Issued on public interest

ISSUED IN PUBLIC INTEREST PASS IT TO AS MANY AS YOU CAN.

BEWARE OF THESE BANKS
Looking at the rising complaints against ICICI Bank, Citibank, and Standard Chartered Bank , we request consumers to properly read their documents and keep a record when dealing with these banks, especially regarding credit card and housing loan. These three banks are biggest defaulters and do not resolve consumer problems easily. Be aware of their terms in writing. Keep a perfect record of all correspondence with them. If they do not agree to written communication, immediately stop their services. If you ask some nationalised bank to take over the housing loan from ICICI Bank, even after paying full amount, you will not get back your original documents for months. You will be told that the documents are in Mumbai and they are trying to retrieve the same. This is the answer you get everyday.

BEWARE OF NOKIA
Nokia assures that their handset is covered under insurance. They even provide a certificate of insurance. But the condition is that if the handset is lost/stolen, you have to lodge an FIR to seek claims. The catch here is that the police station does not lodge FIR for loss of handsets, they only register NC. So you will never get insurance claims on basis of NC.

Nokia is selling some of its degraded products that have software problems. If you come across such problem in a new set, do not waste your time in running around service centres as it is not going to help much, ask for a replacement with a new set. All those who have purchased 3230 set, have experienced that there was software problem in every set. Nokia is simply dumping the sets, which can not be sold in other countries.

BEWARE OF AIR DECCAN
Their confirmed bookings are highly unreliable and of no guarantee that you will be allowed to fly . The booked tickets get cancelled without intimation to consumer only to be known by him when he goes to the airport to catch his flight. You will not get refund immediately, if you have booked your ticket through credit card. If you call up their call centre, if you press numbers relating to refund, you will not be attended at all even if you try for hours together. If you talk to somebody regarding refund, you have to press options relating to ticket booking, so that someone will attend to you. Then you can ask for refund. They are following very good trick.

BEWARE OF COUNTRY CLUB, BANGALORE
They advertise that if you take their membership, a plot of land will be given free of cost near Golden Spa at Coconut Grove. Please note Golden Spa is 35 Kms from Bangalore and the said plot of land is over 100 Kms from Bangalore . Based on false promises and with arrangement with Citibank and ICICI Bank, this team cheats the consumers of his money by asking payments through credit card.

BEWARE OF PRIVATE BUS OPERATORS/TRAVEL AGENTS
If you book your ticket in a private bus operator, you will find that your seat is allotted to somebody else also. Many a times, though you have booked your ticket to some destination, you will dropped few kilometres away, if there are not enough passengers for your destination. Then you will have to depend on other services to reach your destination. Keep the records/proofs and give a complaint to the nearest police station, when you come back. If you find that the police is supporting the travel agent, immediately inform his higher ups or give a complaint to consumer forum. Always try to use government transportation services. They may be bad in service but will never cheat you.

BOOK TELESALES & RECOVERY AGENTS
If you receive unwanted advertisement / telemarketing call from any company or recovery agents. You will find it annoying especially when you are on roaming network. Ask their telephone number and report to the police. File a police complaint against the Chairman of the company.

BEWARE OF SOME HOSPITALS
If you happen to get admitted (or admit your family person/friend/ relative) for any operation in any hospital, keep all the records. Even if the doctor scribbles any information on a piece of paper and give it you, please keep it with you. In future, for your bad luck, if some adverse thing happens due to wrong dialysis or wrong operation, these things will come handy to fight it in a court. Please be clear that consumer forums are not of much help to you because they do not have good doctors in their panel. Many a times they do not have any doctors in their panel and even if they have, a doctor in the panel will try to help a doctor. In such a case you will have to fight tooth and nail. Hence keep all the records/proofs with you carefully.

BEWARE OF TATA INDICOM BROADBAND and WIRELESS FIXED TELEPHONE
Their promises to get you a broadband connection within a week is not to be relied upon. Once your money is stuck (about Rs. 2000), it takes lot of pains to recover it back. If you book Wireless fixed telephone, the Tata indicom sales person will tell you that you can send/receive fax, send/receive e-mails in other service providers' account also (for example vsnl, touchtel etc). Once you install the telephone, you will find that the instrument can not support fax machine even if connected through EPABX, you will find that you can receive e-mails in other accounts and can not send e-mails at all. You have to send e-mails only through Tataindicom e-mail service.

CAREFUL WHEN DEALING WITH THESE COMPANIES / PRODUCTS
LIST OF WORST COMPANIES AGAINST WHOM WE RECEIVE COMPLAINTS VERY FREQUENTLY

AIRLINES: Air Deccan
BANKS: ICICI bank, Citibank, Standard Chartered Bank
BUILDERS: Parimiti Buildcon (Thane), Madras City Co-op Bldg. Soc (Chennai)
CARS: Tata motors, Hyundai
CREDIT CARDS: SBI credit card, Citibank, Standard Chartered
CELLPHONE SERVICES: Tata Indicom Broadband, Airtel, BPL mobile
HOME APPLIANCES: Videocon,
HOME BUSINESS: Kenya Star Tea
INSURANCE: National Insurance Co., New India Assurance, generally all private/Multination al Insurance Companies
MOBILE PHONES: Nokia 6260, 3230
TIMESHARE: Royal Goan Beach Club (Goa), Happy Home Constructions (Bangalore), Country Club India Ltd. (Bangalore)
TRANSPORTERS: Sky Packers and Movers (Mumbai), Packways Pvt. Ltd.(Mumbai) , Sai Packers and Movers (Mumbai)

ARE U BEING HARASSED BY CONSUMER COURTS?

WE ARE GATHERING INFORMATION ON CORRUPT JUDGES, REGISTRARS & CLERKS
We have received many complaints from consumers that they are being harassed in the consumer courts when they go there to submit consumer complaint and attend hearings. They are not being served properly by the clerks, and the judges keep on giving hearing dates without arriving to judgment. These acts are contrary to the purpose of setting up of consumer courts that were basically meant to help the consumers. Please inform us if you have experienced or witnessed harassment or corruption. Inform us the exact time, date, and location of the incident in writing through duly signed letter. Your details will not be disclosed on this website, but you should be ready to co-operate when action against these people is initiated by nabbing them through proper channel.

For further clarifications you may contact:
Sri.ARUN SAXENA
International Consumer Rights Protection Council
B-9/55, Vijay Nagari,
P.O . Kasarvadavali,
Thane (West) 400601
Mumbai - India .