Vodafone Drops Defamation Case Against Man Who Talks Too Much

[csmart 472]

I am posting this so that we can act together and garner support from others on the net. This article shows that how determination and net can force an MNC to withdraw a case.

Now we can also start a facebook page or twitter account to target RCOM for cheaper data plan and other grievances. We are struggling to get people sign petition. The reason may be everybody things that petition means a case. It is not true and it is hard to literate people. With Facebook/twitter, people they are posting a comment and not "fighting a case". I may be wrong, but there is nothing wrong in trying. Facebook and twitter will give wider exposure compare to Rimweb.

I tried to find his twitter page without any luck.

Original article

Vodafone drops defamation case against man who talks too much

Mobile phone giant backs down against irate consumer after fight on Facebook

Fifteen days ago, mobile giants Vodafone had filed a defamation notice against an irate customer, seeking to restrict him from maligning the company on the Internet and allegedly harassing their top management with his complaints about their poor 3G services.

Yesterday, under fire from netizens and consumers, the company was forced to withdrawn the case against him "in good faith", perhaps setting the tone of how consumer-services firms, no matter how large, will have to deal with end-users in the age of on-the-go social networking.

On June 3, Mumbai Mirror had carried the an article on how Dhaval Valia, a media professional and resident of Kandivili, had become a celebrity on Twitter and Facebook after he wrote about his problems with the mobile phone company's 3G services, and his bad experiences with their customer care department.

"Finally got Vodafone to admit that across Mumbai they have only 50 percent cell sites on 3G. Spoke to CEO and CMO. Told them that this is blatant cheating," Valia had written on his Facebook wall.

While his post was an immediate hit, it grabbed Vodafone's attention as well. They shot off a legal notice accusing him of making false allegations, misbehaving with a female executive, and causing mental agony to senior managers, whose numbers he had posted on the web page. The company threatened Valia with both civil and criminal proceedings.

In a legal battle between a large corporate house and an individual, it's the latter that is expected to be on the backfoot. But Valia only cranked up his Internet crusade against them.

Vodafone drops case

Over the next two weeks, he posted every development of his talks with the company, and was joined by several others who had similar grouses against Vodafone.

Valia told Mumbai Mirror that he had two meetings with Vodafone officials but the two parties could not reach an amicable solution.

Finally, on Thursday, he received an email from one of the senior officials of the company (Samaresh Parida, Director, Strategy, at Vodafone) saying the company was withdrawing the legal notice against him.

“I would like to reiterate that we sincerely and categorically regret the situation and the mental agony caused to you,” the mail said. Vodafone said they were reaching out to Valia since they valued him as a customer.

“The most important thing was that, as a customer, you were unhappy and our effort was to see how we could provide the service that would bridge the gap and make a fresh start in a manner of speaking. On our part, we have unilaterally stopped communicating to media. Please accept our efforts as genuine,” the mail added.

When contacted, social commentator Santosh Desai, the CEO of Futurebrands India Ltd, said this episode marked a change in the corporate-consumer relationship.

“This is a lesson for everybody. It would perhaps be too early to say that the world has changed, but this shows it has started to. It’s time coproprates understand that there is a huge canvass available for the consumers.

If need be, it can become a collective force that can give one man the strength to take on a giant.”

Senior lawyer Shrikant Doijode of Doijode & Associates said it showed the public was becoming more aware about its rights. “People are now armed with the knowledge of their rights. They know they can take on corporates if they are within the four corners of the law.”

When Mumbai Mirror contacted Vodafone, the company spokesperson, in an emailed response, stopped just short of saying the face-off was damaging the company’s image among current and potential customers.

“Vodafone Essar states that the legal notice served to the customer has been withdrawn in good faith.

Vodafone Essar would also like to take this opportunity to inform that as a customer-obsessed organization, we have always welcomed critical feedback and suggestions from both direct and social media customers as it helps us to constantly improve ourselves to serve their discerning needs,” the mail said.

“We have a strong customer redressal team that looks into the matter and takes prompt action to identify and resolve all the issues to the best of our ability.

