Driving in Noida (Delhi/NCR)

Driving in delhi/NCR is a unique experience. Specially driving cars. I never realized it until i got a car of my own. Riding a bike is better.

I had driven a car for 5 years before i got a car of my own in delhi. But looking at the condition of driving in delhi, i asked a motor driving school to give me 4-5 classes of driving in heavy traffic and thru narrow lanes. And it was there that i came to know that he had tons of students like me. People who were back from the US and were unable to drive in the crazy traffic of delhi/NCR.

Well, let me tell you about a day driving to office.

8:35 AM - I am already late. Generally i wish to be ready to go by 8:25. 10 minutes before time and i avoid the 8:30 traffic. Well - anyways, i start my car and look behind (i have to do a back to get out of my colony), and there are cars everywhere. Slowly take a reverse and move a little to the left and a little to the right and finally get to put my car between a pole and another car. Now all i have to do is take a 45 degree turn and then another reverse and another 45 degree turn before i am through with driving in reverse.

8:40 AM - Wow, it took only 5 minutes to get going. Good timing. Now avoiding the bush to the left and the small open drain at the right, i drive and again avoid the car on the left and another on the right and am finally on the main road.

8:43 AM - Oops, am stuck on the first red light which appears 100 meters from my home. Actually, i am not supposed to stand at the red light, since i have to take a left which is free. But there are so many people, so many cars and bikes and cycles and rickshaws that they have blocked the complete road and unless they move i wont be able to access my "free" left turn. And i look around. A cycle goes by wriggling between cars and bikes. Another rickshaw tries to wriggle but the hole is not big enough for him. I just hope he does not scratch my car.

8:45 AM - finally out of the red light and am driving at speed of 50 - heading straight for another red light. And i see a bike coming from the opposite direction on the wrong side. I move a bit to the right to avoid him and a car whizzes by missing me by inches and blowing its horn.

8:47 AM - Another red light. And buses lined up against each other covering the whole road. Arent they supposed to be on the left most lane. cycles and rickshaws are coming from all the roads in the crossing. The red lights are not supposed to mean anything for them. They are free to cross and create a mess at the intersection. And i patiently wait for the light to turn green. And lo, the light is green. I move ahead and i am behind a bus and a rickshaw. The bus jumps ahead, but the rickshaw moves slowly and no matter how much i honk, it wont let me move ahead. The light turns yellow and the thulla's eyes at the other end turns to dollars ($)($). But i manage to make it before the light turns red again. And the thulla turns sad. He catches hold of the car behind me.

8:50 AM - Another red light. After wriggling between cows standing between the road and 4 cycles (fast friends i believe) riding next to each other covering almost the entire road, and avoiding potholes and speed-breakers similar to small mountains, i am relaxing at another red light. The speed-breakers were terrible. They were not only meant to slow you down, but stop you completely - make you think twice whether they would scrap the car's underside and then drive over them. And now i am looking at another red light. Tons of cycles and rickshaws ahead of me. Some cycles are balancing 3 people on them. That's why circuses dont work in india any more. You get to see circus everyday on the road.

8:52 AM - The light turns green, but vehicles have not started moving. Oh, there is no thulla at the other end and the vehicles from the left side of the crossing are still moving across - even when their signal has turned red. Finally someone realizes and stops and my line moves ahead. The uncle in the santro ahead of me is on his cell phone and is blocking the whole road. He will either smash into me if i try to overtake him or smash into someone else. Better avoid him.

9:00 AM - Dropped my wife. Took a U-turn and am now rushing towards my office.

9:05 AM - Another red light. I respect it. There is a bus behind me. It starts honking. And now the bus conductor comes over and asks me to move a bit to the left so that he can move his bus ahead. What the heck, cant he wait for 1 minute till the light turns green and we all go. No, but he has to move 1 meter ahead of where he is now. No point in argueing, i move ahead.

9:10 AM - I am rushing. I will be late for office. Oops, there are bikes rushing too. Some from the left and some from the right. Bikes in india are meant to zoom, and thats what bikers do, overtake you from the left and the right. Another red light - and i am lucky this time - it is still green - i can rusht through. I give a right turn signal and move ahead - and ZOOOOM... a biker goes from my right side. I hit my brakes - trying to avoid crashing into him. Save a life.

9:12 AM - Now finally i am on the worst road on my route. Where there are more cycles and rickshaws that they cover the whole road. And there are cows in the middle of the road and cars coming from anywhere. I drive slowly. The driver behind me honks and then finally overtakes me from the left - pushing me to the right. I apply my brakes trying to avoid the car overtaking from the left and the car coming from the right.

9:17 AM - Now i am behind 2 rickshaws both trying to race. I honk, but both of them are SRKs. And are racing to win. There are cars and bikes coming from the other side and covering the road. I cant over take them. All i have to do is put the car in 2nd gear and just let the car move behind them. Another bike shoots by.

9:20 AM - The left turn to my office is near. Wow!! Honk for the people standing there to move by, so that i can drive on. They give me "The Eye" and then slowly move on. Hell, i am going to be late today.

9:24 AM - I am in front of the office and am parking. The guard tells me to move a bit ahead and then a bit left and then a bit right and then a bit back. And finally i am parked.

9:29 AM - I run and punch into the office...

Great na... If i had been on a bike i would have made it 15 minutes earlier.

Anyways, just hoping that when i return back home, there are no cars on the path to my parking place. And my parking place is still empty.

indiatimes shopping experiences

I have had a bad experience with indiatimes shopping. And when i was searching for similar people, i came across http://www.whoisdeep.com/2005/10/27/indiatimes-shoppingnahnot-again, where tons of people have written down their experiences.

All i am going to do is put all the stuff here also... I am just copying this material so that the frauds by indiatimes shopping becomes more noticeable. The posts are ordered chronologically that is oldest first and newest in the end.

=============================================================

The orignial entry on 27 Oct 2005

I wanted to buy Lion King 1 VCD for my friend, though Planet M is just 5 mins by car from my place, I decided to order the CD from Indiatimes Store online to avoid packing the cd and sending it to courier. (Wanted to send it to Surat, Gujarat)

All went cool till checkout, at the time of checkout it asked me to enter Indiatimes ID or register, I clicked on register option, registered the ID and then tried to login. The system didn’t allow me to login and asked me to register again….I clicked on Forgot Password link, entered the ID…waited…and suddenly some script error popped up saying page not found or something….

I went to their home page again and clicked on forgot password link from there, it took me to some other forgot password page….I entered my ID, it asked me the secret question and I was expecting it to send me the new password or show option to reset the password but instead of that it showed me my password on the screen…I was like WTF…

Okay…that part is over…I copied the password and logged in using same again but it showed me same error…now I got fed up and just clicked on the register link again….and WTF, it took me to indiatimes dating site registration page…

I entered the details and clicked on submit…hmm 10 seconds…20…30….40 seconds…sucks I closed the window, took car keys, went to Plant M and bough the CD…

It sucked totally…I wonder how they allow new customers to register shop on their site….



