Reliance India call US customer rip off

[jasmin45]

Folks,
Have you been using Reliance to get in touch with your friends and families in India?
Read this..

They were running an offer during the period of March 21st to April 6th which essentially promised to "credit back" 50% of the talk time that you have used during the offer period with a minimum use of 120 minutes of talk time between those days..

They mentioned in the FAQ that they will credit back the 50% of talk time with in a week after the offer expires.

Now, after a week what do we see, not even close to 50% of talk time that we have used during the offer period... Math is simple right.. not so! Now if you call their customer care, they will provide you a different math... which essentially make you dizzy... to prove their calculation to credit back less than 50% of the talk time as the offer was for...

They are cheating customers with these kind of shady offers... I have scanned through their offer and FAQ's but could not find this math that they are providing us...

I have launched a complaint to FTC on this issue.. its a simple process.. if you use their services and did not get your 50% talk time... I would urge you to go to this link and launch a complaint.. This is America folks... lets take them to task..

Even if the amount of rip off / customer is as low as $1.. the size of this scam could run into a wopping 1.2 million USD in 15 days as they claim to have that many customers... Thats what troubles me and more than anything I feel cheated.. so you can imagine if its more than a dollar...

https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/

If you are on same boat.. lets stop using reliance and go to some other provider who is reliable. Please post the service providers that you use and the service level satisfaction. I also use Airtel and its an ok kind of service, didn't pull me completely out of reliance..

do not shower me with red dots as this is not related to immigration.. but it is related to immigrants from one country and this will help lot of those folks.. if you feel this is not for you.. ignore and move on.

[bsbawa10]

Thanks Jasmine for the heads up . That is exactly the reason I stopped using reliance and switched to trueroots.us. I think they were cheating on my minutes also.

[akilaakka]

One thing that always bothered me is the Tax Rate.

The Tax rate is higher than what I have seen and usually if you buy products online you are not supposed to be taxed.

Thanks
Senthil

[ajay]

Seems like it is a better one:
https://www.airtelcallhome.com/ics_war/ics.portal?_nfpb=true&_windowLabel=registrationPortlet_1_2&registrationPortlet_1_2_actionOverride=%2Fcom%2Fwi pro%2Fbharti%2Fics%2Fcontroller%2Fregistration%2Fg etUserDetailsAction

[snathan]

I also used the Reliance India call and long time back I found its rip off and started using the air tell call home. But I recently got something better. I got Teleblend VOIP connection. Its $49.99 + Tax = $54.99. Its unlimited US, Canada and India call.

[gapala]

There you go... yet another scam by indian company.
FTC is the way to go.. they will investigate and round up these guys soon.

[Suva]

I use www.indiaminutes.com. Call cell in India for 2 cents and land line for 2.4 cents

[trueguy]

Good Job filing a complaint. Reliance is known for these kinds of frauds and I already switched to Airtel or trueroots long time back.

We all should unite and ban Reliance.

[redgreen]

As a reliance cutomer, I am very satisfied with their service. They always promised what they offered and the quality of talk is great. There are cheaper companies, many provide interrupted service and charge fake minutes.
The original complainer has not given any specific details of the complaint, or what reliance explained about the person's query. Just complaining is fine but even according to this person, it is not one week after April 6th!
I am not advocating for reliance. If there are better services I will happily move to them. But till now relianceindiacall was serving me much better than many others I tried before.

[a2006]

Good Job filing a complaint. Reliance is known for these kinds of frauds and I already switched to Airtel or trueroots long time back.

We all should unite and ban Reliance.
http://www.motherindiacard.com/
call India @ 2cents/min

[gapala]

As a reliance cutomer, I am very satisfied with their service. They always promised what they offered and the quality of talk is great. There are cheaper companies, many provide interrupted service and charge fake minutes.
The original complainer has not given any specific details of the complaint, or what reliance explained about the person's query. Just complaining is fine but even according to this person, it is not one week after April 6th!
I am not advocating for reliance. If there are better services I will happily move to them. But till now relianceindiacall was serving me much better than many others I tried before.

