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Reader's Mail

WorldSpace, anyone?

I own a WorldSpace radio (Rxid:0700000000106800). After the expiry of my subscription I got a call from a WorldSpace executive last November offering to renew my subscription for the next 15 months. I gave my credit card details. Next month's credit card bill showed that I had been charged for the same. But till December I received no update from WorldSpace on my renewal password.

I lodged a complaint (No. 251220060238048) wherein they acknowledged their error and promised to act within 24 hours. To cut a long story short, in spite of repeated complaints (No. 070120070268601 and No. 040220070324360) there is no resolution.

I have communicated to them that I no longer wish to subscribe to their service and want a refund.

"We will get back to you soon on this," they say, but there is still no resolution.

I wish there was a tribunal to monitor such complaints against a company that is using our air space to transmit/receive signals.

They just want us to mass buy their uni-functional radios and depend forever on their service or non-service. My set is now just a paperweight. Does anybody want to buy it at half price?

Jeetesh Lingam,

151 F, Pocket A-3,

Mayur Vihar Phase III,

New Delhi - 110 096.

Taken for a ride

I enrolled for the MCSD.net course with New Horizons India Ltd at NBCC Place in New Delhi on November 3, 2006. But the harrowing experience I had at the institute was not what I had bargained for.

The institute enrolled me without informing me that a basic knowledge of C++ was necessary to keep pace with the course. They later admitted this fact and advised me to join another institute to learn the basics or attend a five-day Object-Oriented Programming basic concept class at the institute. So I started going to the institute for this short course, but they never bothered to conduct the classes as promised.

In the next couple of weeks, there was no progress and I could hardly attend any class due to non-availability of teachers and frequent change of timings. Realising that I had been wasting my time after my arrival in India (I have come from Mexico) I requested the institute, on November 20, to cancel my registration and refund the fees (Rs. 21,000) which I had deposited at the beginning of the course. However, the head of the programme advisers, Neeraj Awasthi, assured me that they would start the classes seriously in January since I was going away for three weeks to Kerala.

Later I called up a number of times to find out the new schedule for my classes. On every occasion I got different dates and there was no confirmation of any date.

On January 22 I met Mr. Awasthi, after a prolonged wait, and he promised that my classes would start the very next day. But to my chagrin, I realised that I was put in a class for advanced course instead of the basic course. I got fed up and informed the institute of my intention to discontinue and sought refund of money. However, the institute has not bothered to reply.

I have lost four months since I first visited the institute in October. Now it is impossible for me to join another institute for the same course as I have to leave India by May this year. Though I cannot get back my lost time, the least the institute can do is return my money.

Shelbi Joseph,

1, Prashant Apartments,

41, I. P. Extension,

Delhi - 110 092.

No, Airtel....

I had an Airtel mobile post-paid connection (9810337858) which I asked to be disconnected in December 2006. It was disconnected at my request made over the Internet. On the 18th of December, Airtel Customer Care rang me up at my residential phone (011-27948858) and informed that one of their representatives would be coming to me to collect the formal application.

The representative (Rahul, 9910464636) came and collected the formal application along with the SIM card.

But now the connection is being shown in my name and the mobile bill is coming at my address. On January 31, a bill for the period 26-12-2006 to 25-1-2007 was delivered at my address though I am no longer availing of the service.

I have taken up the matter with Airtel Customer Care once again but in vain. I hope they set matters right now.

P. C. Bhandari,

A-2/275, Sector 8,

Rohini, Delhi,

Calling Shah Rukh....

Big B's "Namaste" or "Namaskkar" gave a Lucknawi start to "Kaun Banega Crorepati". King Khan now should use the magic of Urdu in welcoming his guests to the hot seat.

Instead of using stereotyped, cliched words he must tap the beauty and power of one of India's most beautiful and rich languages: Urdu.

It is human nature for people to try and copy their favourites' style of speaking. The use of Urdu by Shah Rukh will not only add a new flavour to the programme, it will also uplift the language.

Ritu Bisht,

C-2159/3, Indira Nagar,

Lucknow - 226 016.

Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day has come to be associated with a lot of hullaballoo in our country. Every year there is a clash of opinions on the subject. The so-called "moral police" of our country suddenly wakes up to protect our dignity by threatening shops selling Valentine Day cards and gifts. Young couples are harassed in public.

But can we in reality protect the dignity of our country in this manner and by these means?

Zar Afshan,

B.A. (Hons.),

Women's College,

Aligarh Muslim University,

Aligarh.

(Letters for this column may be sent by e-mail to wsins@thehindu.co.in. They must carry the full postal address of the writer and should be marked "Reader's Mail".)

151 F, Pocket A-3,

Mayur Vihar Phase III,

New Delhi - 110 096.

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