Ashish Mehta says
02-Dec-2005 at 3:18 pm


I entirely agree. It truly SUCKS!! I ordered a set of Charlie Chaplin VCDs for gifting to a newphew on his b’day. I ordered 2 months in advance and after many calls, it arrived on the day of b’day at 7pm!!

On another occassion I registered .in domains with them. I will never renew it with them! Their interface sucks big time. I had to make 5 calls and send 10 emails before I had my username and password. All that I wanted to do was change DNS and I had to wait for 9 days to get my username and password. Pretty pathetic! I expected far better services.


Preetha says
03-Jan-2006 at 8:40 pm


I am Completley wit you………….
Its the worst Shopping Portal ever…………….I have had bad experience twice…………it is really pathetic……………
I ordered a Gifts to My mom & Sister in India and everything was fine till they charged my bank and once the payment was done……….the order history just dissapeared…………..I had no means of tracking my package………..
Till date it has not reached my Mother & Sister………………

I woudl never recommend any one this site………..its Patetic……horrible…………………….freaks me out…………

M B Nataraj, Los Angeles says
19-Jan-2006 at 4:55 am


I have been quite an avid internet shopper. I have tried them all Fabmall,indiatimes,bazee and US ones too. Most of them are pretty good. My recent experience with indiatimes shopping has been bad. I ordered an aiptek cam from them, beforehand they called up saying it would be delivered in a few days and nothing happened for several days and suddenly without so much as an explanation or an apology refunded the amount to the card and deleted the order from my order history to erase tracks. Customer service is pathetically powerless and meaningless and there is no contact with those who matter or care. What is disgustingly galling is the item continues to be advertised at the rate I had paid three weeks later. May be the place is inhabited by fly by night operators.


anil says
03-Feb-2006 at 6:38 am


Indiatimes shopping I think is not only the worst site ever I have done shopping from, but also I will say they are cheats.Not only did they never fulfilled my order ,but also are not even paying back my money .And there is no customer service response!!

Definitely will advice to never do any shopping from this site.

A Sircar says
08-Feb-2006 at 10:34 am


This is what usually happens in India. Take the money from the customer upfront and then let him do the running around.

I ordered for some books two weeks back. It has not been sent. The order status shows “under process”. I have written several emails. One would think they would respond explaining the delay. Expect no such thing from Indiatimes.

It appears that they stock nothing and get the stuff you want after you have given them the money. Therefore, it must often happen that they have your money but are unable to find the stuff you ordered in the market.

We need a website exclusively to report such malpractices. I hope someone with commitment and time will set it up soon.


SUNIL NAIR says
14-Feb-2006 at 5:26 pm


i was searching indiatimes shopping contact number or any of their location in google search engine, so that i can just go there and blast them. i found the comments of some freinds who had did the same mistake i had done… iam in muscat ( oman), wanted to send a gift to my wife on valentines day. i ordered for D’Damas pendent, the payment of which is immediately taken out from my account. but the gift is not yet received or no attempt to contact is also done.. the basic purpose of sending the gift with lot of affection and anticipation is lost, if the objective is not met. This kind of cheating should not be encouraged, playing with peoples emotions and money. Let indiatimes shopping go and beg on road, if they want money, but should not extort money from people through this criminal ways.

I have a request PLEASE NEVER EVER ORDER ANY GIFT THROUGH INDIATIMES. ALSO, IF ANY OUR FREIDNS HAPPENS TO GET THEIR LOCATION AND CONTACT NUMBER, PLEASE POST IT IN WEBSITE, SO THAT, THE SUFFERER TEACH THEM A GOOD LESSON ON THEIR PLACE.


gaurav chandra says
22-Feb-2006 at 11:53 am


i ordered a dvd player through indiatimes and sent them a cheque. its a month since then and never got anything. i have been sending mails and receiving any answers. Also there is no contact no. on the website. if anybody here knows any contact no. please forward it.

PLEASE STOP USING INDIATIMES.COM

Rakesh Arya says
09-Mar-2006 at 1:34 am


Needless to add, i am another pained agreeved customer of this hopeless site. I ordered a DVD player ( order no #210007708) to gift it to my relatives from the site which booast of so many benefits/ claims / customer support / service centres. As usual, the full amount along with shipping charges was deducted to my account immediately but there was no update / information / confirmation to me after that. 10 days i was struggling to get information on the web / website / link for a customer support / customer contact no. but i had no clue of the shipping details. Luckily on 11th day the gift was received by the relatives but to our shock it was a broken piece.

From last one month i have been trying to complain to the website / company / Times of India on the defective product and requesting them to change.. but till date i am not successful. If someone comes across the contact no. / contcat mail / of indiatimes.com shopping customer care please pass this on to me or post on the web.

The website doesn’t support feedback / contact mail / or details of the orders after December 2005. I think Indiatimes.com is not only shame on Times of India group but also for india related sites. Such companies / groups / website leaves a bad impression of India all over the world. these companies should be penalised in such a way that promotors are never ever able to fool with customers.

My advice, never ever shop with indiatimes.com or with Times of India group. They are pathetic.


Sunil M Nair says
18-Mar-2006 at 12:00 pm


I had the same experience as read in this site. I ordered and send back the item due to bad quality. The amount is not yet credited back to my account and not only that everytime there is a complaint raised the site gives out a faithful mail and promises to respond back in 48 hours but till now there is no response on the same.

NEVER to shop again on indiatimes.


Hariprashad Baheti says
21-Mar-2006 at 12:56 pm


e-bay is the worst kind of internet site for purchases or for that matter sale.

I had purchased one MP 3 kit via their oction site for Rs. 179.00
[ Item code 5817296056 dated 17-10-2005 ] After receiving copnfirmation e-mail from the seller i e Rist computers Delhi , I had deposited on 20-10-2005 , Rs 239.00 [ this included the packing and forwarding charges ] to the a/c of one Mrs Alika Dogra bearing a/ c no. 629601085041.

First the site threaned me with a strike against my a/ c for non payment but after faxing all the relevant papers they said that the strike is removed . But what about the item ? They arenot responding to my e - mails as well as faxes .

This is the worst kind of experiance I have gone thro ‘. Actually these internet sites are not for Indians . As the seller is always in profit by advertising on the site and after receiving money just keep mum. As the seller knows the rules of land . This clearly shows the mentality of indians just to make money by duping people who fall pray to such malpractises. I am lucky that I have lost only Rs. 239.00 but I am not able to think what would have happened if the cost of merchantise was in thousands .

