I’ve got a Viva line and a friend called me last week and told me that when she called me Arabic music started playing. I never signed up to the ringback tone service so I called up Viva and told them what was happening and to turn it off. Fast forward to this morning and a friend calls me up and tells me the Quran started playing when he called me so he thought he had the wrong number. So I called up Viva up and told them to turn off the ringback tone again and also asked how it got activated in the first place? The call center guy told me Viva activated the Islamic ringback tone as part of their 10 year anniversary. So I got in touch with Viva on Twitter and this is what they had to say:
So basically, on their 10 year anniversary, they decided to activate a paid service on all their customers’ phone lines without informing them. On their 10 year anniversary as a gift to me, they activated a service I didn’t ask for without telling me. How much more unprofessional can you get?
Usually, I would have dropped them as a telecom provider instantly and moved my number to another one but I don’t think the other providers are any better.
I had a second number with Zain I wasn’t using but was keeping for nostalgic reasons. It was my first mobile phone number which I got back in 1995 when I was still in high school. Every month I would log in to the Zain website and settle my bill which was around 2KD. A few months ago I logged in and noticed on top of my usual monthly bill for my number, I had 500 fils to pay for a second number I hadn’t owned in five years.
When I was married, my wife’s number was under my name, then when I got a divorce 5 years ago, we shifted the number to her name. She spent over 3 years paying the bills and then around 2 years ago, she closed her line and moved out of the country for good. For some unknown reason, Zain decided to bill me 500 fils randomly out of the blue 5 years after the number stopped belonging to me and 2 years after my ex wife had closed it. I could easily have just paid it since it was just 500 fils, but it was more about the principle. I went to a Zain branch to figure out how this happened but they couldn’t figure it out so I just paid the 500 fils and closed my account with them and lost my high school number in the process.
I guess Ooredoo is the only telecom I haven’t tried but can’t imagine them being any better.
58 replies on “Are all telecoms messed up?”
They are all the same, anywhere in the world.
I always say that telecoms, banks and insurance companies are the axis of evil. You can always depend on them trying to screw you over.
Tell me, my friend, what other country you tried to use telecom?
In my country only for 1 KD I have 600 min, 600 SMS, and 10 GB perfect 4G internet over all my country.
Kuwait telecoms it is a Stone Age, beyond the services, no customer care.
I’m sorry what country is that? And how much does 1KD get in your country both in terms of exchange rates and PPE. here in the Uk over 20 kd doesn’t get me 25gb with no 4g outside London because telecom services are shite in the north. The customer care services literally Bitch talk to you (even at the actual shop) and switching telecoms is a hassle. Kuwait isn’t in the Stone Age you are just bitter.
PPP*
Seriously? You can get 30 GB and 3000 minutes for the equivalent of 7 dinars anywhere and everywhere you look. And as my hometown is Newcastle, it’s strange that I never have a problem getting perfectly good 4g coverage every time I go back. You can’t get much further North than that in England…
Sorry, that was a dollar conversion. More like 10KD. Still a long way shy of 20…
I don’t think that is true. I used to live in the north-west of England for 4 years until 2015 and had a 15 pound monthly connection from three that provided unlimited 4g internet (no cap), 3000 minutes and 3000 sms’s. Mind you, this was over 4 years back. So i can’t understand where you are coming from.
Is everything that comes out of your mouth a bunch of pure lies?
a little research would spare you the embarrassment.
https://www.o2.co.uk/shop/sim-cards/sim-only-deals#deviceType=phone&contractLength=P12M
20KD = 51 Pounds
The highest tariff on that list is 35 Pounds and that gets you 60GB, unlimited Minutes & Texts, and thats with the most expensive provider in the UK.
In my hometown(Russia, around 8000 km from Moscow, deep province))): home stationery through router, 100mbps, unlim traffic-3 KD. Mobile: 4G, 22 GB, 1200 minutes, upto 70 mbps, coverage is perfect. Here, in Kuwait, telecom is a real scrapppp, most anoying thing just after all this garbage all around the streets)))
Unlimited radiation.
@mad loooooooool
Zain has been near perfect with me. Ooredoo is the worst ever.
Same here, Zain has been near perfect with me.
+1, I am quite satisfied with Zain, especially with their 7 KD internet roaming
+1 i have been using my Zain line way before when they were called MTC. I personally have no issues with my Zain line. My folks have Ooredoo and the service is crap. Most of the time the calls dont go thorough and i get charged. I also took an internet connection with the pocket router from Ooredoo. Man this was a nightmare. I couldnt even use the internet on my laptop if my mobile was connected to the internet. If the service is not good in some areas, then dont sell it to those customers. I complained so many times but no use. So glad that 1 year was over and i switched to Zain. So much better!!
