Friday, July 15 2005 18:55 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: A consumer court has pulled up private telecom major Reliance Infocomm for charging customers for calls that never "materialised" and levying STD tariff on local calls, even as it termed the actions as a "fraud" on consumers.

Awarding a compensation of Rs 2,500 to a consumer, who suffered due to the apathy of Reliance Infocomm, State Consumers Disputes Redressal Commission said: "No telephone service provider can be allowed to charge for the calls which have never materialized even after a ring of 10 to 15 seconds or charge STD rates for local calls.

"It is shocking that the organisation or the provider of service as eminent and renowned as Reliance Infocomm has been indulged in such an unfair trade practice", Commission President Justice J D Kapoor said dismissing the appeal of private telecom operator.

"There may be customers who may wait for 30 seconds or so and if they are charged at STD tariff what else is it, if not a fraud or deceit practiced on the consumers," the Commission observed.

A city consumer forum in an ex-parte order had directed Reliance Infocomm to revise the bills of its customer Yad Ram Sharma and pay the compensation on account of mental agony and harassment suffered by him.

Sharma in February, 2003 had subscribed to Reliance's mobile phone service under the 'Dhirubhai Ambani Pioneer Offer' after he was allegedly lured by advertisements that promised users long distance (STD) calls at 40 paise a minute.

A protest was lodged by Sharma with the company for the defective hand-set and exorbitant bills of Rs 2,370 for the second quarter of 2003. On getting no effective response, he filed a complaint in a city consumer court, which directed revision of bill along with compensation.