MY APPEAL TO ALL THE CONCERNS IS THAT PLEASE PURCHASE ITEMS IN OPEN MARKET WHERE YOU CAN CATCH THE SHOPKEEPER ANY TIME YOU WANT . PLEASE DO NOT DO TRANSACTIONS ON THE SITES LIKE E BAY .


thinlay says
13-Apr-2006 at 9:51 am


hi,i am thinlay from himachal.i ordered a mp4(110144535) and made the said payment through the bank draft(651161) but as soon as they got the cash,my account in indiatimes states that himachal is out of service location.they could have mentioned the same in the website.moreover,now i am not even gettin any responses or atleast my money back.i have already made my mind to settle this in the consumer court.how pathetic of times group.if anyone could forward me thee number,its welcome


anil says
16-Apr-2006 at 1:22 pm


It’s the most SHITTIEST portal being operated. Times group is surely losing lot its good name through it. Some things to be kept in media.

1. There is no information about the estimated time of delivery of order

2. There is no provision for cancellation of orders in any scenario.

3. The order related enquiry mails are not replied to at all.

4. Only thing you can do is to either never buy anything from this site or get the transaction cancelled through your credit card incase you have already placed an order.

cheers
anil


kiran says
22-Apr-2006 at 1:53 pm


Hi,
I am another victim of indiatimes shopping. Ordered for nokia 2600 mobile on 15th of April. Still, i didn’t get any reply from indiatimes. They have taken from my account on the next day only. Now, i got a mail from customer care , the product you ordered is a high value product(3600/-), it takes some time to deliver the product after getting the confirmation details from you. They are saying you would get a mail form cnfirmations@indiatimes.com which is asked to fill your details.Still, i didn’t get any mail from this id.They always say like your request will be processed within 48 hours. I am suggesting everybody do not purchase anything on online shopping sites.All are cheaters after taking our money. Better to purchase at nearest shops in your town/city. If anybody knows this customer care number, please inform me.

sumeet ahuja says
04-May-2006 at 5:44 pm


Indiatimes customer care no are 0124-4187000

rajesh anand says
16-May-2006 at 8:02 am


Indiatimes shopping, though they themself say they re great but what i had experienced is the worst ever. I ordered a musice system (philips) worth Rs. 6500\- and though my money went from my account i got no system since almost 3 months..till finally i decided that enough is enough and i call the manager and told him to cancel my order and give my money back, he said he will give after some deductions, i said its okay since i was no where near to get my system, then i got my refund of Rs. 5000/- i dont know why the f*** they deducted the 1500 bucks of my hard earned money…

Dont ever visit that f****** site ever


aditya says
23-May-2006 at 11:01 am


i have odered my bitsat test papers worth rs500 . but didnt receive it till date. my exam is on 26th may and today is 22nd.I have odeded it on 18th .looking at all these it looks like iam not going to get it before my exam wchich is on 26th.

I obviously have to say it sucks.there is no time of delivery gven too.


Ram says
25-May-2006 at 6:49 pm


I’m surprised by the way Indiatimes shopping site is performing. I had a very good experience in it till recently, till I placed my order for books worth INR 2000/-. I’ve been enquiring about the shipment for long and there is no answer to the same. I’m not sure whether Indiatimes understands this as a consumer issue, which could tarnish its image.


raj kumar says
22-Jun-2006 at 5:33 pm


I have ordered one Magazine thru Indiatimes 2 weeks back. But i did not get any book. After reading these messages i have stopped buying thru Indiatimes portal.


Raghu V Nagaraj says
30-Jun-2006 at 2:07 pm


HI All,

I had ordered a Digi Camera on indiatimes shopping. But after seeing all your comments I thought of cancelling my order and cancelled it.

After all this i got a call from indiatimes shopping asking for my payment and i told them that i cancelled it.

Anywayz Point is i have their number now. The call has come from bangalore. For ppl outside bangalore call this number and get the number for other centers.

Number is 08041161395.

Hope it helps.


Ankita Chandra says
06-Jul-2006 at 11:58 am


I was in the process of opening the site of Indiatimes shopping to buy A pen drive, however saw this site and got diverted. After reading all of you ppls suffering ,am in a fix whether to order or not. Best buys/deal are certaily Intitimes shopping url’s usp, but that doesnt compensate in case the service is not good!


Diwakar says
07-Jul-2006 at 4:05 pm


I have been ordering through them for quiet some time now. Everytime they delay and everytime there is no way you can catch hold of them. They never mention their phone number anywhere in the site and have off late stopped acknowledging the feedback mails as well.

This time I had ordered some books through them about ten days back. There was no order confirmation mail and no followup mail either. It’s ten days now and I have written to them twice, they say they will respond in 48 hours at their site, but never come back. I am full of a lot of things and wish I had the phone number of their customer services in mumbai so that I could empty it all on the first person picking up the phone.

This time I am taking a snapshots of all my communication with them and plan to take them to consumer court. I wonder why has nobody done that before when so many people have been cheated by them


Jignesh says
11-Jul-2006 at 10:22 pm


Dear All,

I don’t know if I should worry a lot or not! It sounds that I have to suffer a lot now. I have just ordered a laptop for my girl friend. After two days my order was still showing ‘to be verified”. I tried to send feed back nothing worked. I attempted 15 times

I paid through creditcard. I don’t know if I can still cancel it or not. I hope that I can be little bit lucky!

I hope I hae read this before placing an order.

Indiatimes Site really sucks.

jayakumar says
17-Jul-2006 at 11:43 am


hello bangaloreans,

thnaks a lot for ur comments….i thought of buying DVD player through times of india shopping for myself. After seeing all ur comments i changed my mind. This type of poor shopping should be stopped. Its true that there is no contact information or mail id given in the website.

Jayakumar


Customer Service - Indiatimes says
17-Jul-2006 at 1:57 pm


We deeply regret the inconvenience that may have been caused to our customers. It is our constant endeavour to offer best of customer services. For any query/complaint/ suggestions, please contact us between 9:30 am -5:30 pm, Monday to Saturday on these toll free nos:

1800 180 8800 from MTNL/BSNL lines
1800 102 8888 from Airtel lines

You can also reach us through the feedback link mentioned on the website www.shopping.indiatimes.com


amit says
24-Jul-2006 at 11:55 am


I have ordered for a Happy Birthday Chocolate on 19.07.06 vide order no.110252331, the delivery time of which is 5-6 days. However from the current order status, it is found that it has not yet been shipped.
What sall I do with the chocolate if the b`day of the person for whom the choclate was ordered is elapsed before delivery.
pl advise.


Vikas says
24-Jul-2006 at 12:06 pm


have ordered for a Happy Birthday cake and flowers on 18.07.06 vide order no.110251552, however from the order has not yet been shipped. Birthday was on 20Jul.. please let me know whats the status.. no response from customer service.. I am already holding the line for 20 mins…


Krishna Reddy says
26-Jul-2006 at 12:19 am


I have purchased digicam on india times website on 18th July and my order number is 110251675 . On 19th July they have called to my home and confirmed about the address. But till now I didn’t get any response or the digicam.

I am currently staying in UK. I placed an order on vadofone and they delivered next day itself, they even didn’t charge even a penny.

This is very bad of this organization, they are not even rectifying their faults even after seeing all these bad comments from the customers. Really shameless.

Please give some numbers which we can call from outside of India as well.


