Srinagar Nov 12: Vodafone users across the Valley are not a contented lot, reason they say is the poor connectivity and ill service by the cellular company.
 Greater Kashmir talked to a cross-section of subscribers from different parts of the Valley who said they were piqued by the ill service and poor connectivity by the company.
 Abdul Hamid of Chadoora, Budgam said: “Constant poor signal of Vodafone in our area has rendered its SIMs useless. One finds it extremely difficult to get or make a call from a Vodafone number.”
 Poor signal is not the alone problem. The customers said the company has been irking them with pesky messages.
 Hamid alleged that the company is looting its customers by sending “tantalizing” messages. “Yesterday, I received a message from the cellular service provider saying: recharge your account in order to reduce the call charges to half the rate.”
 “I recharged my account but there was no reduction in call charges at all. I tried to complain to the customer care but there was no response,” he added
 Jibran Ali of Gopalpora complained against the unilateral activation of services without the knowledge of customer.  “My mobile balance was deducted for activation of some service that I had never asked for,” he said.
 Ajaz Lolpuri of Ellahi Bagh who runs a shop in Ganderbal said: “There is no connectivity of Vodafone in Ganderbal. As a result of it I have to face lot of inconvenience,” he said, adding that at times he could not contact his home from Ganderbal for hours because of poor connectivity.
 Many customers from Bemina complained that Vodafone does not work in the area. “I have realized that it is foolish to get a Vodafone SIM. Right from the day one I got the number (9796769162) , I never saw the signal on it. If the towers appear on the screen of the mobile set they disappear within seconds. I don’t make any call from this number. And in case sometimes I get a call, one cannot understand what the voice on the other side says and vice-versa.”
 Many customers from the area echoed same views saying there is no connectivity of cellular company in that area.
 Amina Begum, a Vodafone customer from Nowpora said “The connectivity is very poor in our area.  I have to go outside my home in order to make a call.”
 Besides erratic service, poor internet service of the cellular company annoys its customers. “Since Vodafone has launched its GPRS service in Kashmir, it has duped many people by sending service messages. And by chance if any one clicks on its after few seconds you will receive a message that your account has been deducted,” said Iqbal Ahmad.
 When contacted, company officials insisted not to be named, refused to comment on the issue. “The customers who are facing any problem should contact the SIM providers or franchisees,” they said.

Lastupdate on : Sat, 12 Nov 2011 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Sat, 12 Nov 2011 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Sun, 13 Nov 2011 00:00:00 IST