MNP or Mujhe Nahi Pata service?

With the much-hyped Mobile Number Portability (MNP) service, one would expect customers, who have long been frustrated with their service provider, heaving a sigh of relief. But sadly that is not the case.

Vikrant Jain, a professional in Ahmedabad, was very excited about the introduction of the MNP service. He was convinced that he would be able to switch to a better service provider and retain his old number at the same time. Three days after the MNP was introduced, Jain put forward his request to switch from Reliance to Aircel.

Despite TRAI's norm and the initial response from Aircel to effect the change within seven working days, Jain is yet to get a response from them, even after a fortnight. He also tried sending email reminders to both the service providers, but in vain.

And Jain is not the lone case. Many customers wishing to switch providers are facing the same problem.

Take the case of 68-year-old Nimesh Pujara (name changed) who applied to shift from Reliance to Vodafone. Pujara was denied the Unique Porting Code (UPC), which is essential to change the service provider, by Reliance. "I sent more than five mails to get the status but Reliance refuses to provide me with the code," he said.

In fact, consumers have nicknamed MNP as Mujhe Nahi Pata service, as service providers are clueless when consumers ask for any clarity.

Kalpesh Khara, a professional in Rajkot is yet another victim. Khara claims that he sent an SMS to 1900 on January 22 as he wanted to switch from Airtel to Idea or Vodafone.

"For that I need a UPC, which I will get from their customer care number 1901, after I send them a text message at 1900. I sent the text message thrice to this number. However, despite waiting for more than 12 days, I have not received the UPC to help me switch over to other operator service," Khara said.

"I emailed Reliance customer care more than 50 times and Aircel more than 20 times to get the status of my request but both the companies are completely clueless. When Reliance issued the UPC, Aircel said the code was incorrect. Aircel also said that Reliance conveyed to them that I had signed an agreement with them whereas I have never done anything like that," said Jain.

Jain said he also wrote to the principal secretary of TRAI. "I was told that the UPC is valid only for a fortnight. I can't recharge my number as it would be wasted if I move to Aircel. According to norms, the balance in prepaid account cannot get transferred to a postpaid account. So, I have to make do with a top-up of Rs10 and Rs 20 every day," he said.source