Akshaya Bhatia says
28-Jul-2006 at 11:56 pm


I had purchased Aiptek Pocket Cam 4000 from Indiatimes NavBharat Times via the news paper column Reader’s Reward.
And the reward is that LCD display of Pocket Cam is not working. There is no response from Indiatimes.shopping after numerous complaints. Thet had given me a Ticket number. I have been trying for last three weeks. These people have no decency to reply even.
Call Center support is even more useless, they are unable to track my record.It is very tough to get the number to talk and there is hardly any convincing reply.
Pathethic Is’nt it ?!

Regards.
akshaya bhatia


Ashish Bhatia says
01-Aug-2006 at 1:15 am


Hi All,

I had ordered a Motorola Mini Communicator from Indiatimes. It was only after I paid up, I read the reviews of the portal here. I was expecting the same kind of delays but to my surprise the product was in my hand today after just 1 week of ordering.

My diwali soon got over when I switched the cellphone on and found out that
a. Bluetooth doesnt work.
b. MP3 is not supported on the phone (as was written in the description)
c. There was no warranty/guarate card.
d. The phone had actually been bought from USA and is being sold here. I got to this since the adapter has a US style plug. Is this legal in the first place?
e. Since the adapter is a US style switch, I cant even charge the cellphone.

I would call up the customer care tomorrow morning first thing and would hope that they refund my money.

Thanks,

Ashish.

Ashish Bhatia says
01-Aug-2006 at 1:21 am


For everyone’s knowledge,

Indiatimes Shopping numbers are as follows:

Toll free (BSNL and MTNL): 1800 180 8800
Toll free (Airtel): 1800 102 8888
Bangalore Local Number: 080 41104040


Anshuman Gaurav says
02-Aug-2006 at 11:51 pm


frnds i had made my mind 2 buy a mobile set 4m indiatimes. i was much happy 2 see their prices but after reading this page i m much depressed but it is gud for me that i came 2 know the truth before hand.


Rajesh says
10-Aug-2006 at 11:42 am


Hi All,

Don’t buy anthing on Indiatimes Direct to Reader Offer, It comes in Times of India. Its one of worst service I have seen in my life. That is why people don’t buy anything online in India.
I ordered a mobile on 12 July, person came to collect check on 21 July, It is reflected in my bank a/c on 24 th July, they took another 4 extra days, today it is 10th Aug, I havn’t received any product. I don’t know the status, their toll free nos service is very poor. Representatives giving very poor service. I can write a big fat book on this. Best seller of the year. Be aware of India Times on line shopping.


Mandar says
25-Aug-2006 at 10:39 am


This ‘Direct to Reader Offer’ coming in Times of India is a bull**** thing. On July 6th I ordered a 1GB Transcend 120 pen drive and I recieved a low performance version viz. a Transcend v30. Then after I complained they asked me to return it back and assured me that I would get what was shown in the original advertisement. This time again I received a low performance version viz. a Transcend v20. I have been complaining to them thru their Toll Free no. and that service just sucks. They just assure they would get back to you and no one bothers to call you up. As of Aug 24 I have three registered complaints and nothing is done yet. The worst thing is they create a conference call with the original vendor and ask you to clarify the matter with them. Mostly these vendors a none other but some electronic shop owners in Mumbai and they rudely reply to you. When asked the customer representative says that they are just middle entity. I am thinking of sueing them in the consumer court. If you ppl want to participate in my battle plz mail me your confirmations on my email at ‘mandianme at rediffmail dot com’.


Tashi says
28-Aug-2006 at 11:07 am


I have been an IDIOT. I ordered an Item from shoppping.indiatimes and it has been 14days, it has not been delivered. I should have read the comments here but I guess it’s already too late. I feel misrable already. Is there any way to cancell the order becasue I am disgusted with the after sale attitude of the call center execs and the deliver commitment which is not lived upto.

Can some one help?

Like Mandar Says: I would also like to goto the consumer court.

Instead of paying online the indiatimes shopping should be COD (Cash on Delivery), then we can make choice but paying them in advance and item not being delivered on time as commited hurts.

Please Please do not purchase anything from Indiatimes.Shopping

Neo says
31-Aug-2006 at 2:59 pm


Times of India ‘Direct to Reader’ offer is total bullshit. I ordered microwave cookware on 6th august 2006 using credit card. On 11th I got an email and sms saying,it has been shipped (dispatched). Ever since, I have called 4 times at their toll free customer center and every time they say “I have logged a complaint, it will be delivered in 4 working days or someone from tracing team will contact you”. For first two times, they didnt give me any reference no for the call. On my third call, the lady at the customer center told me that if a reference no is not given that means COMPLAINT IS NOT LOGGED. why?????
anyway, this time i got a complaint no. But even this was no good. 5 days later, I called them again. this time also, the guy at the customer centre told me “it will be delivered in 5 days”. no reference no… no tracing…

Ilpakurty Ravi says
04-Sep-2006 at 3:20 pm


IndiaTimes Toll free (BSNL and MTNL): 1800 180 8800, is not reachable. I get a message, your call can not be processed

Sudhakar G says
05-Sep-2006 at 3:08 pm


Hi Ravi,
I totally agree with you..
Here is my story…… All these are the mails i wrote to Times in wain….

Hi,
Please go throught entire email below. If you still need more details I can talk personally & explaint the pain I am under going because of the decision I took to buy a product as per direct to readers advertizement.

Being a prominent reader of TOI for past 10 years, I was impressed with the launch new service “Direct to readers” on your news paper. Also with the products being advertized in that column.
But….. the service I am getting after buying the product is pathetic.
Nobody in India times shopping even bothers to listen to the problem & today I do not have the product with me but still the EMI is being debited on my credit card month on month.
No mails or calls to the india times call center has resolved this issue from 1st of Aug’06 & I do not think people setting in call center have any botheration about my complaint.
Atleast 10 people till now have promised to call me back on this issue but have not bothered to do so.

Date: Wed, 23 Aug 2006 03:50:28 -0700 (PDT)
To: finms@indiatimes.com
Dear Mr.Mandeep,
Ref: Order No: 110245215
Sub Order No: 368724
This is with reference to the above mentioned order, dated 12th July.06. I had placed the order through India Times as per the direct to readers offer on times of india news paper. As per the advertisement given in the news paper & per the info on www. Shopping.Indiatimes.com, (http://www.shopping.indiatimes.com/ism/faces/tiles/product.jsp?productID=983105&catalogueID=195102&categoryID=&parentCategoryID=)
It is mentioned that this model handset supports GSM900/GSM 1800 MHz frequency. As per that, this phone is supposed to work with Hutch Network in Bangalore.
But after getting the handset I tried using my Hutch SIM in this handset & it was not detecting the Hutch Network.
I went through the document in the CD provided along with this handset & I understood that it supports only 900MHz. I called to Mr. Kalpesh of KMI Technologies (+91 9320099778) who has suplied this product, to confirm the same. He intern confirmed the same saying that this handset will not support 1800 MHz network.
With this I raised a escalation case with India times (Toll Free: 18001808800) to return this product, since it does not serve my purpose of using my Hutch SIM on this handset.
India Times Complaint No:197697, 229046, 233297, 238311, 246237, 252495
AFL logistics people picked (AWB No: 114337790221) up this package from my residence on 16th of Aug’06 along with all the accessories & the Free DVD player which had come along with that.
Today I got to know from AFL people that KMI business tech has refused to recieve the product for the reason not to pay octrai.
I request you to please look in to this issue immediately & ask KMI people to take back this product & refund the 2 months EMI amount Rs. 4,498/- you have debited to my ICICI credit card.

