Cellular phone problem

Cellular phone problem

When Telkomsel started issuing its Kartu Halo card, I was one
of the first customers who rushed to get one of these seemingly
new and improved GSM cellular phone services. But I was
disappointed to find out that many parts of Jakarta would not be
covered by Telkomsel. I frequently called the customer service at
Telkomsel to ask what was wrong with my cellular phone or if
there was something wrong with my Kartu Halo card.

I was repeatedly told that the technician was working on the
problem, and "sorry, madam you cannot receive any signal at the
moment".

I received this response for a year.

I excused Telkomsel for not having immediate area coverage in
Jakarta because I thought that like all new companies, there are
many trials and errors. So I waited patiently for Telkomsel to
improve its services. For one year I could not receive a signal
either at my office or at home. These premises are where I spend
most of my time and where I conduct my business as my source of
income.

On one occasion, I was waiting for an important phone call
from a client. After trying to contact me all day on my cellular
phone with no success, he decided to give away an important
business deal to someone else. This left me hopelessly standing
by a so-called "mobile phone" with no signal to either call out
or receive incoming calls.

Due to this unnecessary mishap which jeopardized my business
deal, I rang Telkomsel's customer service again and demanded that
someone explain to me whether it was my handset's default or if
the card was blocking activity outside my home? The woman
handling my complaint was not very pleasant and told me one of
their technicians would call me back to tell me what was wrong
with the number. I never received a phone call.

After waiting for the call for three weeks, I received a
billing letter from Telkomsel saying that I had not paid an extra
Rp 400,761 subscription fee from June 1996 to July 1997.
Thankfully, I keep all my paid monthly billing statements. I
don't understand how I can have outstanding bills yet unsettled
with Telkomsel. Shouldn't every customer pay according to what is
stated in the billing statement sent by Telkomsel? Why was I
charged for something not clearly stated with no detailed
description of all the outgoing telephone calls? Besides, if I am
constantly unable to get a signal, how could I possibly be
incurring charges beyond my normal monthly bills?

The letter says to pay up within seven days or else Telkomsel
will block outgoing calls.

MINA TANDUN

Jakarta