Have you used the offer during March 21st to April 6th as mentioned by OP? Did you get the 50% of talk time used credited into your account? I just talked to 2 of my friends and one of them didn't get 50% as reliance promised, other did not use more than 120 minutes. he says he called for around 160+ min during the period and got credit today only for 63 minutes... do the math .... I just gave him the FTC link to launch complaint...if that is the case, its a big scam as suggested may run into millions of USD..

[jasmin45]

Thanks apume, a2006, suva, ajay, snathan for providing these alternatives with excellent rates...

[snathan]

As a reliance cutomer, I am very satisfied with their service. They always promised what they offered and the quality of talk is great. There are cheaper companies, many provide interrupted service and charge fake minutes.
The original complainer has not given any specific details of the complaint, or what reliance explained about the person's query. Just complaining is fine but even according to this person, it is not one week after April 6th!
I am not advocating for reliance. If there are better services I will happily move to them. But till now relianceindiacall was serving me much better than many others I tried before.

Reliance is a big time fraud. That guy Anil is agreedy and his only aim is to make money to beat his elder brother. Evven if you see his stock market playing, look at what happened to Reliance Power. I dont believe he has proper plan for anything. He is rushing everything and only aim seems like to beat his elder brother. If you see anil is the big time sucker...across the world. He is the number one in the list who lost more money in the billioners list.

[punjabi77]

I charged my card on April 10th for 10 dollars (minimum amount that they said will reduce the rate from 5..9 by 2 cents).
I called india yesterday and i do see that the number of minutes are equivalent to 3.9 cents.
I have used reliance for almost 4 years now and i find it reliable.
I did use Airtel when it was initially launced but had a bad experience. So never went back.
But i have heard from friends of mine that Airtel is quite reliable now.
Will like to try again..
Coming back to original issue, i did get the minutes mentioned in the ad.

[jasmin45]

I charged my card on April 10th for 10 dollars (minimum amount that they said will reduce the rate from 5..9 by 2 cents).
I called india yesterday and i do see that the number of minutes are equivalent to 3.9 cents.
I have used reliance for almost 4 years now and i find it reliable.
I did use Airtel when it was initially launced but had a bad experience. So never went back.
But i have heard from friends of mine that Airtel is quite reliable now.
Will like to try again..
Coming back to original issue, i did get the minutes mentioned in the ad.

I guess what you are talking about is their latest scam of 3.9 cents or what ever. What I have noticed is the offer for 50% of talk time credit back. Did you call during the offer period March 21st to April 6th deal? How much did they credit back? 7 of my friends also launched complaint with FTC on the same issue as they did not get 50% of the talk time as the offer was for but less than that.. all are in a range of around 15 to 25 minutes less than what make 50% of talk time in terms of minutes.. check your minutes again by calling their 1866 number and compare with how much did you call during the offer period and see if that makes it 50%.

Thanks for sharing the experience.

[punjabi77]

There was a catch during the period you have mentioned.
You had to go to the photo related to Gudi Pawa.. something like that .. where it was mentioned that you will get 50%. Then you have to recharge from that window.
If I recharged as I did regularly (Balance-Recharge button)..it did not credit me those minutes.
But if you did not get the required minutes, it is better to file a complained..let us know what they respond back..

[geesee]

I have been using Skype for some time now.. Bought a USB skype adapter from - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833127070 Spent $20 for the adapter. Got a skype outgoing no. I believe thats around $50 or so for a year. So essentially now I am only paying that much for unlimited calls back home. Also my folks can call me anytime they want. For any other calls I use Airtel.

If you have highspeed internet at home in India, I'd highly recommend Skype.

[jasmin45]

There was a catch during the period you have mentioned.
You had to go to the photo related to Gudi Pawa.. something like that .. where it was mentioned that you will get 50%. Then you have to recharge from that window.
If I recharged as I did regularly (Balance-Recharge button)..it did not credit me those minutes.
But if you did not get the required minutes, it is better to file a complained..let us know what they respond back..

