Airtel's error perplexes Magic subscribers

BANGALORE: Airtel Magic prepaid card-holders were in for a shock when they found that their cards were being charged for incoming calls. All incoming on cell phones have been made free as per Trai directive from May 1, 2003.

Some Airtel Magic customers were in for a rude shock this morning when they realized that their accounts were being debited even for incoming calls. "My dad called me on my mobile and I was cut half way through the conversation. The credit limit had dropped drastically from what it was at the beginning of the call. I was taken aback. When I called the customer support they had claimed that they had received a number of calls in the morning and they were attending to it. They assured me that the difference amount would be credited in to my account, soon," claimed an Airtel prepaid subscriber.

The customer care of Airtel (9845098450) was also constantly giving out a message "we are unable to answer your call as our customer care executive is attending other customers, please call back later." This had left a great deal of subscribers frustrated.

However, Airtel now assures customers that the problem has now been rectified. "For a brief period this morning, between 05:00 AM and 08:00 AM, there was an error in the system, due to which customers on one particular pre-paid rate plan and one particular SDP (Subscriber Data Processor) were charged on roaming rates for calls received and made by them during this period. The problem was detected by 07:30 A.M. and rectified by 08:00 AM. ", said Mr.G.Dhananjayan, Chief - Marketing and Sales, Bharti Mobile Ltd, Karnataka.

"The multiple level back ups of records of all calls made and received by each subscriber will help in retrieving the actual call details of each subscriber on the SDP and the rate plan in this period. Arrangements are being made to ensure that all pre-paid customers who were subjected to difficulty because of this technical problem were credited with amounts charged to them", he continued.

"A check on the entire system is in progress by the technical team at Airtel to ensure that the error does not recur", he assured.