'Charging fee for caller tunes sans consent rampant practice'

The practice of charging money for caller tunes without the user's request has become "rampant", a consumer forum here observed while directing Tata Tele Services Ltd to pay Rs 3,000 in damages to a man for activating and deducting a fee for the caller tune on his mobile number.
The New Delhi Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum presided over by CK Chaturvedi held Tata Tele Services Ltd (TTSL) guilty of deficiency in charging money for caller tunes without obtaining the user's consent.
"In our view, (TTSL) is simply trying to make a false plea to justify its case. We believe the complaint and hold the company guilty of deficiency in charging for caller tunes without asking, which practice is rampant," the forum said, adding that this complaint has highlighted a general grievance with teleservices.

The forum, also comprising members SR Chaudhary and Ritu Garodia, held the telecom company guilty of "unfair trade practice" and directed it pay Rs 3,000 as compensation to the complainant.
"Other teleservices also indulge in (deducting) a host of similar services and information charges," the forum said.
Pawan Kumar Jindal, a Delhi resident, had filed the complaint before the forum alleging that there was deficiency in service on the part of TTSL as they activated a caller tune on his mobile number without even asking him about it.

The complainant told the forum that he was a TTSL customer and in July, 2013, received a message from it that a caller tune was activated and Rs 40 deducted from his balance amount.

He claimed he had not called the company to activate the caller tune.
He said that when he called the company's customer care service, they informed him that the caller tune can be deactivated but the deducted amount would not be refunded.
The company, in its reply before the forum, stated that the caller tune was activated only upon a request from the complainant and it was also deactivated three days later. It said, however, that the money could not be refunded.