Punjabi77, it doesn't matter how you recharge because I did the same thing as you did and I got something back for that.. they will give you 50% talk time provided you have used 120 minutes talk time or more during that window. that was the offer. So either you did not use 120 minutes during the window or they totally ripped you off with the offer.. :D :D
I will keep the folks posted on this.

I guess there aren't many here uses Reliance based on response to the scam.. don't know how do they claim 1.2 mn customers in US alone.

[h1techSlave]

magicjack is much better.
I have been using Skype for some time now.. Bought a USB skype adapter from - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833127070 Spent $20 for the adapter. Got a skype outgoing no. I believe thats around $50 or so for a year. So essentially now I am only paying that much for unlimited calls back home. Also my folks can call me anytime they want. For any other calls I use Airtel.

If you have highspeed internet at home in India, I'd highly recommend Skype.

[chaukas]

I have started using skype too . The video call quality is also very good.

[munnu77]

airtelcallhome has come up with a new offer last weekk.
1 cent per minute...did anybody try that offer????

[s416504]

I am using 1 cent per minute.. Voice quality is good & customer service has improved lot..
But It's not 1 Cent...It turn out to be 1.78 Cents for MA resident (including Tax & $3.99 Rent).
I would highly recommand this...

airtelcallhome has come up with a new offer last weekk.
1 cent per minute...did anybody try that offer????

[sundeep14]

1.78 looks really good to me....damn...i remember during year 2000 i used to pay 65 cents/min usin AT&T or something.....in last 9-10 yrs the prices have come do drastically...thats really cool:)

[pappu]

1.78 looks really good to me....damn...i remember during year 2000 i used to pay 65 cents/min usin AT&T or something.....in last 9-10 yrs the prices have come do drastically...thats really cool:)

I have paid 75 cents/min to AT&T in 1998.

[pointlesswait]

i have been using vonage for 3 years now.. 23/mo..and as a back up use reliance..maybe 10-12$/mo..

there was a time..when i used to run up atleast 100$ in india calls..
if you guys have broadband in india...just use vonage...simple and easy setup.




I am using 1 cent per minute.. Voice quality is good & customer service has improved lot..
But It's not 1 Cent...It turn out to be 1.78 Cents for MA resident (including Tax & $3.99 Rent).
I would highly recommand this...

[snathan]

i have been using vonage for 3 years now.. 23/mo..and as a back up use reliance..maybe 10-12$/mo..

there was a time..when i used to run up atleast 100$ in india calls..
if you guys have broadband in india...just use vonage...simple and easy setup.

But their customer service is pathetic. Just try to call them to disconnect and see how they are responding. You need to wait in line for 2 hrs and someone will talk, put you on hold for 30 mins then disconnect you without any info. So you need to spend atleast a week to get it disconnected. I was so fed and stoppd using that service.

[Suva]

i have been using vonage for 3 years now.. 23/mo..and as a back up use reliance..maybe 10-12$/mo..

there was a time..when i used to run up atleast 100$ in india calls..
if you guys have broadband in india...just use vonage...simple and easy setup.

I use OOMA for $0/month. Intially I paid like $210 to buy the device. That's it. Within US it's free forever.

[trramesh]

Recently I bought Airtel minutes. Their clock runs 50% faster. I compared the time with the AT&T wireless minutes as I made the call with my cellphone. They must have taken the concept from Auto drivers in Chennai. Typical suckers one finds in our country are doing this across the globe. May be I will file a complaint soon.

airtelcallhome has come up with a new offer last weekk.
1 cent per minute...did anybody try that offer????

[drak70]

I have been using Reliance from since 2004.I found it pretty reliable in long run.I can go back and check my calls made/duration and cost.I use the $10 recharge option.(the only back uption use is ATT prepaid card which is very expensive...which means I find reliance dependable enough that I dont need ATT).

They might rip you off dollar here or there once in while but otherwise they are no better than or worse of say your local cable company or cell phone co.

[gcbikari]

I see a Promotional credit of $11.25 to my RelianceIndia call account today. Thanks jasmin45, looks like they heard you. Its pricy but I've been using for few years and it is reliable.