Oreedoo is the worst…
I have a pre-paid line and can’t keep any credit because Oreedoo finds a way to suck it up.
I haven’t switched to a post-paid either for the same reason.
I’m surprised the authorities have allowed this to go on for so long…particularly since they are no longer locally owned.
I agree ooredoo is the worst. In fact they activate these services all the time without their customers permission. Im sorry to hear that viva are going on the same track
I have the same problem with Ooredoo… there is always some rubbish activated that sucks the balance from my prepaid. If you pay the KD12 for a week of global roaming, it does not connect. When you go into a store and try to sort it out with the muppets who work there, they look at you as if you have got 2 heads.
Now i only transfer enough to my account to cover the line renewal on the day it is due.
Is there any regulating body in this country where you can actually log a complaint against this companies and their shitty practices?
Maybe my reply doesn`t really relate, but is still about the telecom practices.
To start with VIVA, just got a subscription for internet with them, 1TB monthly @ 10KD. Can`t complain about the speed , it`s fairly good…but..and there`s always this “but” I just discovered that they have a daily cap of 34Gb which is not mentioned anywhere in their brochures or even in the website (if anyone can find it please let me see it) and the sales person told me there is NO cap on this 1Tb. It`s mentioned though in the line opening paper, which I signed without reading the package description, trusting what the guy told me, so unwise on my side. I went back once I discovered the cap just to be told that if I want to cancel I have to pay penalties or I can upgrade for a bigger subscription, but still with a daily cap, 64Gb this time. Really VIVA? How much crappier and lower can you get? I don`t want a daily cap.
Ooredoo…Just closed my Internet subscription with them after 2 years of suffering and complains, mostly unsolved; I was waiting for the contract to finish hopping for something better. At least they weren`t having a daily cap.
Haven`t tried yet Zain, but honestly , I don`t believe anymore any of this companies is any better.
All telecoms in Kuwait just function in a cartel way, there`s no real competition between them to bring something new to the market or their customers.
There is CITRA they regulate the telecommunications.
The regulatory body first action was to protect the telecom companies rather than the consumers. Their first action if I recall correctly was ban Skype and other VoIPs and ban VPNs.
What a disgrace.
You can complain to the regulator about anything regarding Telecom Issues or Problems by:
Calling: 125
or
Online on their website: https://citra.gov.kw/sites/en/Pages/Home.aspx
They are very good at handling complaints. And will take action to resolve your issue. Tried them a couple months back, and resolved my issue.
I`ll try them out. Thanks a lot.
Just out of curiosity, what do you do online that exceeds a daily cap of 64GB?
PS4 – one game 47GB (I had to get another connection from a friend to do that download).
TV – IPTV 10-12GB/day in standard/HD mix definition
Don`t forget that my cap is 34GB/day, they`re asking me to upgrade the package for 64GB.
I might use all this or not, it should be my choice how I`m spending that 1TB that I paid for, not the telecom dictating that 1024GB/30days=34GB/day. Imagine that you want to watch a movie but you can`t because you already downloaded a game, and doesn`t matter that you still have plenty of that 1TB, you just can`t use any of it because you crossed the daily limit.
Again, my point here is that as a customer I wasn`t informed about it while inquiring and also the info is not available on their web site (I repeat if anyone can find this cap anywhere on VIVA website please point me in that direction).
PS4 – One game 47GB (had to get another connection to be able to download that one)
TV – IPTV streaming 10-12GB/Day in a standard/HD mix.
My cap is 34GB/Day right now, I have to upgrade for 64GB one.
My point is that I wasn`t correctly informed about it from beginning, there is no mention of this cap on their leaflets/brochures or website/FUP (at least I can`t find it) and the sales guy said there`s no limit. Inform the customer and let him make a choice, that`s all I`m asking for. If I`m gonna use or not all that internet is up to me, but for VIVA to decide that I should use 1024GB/30Days=34GB/day, that`s just low, really low.
ooredoo is the worst, especially with data routers. useless.
Also add pushing ads and spam to the evil practices. People told me I also had the Islamic ringtone on my line, I’m gonna check the bill and see if there’s any additions. My number is post paid on a monthly basis. You wouldn’t believe how many times they call every few days giving me offers. I eventually just blocked VIVA’s number. And they still call every few days when I look at the block list.
Been an Ooredoo user (7 lines total for family) and was curious to read the comments thinking people would have something positive to say since you’ve already slammed V and Z.
Interesting that most users hate their own subscription, no matter which one it is. I for one find O offers suitable for our usage (including the free O-to-O calls) and if I overlook the extremely poor customer service, overall it is pretty ok.
PS. Have a standby Z line that receives a lot of spam ad messages!!
You can turn off spam & ads on Zain, there is a certain number you need to SMS to. Google it or ask customer service, I did it long time ago and haven’t received a single promotional messages since.