Thanks,
Sudhakar


Tashi says
05-Sep-2006 at 3:48 pm


This is atrocious!!! Isn’t there anyway of exposing the malpractice by the sellers of timesofindia.shopping.com or are those guys go hand in hand with times?????? I have been duped too, for last 22days I have been waiting for the product that I purchased on 14th Aug from Deals4All seller, and I am still waiting. This is a FRAUD in the open and no one seem to bother. These guys have to be brough to justice.

“From the perspective of e-commerce in India, the IT Act 2000 and its provisions contain many positive aspects. Firstly, the implications of these provisions for the e-businesses would be that email would now be a valid and legal form of communication in our country that can be duly produced and approved in a court of law.”

This means we should keep all the emails sent to us by the seller or times, which we can produce in court to fight. I have been giving a very strong thought of filing complain in consumer court. If there is nayone who would also like to do the same , lets join hand and fight the evil. “united we stand, divided we fall”


Chaitanya says
07-Sep-2006 at 12:17 am


I even had a bitter experience with Indiatimes. Not from Reader’s Direct but from Indatimes Shopping.

Few months back I purchased two air tickets. I received the tickets well in time. But while bidding there was a note in bold and red color that I will receive two shopping coupans of worth 150Rs each.
Till now nothing came, I mailed them many times, but all went in vain.

In the first place I am happy that atleast received the tickets on time. See how scared we are.

Now I started buying from e-bay. Its cool. But this is India people do cheat and people do get cheated.


Tashi says
11-Sep-2006 at 11:21 am


~ timesofindia.shopping.com ~

Hi, 14 days of wait and the product has not reached me. I purchaed a phone on 14th Aug, 2006 and the same was shipped on the 23rd Aug, 2006 (as order details in times site) but till date the product have not reached, even after several complaints to the call centre.

On the 8th Sept, 2006. I filed a petition in the consumer forum (New Delhi) but have no hope in any Justice becasue the experience in the Forum was not what I expected. WHY?

1. Locating the office was a nightmare.
2. The receiption of the person who takes the compaint was very absolutely cold.
3. The draft of Rs. 100/- made in favour of “President, Consumer Dispute Redressal Forum” was refused.
4. Had to purchase a “Postal Order on Rs.100/-” again and had to submit it blank.
5. Finally my complaint was accepted but I was not given any acknowledgement that I had filed a petition, then when I wanted to withdraw my complaint, I was verbally given a case number, nothing in written. God Save my Soul.
6. I have been asked to report back on the 21st.

Well, that is my story. I just hope that I get justice and atlest get my payment back.

wish me luck folks.

Thanks


Satya says
12-Sep-2006 at 4:22 pm


To add to the above; these motorola phones are not supposed to be sold in India; I had purchased an MPX 220 and the phone is a cracked Cingular phone. The support for Motorola would not support this instrument as they do not have codes for this.
They refered me to Cingular support; I decided to return my product. At this point after 3 weeks of hot pursuit they have picked up the instrument.


meghna says
13-Sep-2006 at 5:00 pm


hi all..i had similar experience for my motorola mpx220…for all internet shoppers i have one advice..before u place any order, please see if the model is resaleable or not..else u wil end up buying a dumped model just like me…mpx220 are no more sold in u.s markets so i guess they end up in our pockets after burning a hole in them…so beware…


Mandar says
14-Sep-2006 at 1:08 pm


Well after a long communication gap, I got a call from the Indiatimes representative….He created a conference call me, the original vendor and himself. The vendor though initially refusing to accept the fact that I had been cheated, later asked me to return back the faulty Pen drive for a replacement. I have mailed it back to him and hope he returns back me the actual one shown in the advertisement! I am still waiting….


Amit Jain says
14-Sep-2006 at 2:07 pm


I also placed order for motorola phone and it is already one month and i havent received it till date.

What the hell their customer care do only god knows

And abouve all they deducted money from my credit card well in advance & i am calling here and there to customer care indiatimes.

What should I do now ,any idea ,any hints

Vincent Morris says
14-Sep-2006 at 5:33 pm


I purchased National geographic from them for Rs. 2500/-
They promptly took payment from my credit card. The transaction automatically got deleted from my history. It has been 3 months and it has not been delivered nor my money refunded. They did not reply to 5 emails I sent them. I sent them a legal notice by registered post to they Delhi address. No reply to that. I finally filed a case with the Consumer Redressal forum. The case will open for hearing on September 21st. Hopefully I will get back my money through the court.


Tashi says
14-Sep-2006 at 5:42 pm


Hi Vincent Morris, It is a coincidence that my hearing is also on the 21st at TIS Hazri. Hope to see you, cos’ more the better.

I ordered an iPAQ for 17K and never received it.

:(

Amit Gupta says
15-Sep-2006 at 2:10 am


Vincent, don’t want to say it but you played dumb. When you didn’t receive your stuff within the time period they said they’ll deliver(wouldn’t be more than 1 month I guess) then you should simply have done a chargeback since you paid via Credit Card. Thats the whole point in paying via Credit Card, that you are safe from fraud upto 90 days from the date of payment. Your money would’ve been refunded to you within a day or so by the bank(& no questions asked) & it would’ve had done damage to Indiatimes’ Merchant Account with whichever bank they have it. If enough people do the chargebacks on not receiving goods, then Indiatimes’ merchant account will be cancelled by their bank as they would come across a dishonest business entity to bank, & they would have trouble opening another merchant account which they would definitely need to accept payments online so then they would really wake up to their senses.


Tashi says
15-Sep-2006 at 10:17 am


Amit, that’s an intresting fact but it doesnt work. Even before my payment via the credit card was claimed by the seller, I had spoken to the banking officer regarding cancelling the payment or like you say chargeback becasue it had been 15 days from the purchase date that I had not received my product but I was refused and I was told that only after 21 days of the purchase date the bank will have legal rights to cancell the transaction. Then on the 21st day, I was too late, the transaction payment had already been claimed by the seller and it was the 19th day after I had made the order.

So for me, even the banks dont come to our rescue, because I think its also the banks turn to make money out of us. Btw, I used citibank credit card.

Today 15th Sept marks the first day of one full cycle (14th Aug-14th Sept).