Our two million strong community on Facebook, which is the fourth-largest social media community in India, bears testimony to this belief,” it added.

[ravi_patent 28]

chirag

your observation on whats holding back people in supporting petition seems very sensible.

[digitalnirvana 646]

I do not agree, the petition even has anonymous option whereas in social media one has to provide personal details. It is classic behavior of sitting on fence and watching others do the work.

[sougatadc 358]

I got this news on my subscribed news thread from Mumbai Mirror in the morning today.

I do agree that people have immense power in doing something which is considered otherwise impossible, if the people's power is modulated properly. In this case social networking site facebook provided the proper platform. Remember similar but much more powerful movement in Egypt which was mooted by a young facebooker (a girl of sub-thirty) giving an open call to everybody to the gather at the Tahrir Square. Eventually the peaceful uprising that transfixed the world could topple Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak who ruled for almost 30 years. The movement took space of only 18 days in January and February this year to do the impossible.

I consider Dhaval Valia's effort against Vodafore is a ripple effect of the Egypt chapter.

[sougatadc 358]

Read the Tahrir Square phenomenon here.

[rajanmehta 4,056]

We may be missing the REAL point behind LOW response to "Appeal To Reliance For Data Plans"

What Do Many may Think As The "Cause" ?

RIMweb has 48,890 Members. Still we have only 449 Signatures till today in that petition..

A Noble Cause which if succeeds benefits everybody but most members have ignored it.. Leechers.. No willingness to even devote 2 minutes.. averse to legal sounding word "petition".. No responsibility to the community..

Here is the Alternate Reality..

Out of the total 48,890 RIMweb Members, only 1560 members visited RIMweb even once after 15th April 2011 (The Day When The Petition Was Posted)... We tend to over estimate our reach..

Out of that 1560 members (who should be aware of this petition) 449 signed.. Around 28%. Still that leaves nearly 72% out..

What about them? Well, most of them may not be even on R-CDMA, Must have left long back disappointed with many issues and only two re-deeming features, i.e "Tariff" & "Network Coverage"... Both this features are no longer the monopoly of R-Comm.. Other CDMA/GSM networks have come close to matching it in recent times..

Other reason is that most people may abhor "Petitioning" for something which should have been done by Reliance long back in the first place with competitive scenario & many such past appeals..

Nothing has changed RComm's "We care two hoots about you" behaviour over such a long period of time and people may be skeptical whether this "Petition" will?

It simply does not want to listen to it's Customers.. Or for that matter to anything remotely sounding "Intelligent", "Business Like" & "Practical"..

Head burried deep in the sand, Heart pumping barely enough to survive & Mind highjacked by "AirHell" ghosts roaming around..

Though i have signed it, drafted a separate long comprehensive petition for forwarding to "Reliance" and sent to HP, i wonder how long one can really expect people to keep on "Begging" Reliance for removing absurd network usage charges, outrageous data plans, confusion between Phone/Netconnect/Rworld/Win Mobile Data Plans, EVDO off for even OMH sim/phones..

That's the "Real" story unfortunately!!!

And i still believe that We should have sent an email to each RIMweb member about this petition notwithstanding the stated policy of sending only one email every year..

There is a need to Re-Connect all RIMweb members again with not only ONE but many more emails during the year with this and many other events and increase the response/our impact..

Otherwise we will be in the same "Decline" in future as RComm is "Today".

Edited June 18, 2011 by rajanmehta

[digitalnirvana 646]

Rajan bhai even if RCom is not listening what is stopping us from signing a petition that takes a minute and even allows the option of anonymity. There are petitions for save the tiger which have got tens of thousands of signatures, even though there is no evident improvement in how tigers live in this country.

I do not buy the argument of I am not on Reliance so why should I sign, that defeats the idea of collective bargaining, if RCom lowers it's data tariffs due to this, would it not have a spillover effect on other operators? Would other operators not be made to take notice and take preemptive action to improve their customer satisfaction? Would that not benefit all customers?

Ultimately this petition is more than making RCom lower data tariffs, it is about making them realize customer is king. It is about making a corporate organization bow to the demands of it's customers. It is not limited to RCom, so if this succeeds, it sets a precedent which can be emulated elsewhere. If it fails, as now likely, it proves we are all too selfish to stick together for the common good.

