I took a land line connection from Tata a few months back. The plan was to use it as a home phone. But I did not even make a single call from that phone, just because I was soo used to my mobile. After paying the rent for a few months I decided to terminate the connection.
I called up customer care and told them that I want to terminate the connection. It was a sweet girl on the line and she told me that she will send someone to my place to collect the remaining payment and the phone. After some time a someone came and collected the phone as well as the payment.
After one month I got another bill. I thought it must have been a mistake. I took the bill to the nearest tata office. The fellow there checked and told me that the money collected by agent has be remitted, but no termination request was given by the agent. So the bill got generated.
He asked me to pay that bill also to terminate the connection. I said I wont pay the latest bill since its not my fault. After bit of argument he said its okay, and also said he will terminate the connection immediately.
After that I didn’t get any bills for a few months. But today I got a legal notice from them, which you can see below. Click on the image for a larger version.
I did a little bit of enquiry and found out that the collection agent is not a Tata employee. He belongs some other agency to which Tata has outsourced that work. That idiot did not raise a termination request.
The next idiot is the one who sat behind that flat screen monitor and negotiated with me. Even he didnt raise a termination request, even after hearing the whole story. Did he do that on purpose because I refused to make the payment ?
This is the first time I am getting a legal notice. I dont know what to do about it. I dont know what I did wrong. Does this means that I will be sued and send to jail ? Should I go and attend the settlement camp ? Or should I sue them back for cheating me ?
I really doubt if they would pursue you beyond this. I think unless you owe them in several thousands, they won’t actively pursue you. Same thing happened to me on Airtel post paid but I wasn’t served.
Comment by The Nomad — June 22, 2009 @ 9:15 pm
Aah this reminds me of ma dads fight with BSNL MOBILES! don’t feel threatened..fight it out!! They can’t really do much if you have the final records, which that stupid sub agent gave.
Comment by fOsSiLoFlIfE!... — June 22, 2009 @ 9:19 pm
Talk to a lawyer you know.
Comment by Ankit — June 22, 2009 @ 9:22 pm
I don’t think this means you can be sent to jail or something.
If you are really free and is interested in passing some time, you can sue them back
.
As seen in the document the amount is too less for your time. So its wise to settle it out. But make sure that they don’t get the impression that you are there for a settlement right away.. disguise and then settle..
All the best !!
Comment by Sreejith — June 22, 2009 @ 9:22 pm
hi, something like this happened to me too, I gave a similar termination order over the phone, and forgot all about it, till six months later i got a bill of five thousand. not only did they not terminate the plan, but also charged me for internet time i did not use. They sent a collection agent, and a letter, no legal notice, but after several calls to costumer service, they finally stopped.
you could try calling costumer service and ask to talk to seomone senior, or call someone senior whose phone number might be publically listed. Plus talk to your idiot collection agent
good luck.
me
Comment by AnandP — June 22, 2009 @ 9:25 pm
I’d have to go with the comment by The Nomad.
Ithokke ivarde sthiram paniya!
Comment by Akhil Sasidharan — June 22, 2009 @ 9:25 pm
Heard about Consumer Court ?! I think you should ask some advocates about this than taking brain dumps from your blog readers..
(I know you’ve already did that)
Comment by Ben Jacob — June 22, 2009 @ 9:33 pm
frankly i feel to laugh. am sorry. i laughed bcos y all these legal problems are after u nw. last time also u had bloged abt the court incident. any ways i think u must go to the counciling and present ur case there to the advocate with all the document u hv on this issue. i think the problem is that first guy dnt terminate ur account and the second guy terminated it after a month. that means one month ur connection was there according to their records. so legaly they hv proff. but u can present them case by saying ur phn was taken away by them on teh day u wanted to terinate. that fact also wil b in their records so u can prove it was the first guys negligence . so the case is solved
this is a small civil case for less than 2000rs. its nt a big deal. if the counseling goes against u then u file a complaint of cheating in the consumer court near the place u took connection. bt for going there u must hv proof that the phone was surrendered by that agent who came to ur hme. bt u kw our lega systems for this 2000rs u may have to run a lot and loose more than 2000rs and wastage of time. bettter sole it on counseling.
Comment by blackofficer — June 22, 2009 @ 9:35 pm
When the same thing happened with my connection, my Dad had gone to the Consumer Court. it worked.
We previously had problems with ICICI bank as well. These private sector companies need to be taught that the Consumer is always right. Incompetency at providing service is causing rust in their systems.
