Subject:  How does it feel to be ripped off by Ufone.
Date:  Wednesday, December 21, 2005
To: All the concerned authorities (if there is any).
CC: <Editor, Herald>, <Editor, Spider™>, <Editor, Daily Jung>

I was unhappy with the Mobilink’s service and was looking for chance to switch to Ufone.  I and Mobilink were like a couple having lots of arguments about separation, but no one choosing to be alone after separation, instead they are looking for an opportunity to find another partner and then make the switch.

Monday, 03 May, 2004, in Daily Dawn, Ufone announced they are re-opening their new connections.  Delighted with the wish coming true, several other customers (I would prefer the word victim here) like me rushed to buy the Ufone connection, only to find five days later that they were ripped of for rupees 1101.  It was advertised in Daily Jung, dated Sunday, 09 May, 2004 that the fee for the same connection was slashed down from rupees 2600 to rupees 1499.

The strategy adopted by Ufone came as a rude shock to the people who had stood in lines the first five days believing Ufone’s claim of superior connection and customer care services.  In just five days, Ufone’s so-called better services had deteriorated to such a low level that they were openly advertising in the newspapers giving the impression to those customers that they were cheated into buying an expensive connection which was actually worth half the amount they paid!

Mobilink, with the fact that they are known as ‘May Be Link’, still keep their eyes locked into the customer base.  They do decrease the prices, but the change is not that drastic.  I agree with the fact that a product deteriorates with time, but in five days, the product deteriorates for half of the price?  Even Mobilink’s Jazz has not deteriorated in five days to such an extent.

It might be true that Ufone has increased their customer base in competition with Mobilink, but it is on the expense those victims.  If Mobilink starts GPRS or MMS service at a price lower than Ufone (which they always do), will Ufone hold the loyalty of those unhappy customers?  I think not, considering the number of people who bought connections in those first five days, Ufone has not one but thousands of victims (I mean customers) who are unhappy.  They feel unhappy and ripped off simply because they were not offered anything in compensation to the price difference that offered to the rest of the public after 9 May, 2004. 

The marketing gurus of Ufone failed to appreciate that the customers who came on the first call were more loyal than the ones who simply came for a cheaper deal and will easily drift away on any other cheaper deal.  Ufone has proved that they no longer believe in their competitive technological services. Instead they are resorting to cheap marketing strategies and the act of breaking customer’s trust.  Despite having a technological edge over Mobilink, now they have created a niche in the market with the fact that they have acted like a ‘baniya’ when it comes to ripping off customers.  

As for me, I am still retaining Mobilink connection along with Ufone connection, however, just to prove the distrust, as soon as Mobilink starts their GPRS and MMS services, perhaps I would be posting an “On Sale Ufone connection”  billboard on Schon Circle.  For now I will raise my voice, and mail this letter to all the leading newspapers, magazines or online forums.  I wish I was having an anti body in Pakistan with which I can sue Ufone for ripping off customers.  Ufone does owe those customers an extra credit or some free air time, after all it’s the customers who made the paycheck possible for Ufone staff.

Signing off, 
A Ufone User.
The writer can be reached at
[email protected]

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