NOTE : I see there are so many of us, who has something or the other against shopping.timeofindia.com. Isnt there a possibility of group complaint? (Just an idea!!!!@#$)


Vincent Morris says
15-Sep-2006 at 2:03 pm


Hey Amit, I dint do any such dumb thing. Within 2 weeks of purchase I raised a dispute with the Credit Card Issuer. They investigated the dispute and contacted Times Internet division of Times group. Times gave them a Sales Voucher and claimed that it was a legitimate transaction. JUST IMAGINE THAT!! No delivery of item. No reply to my emails. No transaction acknowledgement to me. BUT THOSE BASTARDS SENT THE SALES VOUCHER TO MY CREDIT CARD ISSUER. What the fuck do you do to such arseholes???

Anyway the credit card issuer closed the dispute as a legitimate transaction and took the money from me. Subsequent to which I filed a dispute with the Consumer Redressal Forum. I have also claimed for a compensation for mental torture.


Justine says
15-Sep-2006 at 4:30 pm


THANK GOD… I saw this site before doing any business with Indiatimes.


rahul shah says
16-Sep-2006 at 2:41 pm


My name is Rahul Shah and I am staying at Ahmedabad. Few days back, I have purchased pearl necklace through your website from Surat Diamond Jewellery Pvt Ltd. Since, quality of pearls were not good,so I returned it back. Few days after,call from Times of India came saying that u will received your amount in a week. But 30 days has passed there are no signs. Many times I gave a call but everytime no response. I am fed up with all and worst experince I have ever had.


Rajesh says
16-Sep-2006 at 3:02 pm


I ordered a handycam (SONY) thro’ Indiatimes on 26/7/2006 and on 6/8/2006 I receieved info. from customer care that my order had been desp. thro’ ARAMEX courier on 5/8/2006 and would be reached to me within two or three days. And after a long period I could not received my order but received a call from them that the order had been cancelled due to the reason that the Handycam was not in a working condition and We have not another piece to deliver, but the same u can see on their shopping site for sale till date. And now they asked me to order again. what should i say NEVERRRRRRRRRRRRR….


Raghu says
16-Sep-2006 at 3:04 pm


Hi,
I was wondering, how such a branded organization is maintaining still this web site. I have seen lots of comments atleast 1 person has NOT made good comments. I must say lucky. I ordered one Apicon cam for Rs. 3000, (They says market value 7000+), they took my order and after 20 days a courier has received, but I am affraid to take that, because I have read all comments in this site. Thank you all. Still how they are giving for cheaper prises that too all branded items?


Alok says
23-Sep-2006 at 8:55 am


I totally understand what Sudhakar is going through. Seeing his post Dtd. 5/09/2006 I totally identify with him. He does not mention the phone but by the sound of it, it has to be the Hp Ipaq smart phone 6315 for 17K. I am facing a similar problem with the same phone and awaiting replacement. I too have been in touch with Mr. Mandeep Singh at via e-mail as well. Also the phone in question is branded T-Mobile phone so it is unlikely that they can unblock the phone and make it work with any other network in India LEGALLY!!!! They really suck and someone has to take them to task.


Tashi says
23-Sep-2006 at 3:59 pm


Well, my first time consumer forum experience was good and I have madeup my mind to teach the seller a lesson, possibly.

As the story goes, 14th Aug, made the purchase and I was intimated by mail that the product was shipped on the 23rd Aug by BLUE DART. I was anticipating a prompt, ontime delivery but I was mistaken. I filed my complaint to consumer forum on 08 Sept, then daybefore (21st), I presented myself befor the forum and explaind the entire story, the cost, how the seller claimed the money, the kind of response I received from the call centre, non delivery of the product etc, etc and I am glad that the forum will be sending notice to the seller and timeshopping.com.

The strange thing is that, today 23rd Sept, exactly 30days from the date the product was supposedly shipped. A courier guy arrived at my residence with the product hahahahahahaha!! And you know WHAT? that guy was the rudest of all courier guy i have met and he refused to tell me which courier he was from and when he received the courier blah!! blah!!. As I was told that the courier was shipped by BLUE DART on 23rd. Well, this courier looked BLUE DIRT!! GOOD news, I refused the courier.

I want this fraud guy brought to justice and pay a huge compensation no matter how long this court thing will be dragged, cos’I DONT anyone to be cheated like me.

Hey!! anyone of you planning to the same? I can be of help.

:)


Alok says
25-Sep-2006 at 5:01 pm


Yes I would be interested in taking them to court.


CHETAN MEHTA says
26-Sep-2006 at 1:15 pm


Well, I completely agree that INDIATIMES is the worst shopping site followed by rediff. Both are not publishing contact nos. of Customer Support Dept. They wish to have all details of ours but hesitate to give theirs. If Customer want to get any update about the order status, S/He has to mail and wait. Customers are left with no alternative. Tauba Tauba, Online shopping se. I had worst experience on both sites. Never go for online shopping . And I would like to ask Mr. Rahul Shah of Ahmedabad that on which number he used to call?? I also want to take up my maater on phone too.


binu says
27-Sep-2006 at 6:49 pm


Thanks for all advice was about to buy a sony digicam online…………..India times Sucks!!


Ashish Mehta says
28-Sep-2006 at 10:50 am


All the interface in Indiatimes where they try to sell something is buggy, whether it be a CD or a domain name! I have had a really pathetic experience with their domain registration “service”. I had to make at least 10 phone calls and send 20 emails to get my username and password to manage the domain names. And they keep goofing up.
http://www.ashishmehta.com/blog/2006/03/21/indiatimes-domains-goofing-up-once-again/

If I would have been a novice, I would have felt I am making mistakes. But I have some experience of registering domain names online and know how user friendly the interfaces are!! No wonder, I moved away my domains at the first available opportunity i.e. renewal ;)


Vincent Morris says
28-Sep-2006 at 2:14 pm


I went for my first hearing at the Consumer Court on 27th September. It’s regarding Indiatimes cheating me of Rs 2500 due to non-delivery of items paid for.

The representative from Indiatimes did not even turn up in court!! Just imagine the arrogance of those BASTARDS! Anyway I presented my case and they have re-issued the summons for Indiatimes on 6th October.

I will go to any extent to teach those THIEVES a lesson. I will not rest until then.

Tashi says
28-Sep-2006 at 2:50 pm


WOW!! this makes TWO of us.

I have been asked to reappear on 9/11.

I sure there will be more coming forward to FIX these corporate thugs.


CHETAN MEHTA says
29-Sep-2006 at 11:51 am


Hey All.. why not we all, who feel cheated by these arrogant corporate thugs, constitue a association and take up the matter after establishing a joint identity. We must strive to teach them a lesson. Mr. Vincent, we all appreciate your efforts and if needed and convenient to me, I can come personally as one more victim with you in consumer court.


thinlay says
29-Sep-2006 at 5:56 pm


hello friends,
i got my money back after a constant bug.it took me a month. sincere advice to the novice online shopper: don’t do this,it sucks. we indian are not yet ready. they are just the bunch of crooks.


Naveen says
01-Oct-2006 at 11:22 pm


Came across this page now that I am a victim.