[jasmin45]

Recently I bought Airtel minutes. Their clock runs 50% faster. I compared the time with the AT&T wireless minutes as I made the call with my cellphone. They must have taken the concept from Auto drivers in Chennai. Typical suckers one finds in our country are doing this across the globe. May be I will file a complaint soon.

:D:D your anology is funny bunny! but if you really think you are being ripped off, please complaint to FTC and they will take care of the issue.

[jasmin45]

I see a Promotional credit of $11.25 to my RelianceIndia call account today. Thanks jasmin45, looks like they heard you. Its pricy but I've been using for few years and it is reliable.

Bikari,... (:) what a handle!) Based on the offer, you should have got back around 190 minutes 50% of your use during the offer period... could you call 1-866 as you do to call india and see what balance do you have?

[crazyghoda]

Seriously folks, dont you have anything better to do?

Back in 1999, a call to India was 55c/min + all kinds of taxes by your long distance provider in addition to an annual fee and what not. My phone bill back then was easily running into $150-200 or sometimes more.

Nowadays I barely pay $40-50 per month for my VOIP landline which includes unlimited US, Canada and Western Europe calling and super cheap India calling. As far as I am concerned, Reliance at whatever rate (last I checked it was ~8c/min) is dirt cheap compared to what I paid in the days when my salary was .... (well lets not remember those days :-))

Peace folks... there are more important things in life than fighting Reliance for 10 bucks. And if you want a piece of their profits, buy their shares.

[sanjay]

Recently I bought Airtel minutes. Their clock runs 50% faster. I compared the time with the AT&T wireless minutes as I made the call with my cellphone. They must have taken the concept from Auto drivers in Chennai. Typical suckers one finds in our country are doing this across the globe. May be I will file a complaint soon.

Even I had same issue with Airtel. Last friday i talked India on AT & T phone for 22 minutes but when checking my balance I found I was charged for 38 minutes.

I still had to lodge a complaint to them. I was busy on sat and sun. May be AT & T clock is running slow or Airtel is running fast. what ever the reason.

Using Reliance for last two years, but still find it reliable as per voice quality and much better then using those $5 calling cards, which I used for more than 5 years to make call at home.

[jasmin45]

Seriously folks, dont you have anything better to do?

Back in 1999, a call to India was 55c/min + all kinds of taxes by your long distance provider in addition to an annual fee and what not. My phone bill back then was easily running into $150-200 or sometimes more.

Nowadays I barely pay $40-50 per month for my VOIP landline which includes unlimited US, Canada and Western Europe calling and super cheap India calling. As far as I am concerned, Reliance at whatever rate (last I checked it was ~8c/min) is dirt cheap compared to what I paid in the days when my salary was .... (well lets not remember those days :-))

Peace folks... there are more important things in life than fighting Reliance for 10 bucks. And if you want a piece of their profits, buy their shares.

Oh yeah! I knew that someone like you will hijack the thread and start preaching and boasting.. Dude, after reading all that, if you think its a matter of $10, its your ignorance... Did we ask your help or asked you to donate OR participate in discussion for that matter? Seriously?? if you are not impacted by this reliance scam, just ignore this thread, No you couldn't do that.. its an opportunity to brag.. right??

Let me make it clear to you, We have done what is needed and here's the reason, We are against is the shady business practices to rip the customers off millions of dollars... think volume here dude..they boast about having 1.2 mn customers in US.... 10$? you are thinking about yourself there... Don't just think about yourself all the time and your family and your car and your money and your what ever...

People like you who always think about themselves are the ones standing on the way of uniting the folks and doing the right thing.... Stop preaching your history and do something. Oh! your advice on piece of profit, How is that a solution to fix the problem that they are ripping of customers?

[goel_ar]

I am using reliance from 4-5 years. They use to charge 0.09-0.10/min. I agree their customer service/policies are worst, but I find their quaility of telecom service good. Never busy dial-tone, clear voice, no call drops etc.