Go forward and go to court. There’s no way you can lose.
Comment by Arun T P — June 22, 2009 @ 9:44 pm
na, dnt worry, similar thingy happend to me with airtel….this shud be the last letter that you will get from them….
Comment by TheAnand — June 22, 2009 @ 9:51 pm
Kenney,
Its a standard letter generated by some kind of mail merge. True, if you appear on that day and argue your side, they will just write this off. If you cant appear on that date, you can write to them with your logic and put it in your file.
Rajesh
Comment by Rajesh Venugopal — June 22, 2009 @ 10:28 pm
I had such a problem 2 years back. That time it was from Hutch. I gave my termination letter and surrendered the SIM at Hutch office Palai. After 1 month, I got a bill and I contacted the hutch customer care. They said that I have to pay Rs. 250 more. I paid it. After that month, another bill came. I told them the issue, and they said it is fine and no bills will come. Bills came for next 6 months. saying that I have dues for 6 months. For each months bill, I contacted the customer care and told them about the issue again and again. It was of no use.
Later I got a letter like this from Hutch saying that, they will proceed with legal procedures. They often called my home Landline. I talked to many Hutch officials. And everybody said to that the problem will be resolved by talking to the concered staff etc. etc. I talked to their advocate. And it went throught lot of arguments when they said I have to talk to hutch officials. He said that, only hutch can update their database. Whenever I contacted hutch(vodafone), they said that I have to contact their advocate.
After 10 months, I got a letter exactly similar one as you shown above. This time I talked to the manager of hutch at Kottayam. He asked me about the details. He made an enqiry and found that it was their mistake. I met with their advocate, where I took the last bill I paid. The issue was resolved during the negotation meeting with the advocate with no money payments.
I suggest you to contact some senior officials in the company and tell them about this. If you have last month bills, or any acknowledgement letters/notices take it with you when you go for the meeting. It will defenitely work.
Again if this is not gonna work, tell them that you are gonna file a case to the consumer court. Record the talk when you talk to the advocate and to the customer care. Talk to them as a negotiation where they accept their fault. Record it may be it can stand as a proof. Sent them an official letter saying that you will file case against the company in consumer court. And ask renumeration.
Usually, they wont go to court. because it is real burden for them and it is expensive. This is a civil case. So I dont think that you will be sent to the jail. If the court found that you are guilty. They will tell you to pay the bills along with the court fees and all.
These things are truly based on my experiences. And information from various sources. The above shown letter is mechanism to threaten you to squeese money from you pocket. And do take expert advice with lawyers.
Comment by Tony Jose — June 22, 2009 @ 10:32 pm
don’t worry abt this legal notice, it has no value just ignore it. i have also receive 3 times for last 5 yrs nothing above that and company has no time to take ur case to court. so pay AT UR CONVINCE OR settle it down unto 30%.of amount.
in my case i told them to file my case to court i have plenty of time to go to court, this was last words i have spoke to recovery agent since then no call no notice and now i have new connection on the same name at same address. tht bcause of marketing agent that has cleared my name from there data base for new connection. now i payed regular bill and quite off. .
Comment by corporate style — June 22, 2009 @ 10:35 pm
Nothing to worry about. You can go to consumer court or register a complaint in their (tata tele) office itself.
I have got a lot of these kinda letters, dont even have the value of the paper its printed on.
Btw, u might get a few more of this too, in comming months. Never mind. after 4-5 months they will call u for settlement like 2-% 30% of the amount. Dont pay it as well;)
if by any chance, u get on of these letter from a court, go to court and just tell what happened, all other letters > straight to dust bin
Comment by Vineeth Jose — June 23, 2009 @ 12:18 am
First find out which court the hearing will happen. If it’s in consumer court you are in luck. Provided you have all the documents. Including of the money you paid to disconnect the connection.
But before you consult consumer court or lawyer go to tata indicom office and find out what the deal is. If they don’t help ask a lawyer for advice
Comment by | Balu | — June 23, 2009 @ 2:26 am
PS: They have mentioned the lawyers name and venue for an anuranjanam in the letter. I think the issue can be sorted out there only. Take copies of your documents with you when you go.
Comment by | Balu | — June 23, 2009 @ 2:31 am
kenny, time and again, a sweet girl has done you in!
anyway all the best for your fight against Tata Indicom. I need to screw their happiness too soon! 