+1
Did the same on my Zain line and the result is mostly satisfactory, as I don`t get all those spam messages.
However, there`s a downsize, you might not get also important messages from different internet accounts if you use 2-steps verification with sms. Happened to me.
I have an Ooreedoo line since when they started around 20 years ago. I’m usually happy with them as I can’t expect much from other telecoms. I moved from post paid to prepaid couple of years ago as I would receive unexpected bills every month with no relation to the usage 🙂
Now every month I receive an email from Ooreedoo showing my post paid bill. I cleared all my dues when I moved to Prepaid or they would not have activated my line. I went to Ooreedoo and showed them my email but they have no record of it in the system. I asked the employee how this is possible and he says it’s a system bug. Just ignore your email. Welcome to Ooreedoo
You can turn off the ad / spam msgs. I turned them off on zain so assume it’s the same on all providers. Call the customer services and ask how to stop receiving them.
Viva did the same with me and my husband. Ooreedoo charged my dad too. They all suck!
Ooredoo is the same. I had a contract of kd 23.5 and they are charging me kd 25.5 . I put up a complain 2 weeks back as I came to know recently. No actions has been taken so far.
Viva billed me an extra 10KD one month and when I investigated they advised that they had signed me up for games that I never asked for. I asked for a refund …… still waiting.
Call CITRA on 125 and complain. If that doesn’t work, go directly and file a complaint with the Ministry of Communications. These companies usually have lawyers that call you up if you are missing a payment of less than 1KD, its only fair to the consumer that the ball is played on both fields.
I know 10KD might not be significant to some and might not be worth the ‘headache’.. It’s more of a question of principal.
This didn’t happen with me, and the Ministry of Communications has nothing to do with it anymore. They just ask you for complaint number with the operator and they will get back to you within a couple of days.
Ministry of Communications doesn’t have a role in these matter, they are even called the Ministry of Services.
I’m not quite sure what you mean, Ali…
CITRA is an entity under the Ministry of Communications. As I understand it, when CITRA doesn’t live up to their promises, the escalation move you should make is to cite your case number given by CITRA to the MoC (basically you are complaining to MoC about CITRA’s performance)
As for “Ministry of Services”, I’m not really sure that ever existed. Here’s a list of the ministries and other gov’t entities: https://www.e.gov.kw/sites/kgoenglish/Pages/OtherTopics/KGD.aspx
CITRA is not under MOC, its under the Ministry of State. Their minister is His Excellency is Anas Al Saleh. It has nothing to do with MOC.
MOC no longer exists, they call it the Ministry of State Services. Their minister is Her Excellency Jenan Boushiri. Two different entities not related.
Basically, CITRA is the regulator i.e the laws, enforcement, etc. And MOSS is operational maintaining telephone lines, infrastructure, buildings etc.
If you go to MOSS(MOC) unless it related to telephone lines or FTTH issues you are wasting your time. CITRA is the regulator of all the MNO in Kuwait, and they are under the Minister of State. Just like the fire department etc etc.
Hey Mark, I was also charged 500 fils extra on my Zain internet line. I usually pay KD 15.5 per month for 2TB, but this month, my bill online says 16? weird.
Just check the breakdown of your monthly bill and you can find out what that 500 fils charge is for
In this case, ooredoo is the worst. They automatically subscribe you to different packages. I have lost count how many tines i had to cancel those subscriptions on my prepaid line.
I have connections (prepaid) from all the 3 operators, and find Zain the best. I like them the most because unless you have a net package subscription, internet will not work by just switching on the mobile data. Hence, there is no chance of losing money inadvertently. I have lost around 10 KD each to both Ooredoo & Viva in more than one occasion for switching on the mobile data for like 5-10 minutes without a net subscription. A friend of mine recently lost hundreds of KDs in one of the networks while on international roaming, mistakenly thinking that the mobile was on a Wifi connection. It will not happen in Zain.
I have all the 3 connections (prepaid) and find Zain the best. I particularly like the fact that unless you have a valid net package subscription, internet will not work by just switching on the mobile data. Hence, you will never lose money inadvertently. In both Ooredoo & Viva, I have lost all my credit balance (more than KD 10) on more than one occasion by switching on the mobile data with an expired net validity. A friend of mine recently lost hundreds of KDs while on internet roaming, for using the net for less than an hour, mistakenly assuming that the mobile was connected to a wifi connection. It will not happen in Zain.
How can they charge you for a service you did not subscribe to? I thought “taking money” from someone requires agreement from both parties otherwise it is considered theft. No?
please someone elaborate.
