Let me explain how Airtel steals the money from users who request for Mobile number portablily(MNP).....
When a user request for the UPC ( unique porting code) by sending PORT <NUMBER> to 1900 Airtel deletes the user from their network with in 24hrs. The user will not be able make any further calls and obviously the balance in user's account now goes to Airtel's pocket because as per TRAI regulations its not required to carry forward the balance to new operator. You call and complain Airtel customer care 121; you will hear that the number is deleted because of MNP request and they do not have any further information. If you request for more details then the resolution time is 3 days. If you do not get a satisfactory reply in 3 days then then next step is to report this issue to the nodal officer. The nodal officer's customer service will tell you that the number is moved to another operator as per your request. and they do not have any information on which operator it is.Strange !!!!.. If you argue that, at the time of number deletion you had not requested any other operator to port you in , then either they will ask you to wait for 3 more days to resolve the issue or they will give some reasons like the number is deleted because of non usage. Between if you had actually filed a port in request to any other operator the process will be completed by this time and Airtel will send you a mail stating that "Your number is moved to new operator successfully... enjoy the new network...". What a way of looting customers money.
As per the TRAI regulations the expected network down time should be maximum 2hrs. Airtel is violating this rule by denying service for nearly 7 days. I hope TRAI notices such cases and takes appropriate action.
This is from my personal experiance while porting from Airtel to BSNL and I lost Rs150 from my account. I have records of all communications with airtel in this regard. I am planning to approach consumer court for this ; its not about Rs.150 but the way they violate rules...
