Vodafone 3G is a farce

Vodafone 3g device no: 9845 the above mentioned device [sharing dock r 101 with usb stick k-3770] was purchased from vodafone store, park street on 29 jun 2012 to enjoy a ‘3g experience’. I was clearly informed that I should be able to get 6 mbps at my central kolkata residence. After several complaints a speed test by vodafone network staff on 12 jul established a speed of 1.8 to 2.5 mbps [copy of test report is with me]. This is more or less the same speed I get on my ‘humble’ bsnl broadband. So far vodafone (a) has claimed the above speed comes under ‘good coverage’ and therefore declined to accept the device back and return my money (b) has raised a bill of rs 2.25 for period 7 jul to 17 jul when the usage was a nominal 0.23 gb and vodafone had not yet established the 3 g experience as their device was being tested. The three tier complaint redressal system comprising (a) customer care (b) nodal officer (C) appellate authority does not work as all them give the same answers. This is not surprising as all of them are officers employed by the service provider. This would suggest that trai needs to evolve a better redressal mechanism where its own officers evaluate complaints after the consumer has gone through the three tier system currently in place. Perhaps my experience will serve as a lesson to others that the ‘3g experience’ promised by vodafone is a farce.