Heres my story:

- Ordered Palm treo 650 on August 20th (~2 days) after seeing Direct-To-Readers ad. Went for 6 months EMI - ICICI bank Credit Card. Ordering was a breeze [Reference number: BAN2108501]
- 22nd August: 1st EMI deducted
- 31st August: SMS from 8888 that product has been shipped - expected to arrive within 7 working days
- 13th Sept: Called Support - assured that product will ship within 5 days. [Complaint number: 285418]
- 15th Sept: Called Support - reassurance [Complaint No.: 290876]
- 20th Sept: Called Support - assured that they will revert within 2 days [Complaint No: 301176]
- 22nd Sept: 2nd EMI deducted
- 25th Sept: Called Support - 24-48 hours for sure [Didn’t bother about a complaint number]
- 1st Oct: Called Support - Will definetely revert within 4th Oct.

One thing to note is that customer support is as incapable as they are good - they respond extremely well, log a complaint immediately, but nothing happens. Worse, they *never* easily agree to connect to their manager or someone who can personally handle this case.

Today, I called them and refused to hang-up unless I speak to someone who can *actually* look into this personally. Finally, a certain Vivek Kumar Singh answered and has assured me to revert before 4th, which I doubt.

2 EMIs have been deducted, no product shipment in sight and it looks like even if the product is shipped, it won’t likely be what I originally ordered.

So, I think we have another case on. I am determined to take this to consumer court and ensure that such evil entities are rooted out from India.

Vincent, kudos to you for taking the first step. I live in Bangalore too. If you could kindly share details on how you went about filing the case with the redressal forum, that would help the cause. Or, maybe I could join-in with your case, if thats possible? Perhaps, if there are others in Bangalore who have had similar experiences, we could fight this case together. Let me know.


Subramanya says
06-Oct-2006 at 6:47 am


I participated in two auctions and made the initial payment totalling 2000 Rs using Citibank. Thank God I am not the winner. I am waiting for the refund for last two days. Looks they do not read the feedback mails.


Tashi says
06-Oct-2006 at 11:18 am


Sad, story!!

But there arnt many of us who really want to pull times.shopping.com to court.

People should know.


rs singh says
10-Oct-2006 at 9:03 am


yes definitely it is a very bad experience with indiatimes shopping. I ordered for a desktop phone in starting of august 2006. they collected the cheque of rs 1400/= within a few days. but now they say that they have shipped the order and it is delivered on 31 august 2006. Till the date ie October 10,2006 i did not recieved my order and they say that one can not meet phycally to any person of indiatimes shopping.


Rakesh Buch says
11-Oct-2006 at 4:03 pm


Hi All,

I have the similar experienced like you people. Still not received my Digi Cam purchased on 30-sep. though it was told to be received within 5 days. Even till date I do not know the status of my order no.110345278.

Will never deal with India Times Shopping in future.


Anantha Narayanan says
12-Oct-2006 at 5:34 am


I am totally in fix what to do.Having read all above remarks,whether i shud ordr or opt out.

Most of the notes are discouraging .

Thanks for the warning


Ramesh says
12-Oct-2006 at 9:01 am


Hi,
(Please read this………)
IndiaTimesShopping is the worst of its kind.
In July I have ordered for a HP iPAQ, not knowing that it is T-Mobile. They took almost 4 weeks to ship the item after repeared calls and complaints.
After receiving the product, I used it for a month. The product had a lot of problems, and finally, the internal speaker of the phone stopped working! Which means, I cannot hearing anything when on the call, alternatively I could switch to speaker phone mode to hear (which is absurd).
I called up Indiatimes, and they have arranged for replacement.
I got back my item (replaced) after 6 weeks!!! That too after going through the agony of making ‘N’ number of calls and lodging several complaints.
As soon as I received the phone, I sold it for much lesser price ( I would have thrown it away in case if they were no buyers for it).
The product was not worth it.
The Indiatimes Shopping sell only those mobiles
1. Which are outdated
2. Which belong to mobile service providers (T-Mobile, Cingular).
Usually, theses companies (US/UK) lease the phone to it’s customers for cheaper prices, for the period of their subscription.
Our Indiatimes approach them, buy these products for a cheaper price, bring them to India and successfully Unlock them.
Such mobiles are usually Outdated (like HP iPAQ 6315, Treo 650, Motorola MPX220, Motorola communicator). Please do not buy these as their respective manufactures are no longer supporting these products.
I am writing this lengthy note so as to make all the readers aware of the risk involved with Indiatimes.
No other shopping circuit (like Circuit City, Best Buy) would cheat the users like Indiatimes.


Tashi says
12-Oct-2006 at 10:20 am


Hi Ramesh,

I did purchase the same (iPAQ 6315) in Aug 14 and after 1 month wait the product was not delivered and then I was forced to goto consumer forum.

Later, after I went to the forum, the product was delivered to me but I refused (twice).

I want the seller to bring the product to the consumer forum and I would like to deal with whoever he/she is. My next date is on 09/11.

If you have some good tip with which I can put the seller in fix then please let me know.

Thankx

PS : Anantha Narayanan, please,please not indiatimes shopping. DONT MAKE A MISTAKE.


Raghavendra says
13-Oct-2006 at 10:58 pm


Hi,

Thanks for your comment. I have booked sony ericson mobile set after reading the the times of india news paper edition oct 9th 2006, times readers offer. After reading all negative comments. i believe i red it in right time.

Raghavendra


Anoop says
17-Oct-2006 at 12:13 am


My God… I can’t believe the level of arrogance and incompetence on the part of the Times Group. I guess they are not the people’s company that most of us thought they were.

I actually called them today just before ordering the O2 Mini S phone and boy was I surprised. Their pre sales team consisted of completely inexperienced and informed executives who just wouldn’t budge and were very uncooperative when it came to providing basic information about the product.

I can only imagine what their post sales support might be like. I sympathize with the rest of you who have had bad experiences. We must all take a stand against this kind of corruption and insolence. Please count me in if there is any kind of group effort against this company.


Ramesh says
17-Oct-2006 at 8:33 am


Hi Tashi:

The item, HP-6315, belongs to T-Mobile. (The logo is imprinted on the mobile). Which means, the mobile belongs to T-Mobile.
T-Mobile is like Reliance (in India) which provides mobile commnunication services.
Imagine someone selling you a Reliance phone?
This itself is illegal.
Usually, service providers like T-Mobile, Cingular buy these items from the manufacturers in bulk for a discount. And they provide these items to the customer who subscribe their services.
To attract the customer, they go for newer models, and dump the outdated ones (to resellers).
Our (cheapest) Indiatimes (or their vendors) buy such (outdated) items in bulk from these companies, unlock them, and sell them in India.
They are providing their own warranty for the item. In case of any software/hardware problem, all they do is replace the item.
Please note: HP is not aware that you have purchased this item!!!! We are not provided HP warranty.
I hope these pointes would suffice your case.
Let me know if you need more info.