I have convinced myself not to ever call reliance india customer service as it is just worst customer service, but same goes with lot of other customer services for indian companies such as citibank-india, where customer rep will just disconnect you or put you on long hold of 30-45 minutes...

[ivar]

It doesn't matter if it is $10, $20 or more but it will hurt if someone cheats you and you know that you are ripped off.


Seriously folks, dont you have anything better to do?

Back in 1999, a call to India was 55c/min + all kinds of taxes by your long distance provider in addition to an annual fee and what not. My phone bill back then was easily running into $150-200 or sometimes more.

Nowadays I barely pay $40-50 per month for my VOIP landline which includes unlimited US, Canada and Western Europe calling and super cheap India calling. As far as I am concerned, Reliance at whatever rate (last I checked it was ~8c/min) is dirt cheap compared to what I paid in the days when my salary was .... (well lets not remember those days :-))

Peace folks... there are more important things in life than fighting Reliance for 10 bucks. And if you want a piece of their profits, buy their shares.

[s416504]

I don't see any clock faster 50%. May be rounding minute etc. but if you really see that , You have proper channel to report this issues & they will serve u better as well as that will help others. You can show them proof from your cell phone statement.

Recently I bought Airtel minutes. Their clock runs 50% faster. I compared the time with the AT&T wireless minutes as I made the call with my cellphone. They must have taken the concept from Auto drivers in Chennai. Typical suckers one finds in our country are doing this across the globe. May be I will file a complaint soon.

[sreedhar]

I am using ALLVOI for $24.99 for Unlimited US & Canada, UK and some other countries. The package includes 1300 Free Minutes to India any number (No Rollover) and 2.2 cents /min after that. The Dialing format is 011-91-xxxx-xxxxxxx. I am using from past 9 months the voice quality is pretty good.

ALLVOI Mobile also available with this service. If you enable this service it will allow you call from any phone (Maximum 4 lines). This feature will cost you $1.99/Month and extra 1cent/ min. But I never try ALLVOI Mobile feature.

-Sree

[ca_immigrant]

I have been using reliance for 3 to 4 years now...do not call too much...but have been satisfied I must say....
though I have not been checking/following the account closely for the last 1 or 2 years...
in the beginning I saw that they were doing correct calculations and not eating up minutes ...so left watching closely....hope they are not eating up minutes or messing up somewhere...

neways, I recently have also started using Mother India card that I buy for $4 (cash price) from retail stores....do not remember the exact minutes , but cost was it was half of Reliance cost...

Also, last year I charged a yahoo account with $10 and my mom calls us from India....computer to phone....70% of the times the line is pretty good....
cost 1 cent per minute...

so go charge up a yahoo account and give them a boost ;)

careful though. if u call from here to india it is 16 cents per minutes..
but india to here is 1 cent per minute...if you'd like to give it a try....-;)

[gcbikari]

We use reliance local # (678-810-0242/44, costs 1c less) and we have 213 minutes.

Bikari,... (:) what a handle!) Based on the offer, you should have got back around 190 minutes 50% of your use during the offer period... could you call 1-866 as you do to call india and see what balance do you have?

[gapala]

We use reliance local # (678-810-0242/44, costs 1c less) and we have 213 minutes.

Based on what you have said, it should have been 229 minutes or so. :)

[gcbikari]

this is what I saw in my account.may be they raised their rates because they'd to honor promotions. Hope this clarifies.

PROMOTION 100000027073 4/11/2009 9:40:58 AM 11.95 4/11/2009 9:39:27 AM 11.95

Based on what you have said, it should have been 229 minutes or so. :)

[jasmin45]

this is what I saw in my account.may be they raised their rates because they'd to honor promotions.
Uhh.. Here's the scenario.. they run the promotion to credit back 50% of talk time and then, they credit your account with 50% of time with old rate.. soon after they increase the rate and you end up with reduced minutes based on increased rate... Net effect, you did NOT get what was promised ie; 50% talk time due to abrupt rate increase.... Isn't this a shady business practice? Our calculation still holds good then.. they potentially ripped off Millions with this hidden rate increase, if all their customers participated in this offer.

