''gift'', I let loose my tongue." The joy was short-lived.
"I received a Rs 4,000 bill in May. Shocked, I called up customer care, only to be told that the company never offered outgoing calls free and that I had got it wrong," Harish said.
He claims to have been offered a 30 per cent discount at the local level (Pune office) and 40 per cent at company level after he refused to pay up. Kasturi Paigude had a similar story to tell. "My agent told me both incoming and outgoing calls were ''free''. I also received an SMS telling ''it is free'', which I confirmed with customer care, and made full use of the opportunity.
"The harsh reality dawned only when I received my first Rs 2,500 bill. When I vented my anger with customer care, they told me that I should pay the bill for now, and that I would get discounts in subsequent bills," she told TNN. Neelkanth Chaudhari also received an SMS telling all incoming and outgoing calls were ''free''. But he was saved as he confirmed the offer, which was: outgoing calls free till March within Reliance network and off-net charges for calls made to other networks — landline and GSM.
"Those who did not read the fine print, educate themselves and get a clear picture, went on making STD calls, and are now facing the consequences," he said. Ramesh Satpute, a former Reliance sub-agent, who shut shop after subscribers began pestering him about the "raw" deal they got, had this to say: "I was told during training in Mumbai that Maharashtra is local and local calls are free, a message I passed on to my customers."
Satpute added: "Reliance has been sending confusing signals right since the beginning. I was told that everything was free till March-end as the company was ''trying'' its network. Keeping this in mind, I and my customers made a number of STD calls, mostly in Maharashtra.
"I was again told in April that all calls were free and that only those made after May would be charged. But my customers got exorbitant bills in May," he recalls.