Comment by dhempe — June 23, 2009 @ 8:27 am
You just go and attend that camp (if you have time 2 spare), tell them the truth. Also say straightly that you are not willing to pay a single paisa!! Lets see what those guys will do!!!…(they can’t sue you off…legal solidity is low)…consult with an advocate if you have time!
Comment by Jojo — June 23, 2009 @ 11:54 am
cant understand the regional language in which the notice is written. from what i can see, u shd be the one suing them n not the other way round. fight it out with them.
Comment by Twilight fairy — June 23, 2009 @ 1:41 pm
Its just a conciliation meeting request at some lawyer’s office. It has judicial value as it stands.
Comment by Rajesh Venugopal — June 23, 2009 @ 6:50 pm
I meant it has NO judicial value.
Comment by Rajesh Venugopal — June 23, 2009 @ 6:51 pm
Guys,
I got a call from Tata today and they apologized for their mistake. They promised me to cancel the legal notice. It seems they saw the post.
Comment by Kenney Jacob — June 23, 2009 @ 8:49 pm
AMEN!!!
The title should be changed to ‘Kenny’s blog defeats TATA mobile”…
Comment by scorpiogenius — June 23, 2009 @ 10:56 pm
hehe great !!another advantage of blogging
Comment by jibin — June 24, 2009 @ 8:19 am
Sthiram number avanmaarude! Vilich kaaryam para.Ratan Tata kk kath ayakk…
Poyi oru soda naranga adi.
-Nikhil
Comment by Nikhil Narayanan — June 24, 2009 @ 11:44 pm
Mine is similar story, i had tata plug 2 surf connection, one fine day i went to tata authorised center, paid all the dues and requested for connection termination in meantime my sim was blocked . After 2 months or so i get a bill with overdue amount of Rs 1000+ i didnot pay heed to this as i had requested for disconnection and also my sim was block. After another 2 months one lady calls me and pretends to be calling from Delhi court stating that i have a case pending and gives a phone number of a another lady who is a advocate (again fake). When i called to inquire and gave my details, she starts yelling that i pay the dues or else they are sending the file to courts (but clearing from bkground i hear someone prompting her, “karlo baat, bol usko…” etc etc) but i didnt bog down, there was another such call with another advocate number… i got the clue and i did nothing. Now once in while customer care executive calls me ask me to activate my number
. Gud thing and i was lucky that i kept the pmt receipt and reference and case id. That was helpful. Now i alway carry this id with me just to answer their queries
Comment by shailesh — June 26, 2009 @ 10:45 am
[...] more: Tata Tele Services Threatens to Sue Me … other posts by [...]
Pingback by Tata Tele Services Threatens to Sue Me | India Cell Phones — June 26, 2009 @ 2:53 pm
well i think you should just let it go…
im from sri lanka and trust me there have been worse cases… if its in thousands and millions… then your fucked….
else i dont think that you should worry… but if it escalates then you should take action on the outsourced company….
Comment by kieferace — June 26, 2009 @ 11:56 pm
oh and further…. the customer calls to the customer service are recorded.. all you have to do is pull up the time and date…
then you got all the evidence you need….!!!
Comment by kieferace — June 26, 2009 @ 11:59 pm
Few months back I also had a bitter experience from Tata and I disconnected their service .But still they are not paying 500 RS deposit fee collected from me during installation . I called their customer care and met the guy in local Tata shop where I returned the device. Those idiots just made a comment that they are helpless in this matter .
.
I actually forgot about this incident occurred almost 6 months before . And by seeing the fashion they sent such a legal notice , I would also consider sending them something like this to collect my deposit and legal charges associated
Comment by smartin — June 27, 2009 @ 10:22 pm
Few months back I also had a bitter experience from Tata and I disconnected their service .But still they are not paying 500 RS deposit fee collected from me during installation . I called their customer care and met the guy in local Tata shop where I returned the device. Those idiots just made a comment that they are helpless in this matter .
.
I actually forgot about this incident occurred almost 6 months before . And by seeing the fashion they sent such a legal notice , I will also consider sending them something like this to collect my deposit and legal charges associated
Comment by smartin — June 27, 2009 @ 10:25 pm
[...] about Education, Media hypocrisy and Social Issues. I had previously blogged about the legal notice send to me by Tata Tele Services. Someone from their company saw the blog and called me. I explained the whole story to them and [...]
Pingback by Tata Tele Services Resolves My Walky Issue. — July 2, 2009 @ 12:45 pm