Consider the Arab spring revolution. We now laud the Egypt movement but equally, if not more, important was the revolution in Tunisia. In that users from all over the web showed solidarity, they did not say we will not participate because we do not live there. It showed the power of the web in amassing huge numbers against the establishment. When it succeeded, it gave belief to others that this might work. Egypt proved that it will work.

Often the starting trigger is the most important and the most difficult. When the momentum is attained then it is easier. It is a shame that this petition is dead. If it had been alive and kicking, it would have inspired others to challenge the high handedness of corporate organizations in other areas. We talk of corporate social responsibility, it works both ways, corporate organizations need to be aware of the needs of society and society needs to remind and correct them if they err.

[sougatadc 358]

Rajan ji's call is a serious one.

Still I want to confirm whether a user like me is eligible to vote or not. Will I be considered as an outsider if I vote and will my vote be cancelled on that count?

I want to draw attention of Rajan ji to the fact that there are some non-RCDMA subscribers like me also who are here in this beloved forum to get enriched.

Relevantly I recall our silent movement that recently shook the juggernaut of Anandabazar Patrika, the largest circulated Bangla daily from Kolkata. Our relentless campaign on a forum made them to succumb to the increasing pressure and they finally started to use unicode Bangla for the web version. On 1st June, 2011 they finally left the outdated system of dynamic fonts of Beatstream and has accepted modern universal unicode fonts. It's now browser and font independent. Also, saving a page and copying a portion or making a pdf are all now possible. Earlier it would generate junks.

Voting for a cause is something I'm always ready. I didn't vote only because I'm non-RCMA.

[digitalnirvana 646]

Sougata da I am quite sure all members of RIMWeb and beyond who support the petition can sign it irrespective of whether they are on RCDMA or not.

I created the petition before transferring it to Hetal bhai and purposely kept the anonymous option to encourage doubting/unsure members to also sign it. Of course it is better to sign with name but anyone uncomfortable with it can sign anonymously.

[raccoon 53]

Ultimately this petition is more than making RCom lower data tariffs, it is about making them realize customer is king. It is about making a corporate organization bow to the demands of it's customers. It is not limited to RCom, so if this succeeds, it sets a precedent which can be emulated elsewhere. If it fails, as now likely, it proves we are all too selfish to stick together for the common good.

I'm not sure I agree with this part. Well, at least not entirely. Businesses are run with the sole objective of profit (at least in 99% cases). I seriously don't even see these petitions working. Do you guys think that RCom does not know that they would have lost hordes of customers due to such tariffs? Yet, for reasons best known to them, they choose not to make any changes. And yet some customers choose not to let go of them despite much better options elsewhere. I'd suggest you exercise that option. I exercised it long ago. It would be far more effective.

That said, its not like I'm against the petition, though I strongly feel its pretty much like BEGGING like Rajan has already said. And thats the only reason I did not sign it till now. But I'll sign it now in the hope it works for you guys, though I doubt it. Besides if the customer is really king, he should not beg. Its ungraceful.

Edited June 18, 2011 by raccoon

[digitalnirvana 646]

Raccoon I do not want to start debate here but few points

The petition or no one is asking RCom or any company to be philanthropic and be charitable. Requirement is to have parity in data tariffs with other operators.

There are many disadvantages of RCom but it still has sizeable customer base. We can move to other operator but each has its cons. I have read many issues you and others have faced with Docomo/Airtel/TI etc. So simply changing operator is not going to help.

We are consumers they are supplier. If we feel the service needs improvement we have to inform the supplier of it. That is not begging but fundamental right. If consumer has issues with operator then what does s/he do? Call CC, nodal officer, pgp portal, etc. right? In other words, s/he asks for proper service from supplier. That is not begging. Here large number of consumers have same issue and trying to put it forward together through collective bargaining as it will have more effect than individual efforts. This is what this petition is, not begging.