Unfortunately I am with Zain and am still waiting to hear back from their investigation team as to why I have been charged 250 fils per day for a year now. I didn’t notice it because I don’t have a ton of credit on my phone at any given time and so it was easy for them to steal this money. They claim I agreed to it but I didn’t and I nor they have a reference number for this text that they claim I signed up to. I have been waiting for two days and so far no response. I asked for the service to be canceled so I can stop losing the money I have on the phone and they said they can’t because they can’t find the reference number. I was planning to switch to Viva but now I am not so sure. Arghhh!
Viva did the same for me. And the best part of it was that I was out of the country and didn’t even use this SIM card. After all the fights, million calls to 102 Call Center, going to the main office, filling the complains, they still insist that I used the internet out of my regular package. Disaster for more than 2 months. And in the end they also subscribed me to their paid service without my knowledge.
Unfortunately from what I see, ppl are facing the same problems with Viva, Zain and Ooredoo. So what is the solution ? Constantly check your balance/bill plus if you are having any unwanted subscriptions. Mad word!
Zain recently posted an ad on Instagram where they have racially stereotyped Indians. Wonder what is behind the minds of Zain’s marketing team when they come up with this stuff.
Aren’t we all some kind of stereotype at the end of the day? Minorities just get the spotlights that’s all
Same shit happened with my zain line 6 months ago.
So what did you end up doing and is it resolved? I am still trying to figure out a solution to this as I just lost the last bit of money on my line without even touching my phone. It seems like another text message must have been done. This is insane.
This is a message I got from Zain last month (11/23/2018). Mind you I didn’t request or agree to any games and never willfully subscribed to Zain Games as I don’t play games. Luckily I unsubscribed before getting charged. Zain steals money imo. Wish we could do a petition here or something like a class action lawsuit would be even better! See the message below:
Please use this password to access all downloaded games from ZainGames: 4331
Dear customer, You have successfully subscribed to ZainGames for free. You will be charged 200fils/day starting from 25/11/2018. To unsubscribe, please r0 fils يومياً ابتداءً من (25/11/2018 لإلغاء الاشتراك يرجى الرد ب UNSUB
الرجاء استخدام كلمة المرور هذه للوصول إلى جميع الألعاب التي تم تنزيeply with UNSUB
Not sure how many of you are aware of this but the technology to purchase data from other countries where it is rather inexpensive and then use it in a third country is already available through a blockchain application called dentcoin. All, or most of the local networks in Kuwait have signed up to accept dentcoin which also doubles up as a crypto currency. I am a huge fan of this technology and can’t wait for it to pick up steam and unshackle the lot of us.
Out of the topic…
All of them have an agreement to charge customers at a same rate.
Previously only Viva was giving other’s two a tough competition based on attractive offers. Now all of them are ripping off!!
Just as an example if your maximum internet usage doesn’t exceed 500gb per month, you are left with no other choice than to subscribe to 10kd/month for 1tb.
On the other hand the landlines & DSL have stopped working after the rain…
I’m also pretty happy with Zain. I think they are by far the best in Kuwait. Pretty good deals, service and roaming options – Usually works well wherever i go from South America to India to Europe to USA.
Used to have Ooredoo it made me scream and cry sometimes it was so so so bad.
Does anyone remember the old days when you could top up with a KD and that lasted forever? I called my mom and got some weird guy advertising about the ring tone which was really annoying, I also thought I had the wrong number. Another issue was with a post paid line that had an extra amount every month even though she doesn’t use it very often. They said she was responding to the messages that they send and that was the extra charge, even though she doesn’t read Arabic?
I had Ooredoo and the internet sucked so I moved to Zain. I have my original number that I got when I moved here and I like to keep it active. Recently however Zain requires you to top up 1.5 KD minimum, a few months ago you could top up with 1 KD. The top up only lasts 1 week and you can’t transfer the sitting amount.
With that in mind I have 15 KD credit on my phone and every week I have to add 1.5 KD more to keep it active. I don’t want to commit to a 2 year contract to pay 5 KD a month.
DO NOT get yourself mixed up with Oreedoo, I promise you will regret it. I tried to cancel a line which was inserted in a camera which I left at home thinking going to the 360 branch and asking them to cancel it for me would be as easy as that. But no, the employees there were excessively snobby and did not seem to care about their work or be very informed, and since “nothing shows up at the system” and I have to cancel it by calling through a phone with an Ooreedoo number, so I had to use phones belonging to employees who reluctantly called and handed them to me. It took so long on the phone just to get the customer service employee to stop repeatedly pushing deals and bargains into my face when I was simply trying to cancel the line, which I made very clear. Just to prove how uninformed those employees were, when I asked to use their phones to call customer care (the line isn’t in my name, but the owner asked me to cancel it as they were waiting outside) the employee literally told me that won’t do becausse of”voice recognition” Excuse me? It’s Ooreedoo, not the FBI!!