Tomorrow if they run an add saying that they will give you 100% talk time back and soon after the offer period, if they DOUBLE the rates, you get 0 minutes right? where is the fulfillment of promise here? Future rate increase was not mentioned in the Gudi padua offer... so even if the rate increase, they should give us effectively 50% talk time... as the offer was for 50% talk time after the offer period...

This is what is called rip off... FTC is actively looking into this..

[Marphad]

www.indiald.com - buy minutes at 1c per min in bulk, 1000 mins per month ... enjoy ...

Just checked the site, it says 1.99c per minute now. Was it 1c per minute before?

[Green_Always]

customercare@relianceindiacall.com Call: 1-888-673-5426


Dear Valued Customer

We are missing you on the Reliance Globalcom network. This festive season, Reliance Global Call has extremely exciting offers in store for you.

We value your continued patronage and would like to welcome you back on our network. We are pleased to offer you up to 150 minutes talk time free against your recharge online at www.relianceindiacall.com.

To know more about the offer visit https://www.relianceindiacall.com/us/specialoffer.aspx

We look forward, this festive season, to connecting you with your family and friends.

Welcome back.
Team - Reliance Global Call

Forgotten your login details?
Simply click here and we will send you your login details.

[hpandey]

Hearing all the information on this thread I also emailed Reliance since I never got the promotion minutes and they added all the promotion minutes to my account today.

I guess emailing to customer service works !!

[jasmin45]

Hearing all the information on this thread I also emailed Reliance since I never got the promotion minutes and they added all the promotion minutes to my account today.

I guess emailing to customer service works !!

I am glad it worked out for you. Hope this thread will help more folks like you to contact them and urge to do the right thing.

[chris@IndiaLD]

Just checked the site, it says 1.99c per minute now. Was it 1c per minute before?

India LD has always been priced at 1.99 cents per minute for 1000 minutes. If you buy our 2000 or 3000 minute plans, the price drops to 1.9 cents. We do flat rate pricing for a block of minutes without any other fees or charges. Promotional pricing designed to hide the true cost of minutes is not our style.

The original post was mistaken, maybe they were getting confused with another company's advertised rate (that happens to leave off its various fees and charges :eek:).

Mods - if you don't want commercial services on here, feel free to delete or email me. I just wanted to answer that question about our prices, or any other questions your users may have.

[jasmin45]

Chris, Please note that we as a community would not appreciate any sales/marketing information related to discussion posted on the threads.

Having said that guys, a quick update on the issue with relianceindia call. Though there was no communication from reliance, I do see that they have credited back the difference between earlier credit and what makes it 50% of talk time as promised into the account this week. I have confirmed with few of my friends who were impacted by this issue to see if they have got the same updates on their accounts, they did. If you were impacted, please check you account and ensure that you have an additional credit for the talk time as per the original offer "gudi padua" or something like that. If not, follow up with customer care (contact FTC if needed, to fix issues)

Though this is nothing of a huge gain but a sense of satisfaction arise to see the results of our efforts to fight the wrong... I would urge one and all to step up and contribute towards IV efforts to fix the GC issues...

Good luck and thanks for the support.

[desitechie]

I use www.indiaminutes.com. Call cell in India for 2 cents and land line for 2.4 cents

I'm planning to switch from reliance and in search for economical cards. How is the call quality and billing experiences?

In this economy, looking at all possible avenues to save money.

[malibuguy007]

Skype works the best. I bought 3 Skype phones - a wifi for me and standard sets for my parents and in-laws. Since we all have broadband we can talk for free, no limit. I used to pay around $30 a month calling India, so will recover my investment in 8 months.

I pay $3 a month to skype for unlimited US and Canada :). I do use Reliance for other infrequent calls.

[niklshah]

Omg,

this thread is still going on????

[nkrishna]

I using Trueroots most of the time, where there is some promotion like buy $100 get $100. And also i also use ActionVOIP, which you have to pay in Euro and it is dirt cheap

[ganguteli]

www.smartvoip.com
www.evaphone.com

one is free for 10 min every time you call. Other only charges 1 cents per min.