The issue here is everyone wants things readymade. Hetal bhai was willing to take up the lead as he has done for MEID, EVDO but we need to support him showing sufficient demand for the petition so that it can be justified to RCom. But that itself did not happen.

[sougatadc 358]

Sougata da I am quite sure all members of RIMWeb and beyond who support the petition can sign it irrespective of whether they are on RCDMA or not.

I created the petition before transferring it to Hetal bhai and purposely kept the anonymous option to encourage doubting/unsure members to also sign it. Of course it is better to sign with name but anyone uncomfortable with it can sign anonymously.

Dipan, I signed as 454^th petitioner. And I chose to mention my name, so avoided anonymity.

[rajanmehta 4,056]

@dipanlahiri

If there is a suggestion for an Anna Hazare style "Satyagraha" & fast undo death in front of RComm Headquarters at Vashi, Mumbai ( Indianised Egypt & Tunisia) , i am game.

But i am telling you, I won't FAST, forget about till death, not even till afternoon. No way..

BTW story next day in all media will be Reliance alleges a corporate rival conspiracy to defame it and complaints will be lodged with Cyber Crime Cell, Sebi, Bse, Nse, Ministry of Corporate Affairs.

[raccoon 53]

Raccoon I do not want to start debate here but few points

The petition or no one is asking RCom or any company to be philanthropic and be charitable. Requirement is to have parity in data tariffs with other operators.

There are many disadvantages of RCom but it still has sizeable customer base. We can move to other operator but each has its cons. I have read many issues you and others have faced with Docomo/Airtel/TI etc. So simply changing operator is not going to help.

We are consumers they are supplier. If we feel the service needs improvement we have to inform the supplier of it. That is not begging but fundamental right. If consumer has issues with operator then what does s/he do? Call CC, nodal officer, pgp portal, etc. right? In other words, s/he asks for proper service from supplier. That is not begging. Here large number of consumers have same issue and trying to put it forward together through collective bargaining as it will have more effect than individual efforts. This is what this petition is, not begging.

The issue here is everyone wants things readymade. Hetal bhai was willing to take up the lead as he has done for MEID, EVDO but we need to support him showing sufficient demand for the petition so that it can be justified to RCom. But that itself did not happen.

Well, as far as my issues go and my experience with RCDMA in particular and RCom in general in the past goes, all issues with all other operators (except AirHELL) were lot more preferable than those with RCOM. I never regretted for one second after ditching them. In fact I kicked myself many times for not doing it earlier. Anyway, thats me and my experiences. Yours could be different.

I beg to differ when you compare complaints and stuff with tariffs. Demanding redressal for complaints is not begging. However tariff is their prerogative. If one does not like it, one can always leave. In fact I feel it is those who leave who eventually force a change. Rest all does not matter so much. And to the extent that it matters and since you feel so strongly about it, I have done my tiny bit by signing anyway.

[digitalnirvana 646]

Rajan and Raccoon bhai it is not that I disagree with what you are saying. In fact your points are pragmatic and make sense.

It is just that it seems like a lone man's crusade with RCom, somehow feel we have let down HP, this once he asks all of us to show support but it did not happen. Let us stop this discussion now because it is going round in circles plus it is offtopic. I am sorry I deviated from the topic of this post.

[inception 75]

I did not sign the petition because I am not using RCom CDMA, and in my home only my mother uses it as it is very old number. For me Rcom is dead, no good plans, no no-nonsense CC service, their coverage is also poor. They are pushing GSM and 3G just like TTSL is doing.

Whatever I today signed the petition.

[amit.shah 51]

@ inception..

U should help us by informing people and promoting d petition on telecom talk..

Sent from my ADR6300 using Tapatalk

[raccoon 53]

Dudes, if your petition does not work, I'd suggest you start a new petition - a petition for all RCDMA users (or at least data users) to quit RCom. Maybe, just maybe that will bring them to their senses.

And this time the onus of doing something will not be with RCom but with its subscribers. So more begging not required.

[digitalnirvana 646]

There will be few signing that too as we have more doubters than doers. If you check the forum such discussion had come up but nothing happened.

[raccoon 53]

Then things are probably doomed to remain as they are...