37-2019 How I escaped getting swindled ……

Prevention is better than cure …. here is a true story.

I am apalled at the number of people who complain of poor and irresponsible service from Broadband Internet provider Excitel . To a large extent, the blame lies on the victims. They fell into a trap because they “did not look before they leap“. Just a little more care and precaution would have saved them from all the misery. And now, they want to “lock the stable after the horse is lost”.

A few days ago, a stranger visited me stating to be a representative of Excitel. He was very sweet and very polite, which made me smell a fish. It was clear that he was hiding all the essentials and was dodging my questions. All he was interested in was the subscription/fees which he wanted me to pay in advance and in lumpsum. And after he left, I wrote down all the queries/questions I had and sent them to Excitel’s helpdesk (e mail given in their website). As expected, Excitel failed to answer my simple and strightforward queries, even after two days. I escalated the matter to their nodal officer (e mail given in their website). The mail to the nodal officer failed promptly. I sent yet another reminder to the nodal officer by name (e mail given in their website). This time another person visited my office and very politely took note of all my queries. I knew that they were clearly avoiding my questions. As expected, Excitel came up later with a story that the connection was not feasible. In any case, they had no answer for any of my queries. Strange, that their own reps never knew about this. It is stranger that the same company has offered connections to neighbours on both sides of my house. Good riddance for me.

I now realise that my alertness and vigilance frightened away a potential swindler and trouble maker.

Only your own vigilance can save you. Do’nt blame the swindler if you feel swindled. You usually get what you deserve.