Mumbai’s District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (Central Mumbai) has ruled against Vodafone Idea, ordering the telecom giant to pay ₹50,000 in compensation for mental harassment to a senior citizen. The judgment, passed on Monday, found the mobile service provider guilty of service deficiency, which caused the consumer inconvenience along with mental and financial distress.
The complaint originated from a Mumbai resident who had purchased Vodafone Idea’s international roaming pack (I-RoamFree) on May 2, 2019, for a duration of 28 days. This plan included unlimited calls and 5.2 GB of data. The complainant began using this plan during his trip to Kenya and consumed 75% of the data. Subsequently, he traveled to Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, assuming the area was covered under his roaming pack. Despite not receiving any notifications from Vodafone Idea that the region was not included, after using 124 MB of data, his mobile service was abruptly discontinued. The company then imposed a hefty charge of ₹72,419 on him.
Service Non-Restoration Issue
Upon returning to Kenya, the complainant appealed to the company to restore his services and allow him to use the remaining data, but the company demanded approximately ₹60,000 for the restoration. After seeking assistance from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and other authorities without receiving any response, the service remained discontinued for about 40 days, forcing the complainant to eventually pay a bill of ₹86,290.
Vodafone Idea’s Argument
Vodafone Idea contended that the complainant was aware that the I-RoamFree pack was only applicable in 77 countries, and Zimbabwe was not included, hence standard charges were applied.
Commission’s Decision
The Commission acknowledged that upon his return to Kenya, the complainant had the right to benefit from the I-RoamFree pack as he had purchased it for ₹5,999 for 28 days and had not exhausted the full data limit. The Commission found the company guilty of failing to restore the service and incorrectly discontinuing it. It ordered the service provider to compensate the complainant with ₹50,000 for mental harassment and ₹10,000 as the cost of filing the complaint.