Regards
Ramesh


TSHERING DUKPA says
23-Oct-2006 at 6:56 pm


BE CAREFUL IF YOU WANT TO SHOP ONLINE AT INDIATIMES SHOPPING (www.shopping.indiatimes.com) AND www.eBay.com (Formerly known as www.baazee.com)
WARNING TO ALL BUYERS

PLEASE GO THROUGH MY FOLLOWING LETTER, WHICH WAS WRITEN TO THE MANAGER OF CONCERNED CREDIT CARD, TO KNOW WHAT INDIATIMES AND EBAY ARE DOING TO THEIR CUSTOMERS.

Dear Sir/Madam,
This is to inform you that I am a Visa Card holder of your esteemed Bank and have been doing online transactions with the Card regularly for quite long. So far my record for the payments made to the card is concerned, I have paid all dues on time without any pending case and my claim will be vindicated if you kindly go through the past record of my card No.4Xxx-xxxx-xxxx-7xxx. Today I have been compelled to beg for your very much needed help for the reasons given below.

1. That I have been, presumably, cheated by www.shopping.indiatimes [With its Address and Office as:- Indiatimes Shopping, C/o Times Internet Ltd. (Times of India Group), Top Floor, 10, Darya Ganj, New Delhi-110002, India] for the payments made by me for Allen Solly Trouser on 05/10/2006, amounting Rs.1099/- (It was ordered as a Pooja gift to my Brother-in-law); For Stripes Reversible Shirt amounting Rs.561/- on 09/10/2006 (against the consolidated amount of Rs.1150 a portion of which i.e. Rs. 589 was adjusted for Wrangler Shirt which I’ve already received ) and finally Rs.470/- for Natural Drymill Reversible Belt - Black Oxidised Spring Buckle (This too was ordered as gift to be given to my teacher), on 12/10/2006. After seeing their contradictory Remarks against the products I tried to contact them at 011-23278112 and 012-44187000 for more than 100 times but all my attempts proved to be futile and unlike before they did not even bother to answer my calls. I mailed them more than 50 emails, none of them was replied.
2. That in the beginning they behaved very well. They used to call me to confirm even my orders and responded me whenever I called them up at their phones. I started smelling rat when they started giving contradictory confirmation such as “Order Shipped�? without any shipping details, which they used to give me before. Surprisingly the order which was reportedly “shipped�? in the Status column was either shown as “Not despatched�? or “Order Cancelled�? in the Remarks Column and no money was refunded, no order was despatched, vide their Order Nos. 110350702; 110354999 and 110361305. Before that in case the orders were not available, they used to update the status regularly and politely refund the money after retaining the same for about ten days and I too behaved with them politely. But this time they neither refunded my money nor my orders were despatched. Everything will be transperant once you see the Order Details which I am sending you as an attached document alongwith this (e)mail for your ready reference please (In the email). As per my calculation the total money due with them is Rs. 2130/-, vide their Order Nos. abcdefghi; pqrstuvwx and pkhjuiyygf.
3. That Sir/Madam, if you kindly see the need for retaining a Credit Card from my perspective, it is only for online transactions and occasionally for taking Credit on EMI basis. I have never withdrawn money from ATM, except once that I had withdrawn Rs.100/- that too was only for a trial, and I don’t think that I may need to withdraw cash from ATM’s in future as well. In situation like this if you can kindly come out to put pressure on the concerned merchant to get my money refunded or Orders despatched, which I think you can do by blocking their money during any transaction done by using the Credit Cards issued from your esteemed Bank or by using Your Bank’s Direct Payment method or by any method which you feel will be convenient to your good self, I shall have no fear to carry on doing online shoppings as before. If I happen to forgo my money i.e. Rs.2130/-, I may have to rethink to retain my Card as it will be of no use to keep the same if I get the impressión that doing online shoppings are insecured. I always do online shoppings to avail incentives such as My Reward Points and my target is to reach the level of Premium Member and I place Orders for the prices shown are reasonable to meet my requirements. I have already lost Rs.289/- at eBay after repeated try and gave it up since it was a meagre amount. I know Sir/ Madam, although your job is not that of a Policeman or an Advocate, yet you have better understanding and good hold to deal with the Merchant (if I am not wrong) and as a result my case can be settled amicably with your timely inteterference. For me it is almost impossible to convince them because they are neither replying my mails nor responding my telephone calls. I feel that I have been left stranded in the transactions I had made with them having full faith in their honesty transperancy.
4. That under the circumstances, may I request your good self to kindly extend your very much needed help in whatever manner you can please. I am begging for your help purely on humanitarian ground and being one of your loyal and sincere Customers. I certainly believe that you will be kind enough to help me out to ensure that I’ll be able to retain my Card and do online transactions, as usual, without any apprehension of being swindled by these people. So far my approach to them is concerned, I can only take legal action against them but as per their terms and condition the jurisdiction for such action will be only the Courts in Delhi/ New Delhi which I cannot afford for Rs.2130/-. I shall be highly obliged if you kindly do the needful to rescue me from these cheaters.
5. I tender my sincere apology if I happened to have caused any inconvenience to you. I am also sorry if the methods suggested to your good self prove to be to you dislike and hope that you will use your own way to help me out to rescue from these people.

Thanking you in anticipation and reposing full faith in your much needed cooperation,

Yours truely,

Sd/-
(TSHERING DUKPA)
Telephone Exchange,
Deorali Bazaar,
Post: Tadong, Gangtok,
Sikkim-737102


TSHERING DUKPA says
23-Oct-2006 at 7:39 pm


HI REEMA,

comfort of doing shopping sitting at your home at any hour of the day is, no doubt, very much true but if you happen to run from pillar to post for the comfortable shoppings you have done sitting at home any time is very painful. To add insult to injury, if you lose your money for nothing is even worse. If, at all, what you say is true then it is applicable at the sites like Fabmall.com or Rediff.com, but by no means at Indiatimes.shopping.com or eBay.com, etc. Now, I think the time has come for all victims of Indiatime.shopping.com to come together (thru internet) and report their experiences to TV Channels and Newspapers. Let us stop the trend of these cheaters and save others from being their victims.

Regards,

Tshering Dukpa,
Deorali Bazaar,
Gangtok, Sikkim-737102
Email: tshering_dukpa@hotmail.com


Tshering Dukpa says
25-Oct-2006 at 1:18 pm


One of the examples of letters written to Indiatimes.com to show what I was made to do for my own money.

From: Tshering Dukpa
Date: Wednesday, October 11, 2006 5:40 AM
To: indiatimesshopping@timesgroup.com
Cc: icare@timesgroup.com
Subject: Order Nos. 110351722; 110350702; 110345467 and 110354999

Dear Sir/Madam,

In continuation of my earlier letter, dated the 7th October 2006, I would like to request you to kindly do the kind favour of taking the initiative to refund my money, vide Order Nos 110351722; 110350702; 110345467 and 110354999, as there seems no chance of my order being moved ahead of the status “Verfied” followed by “Cancelled for refund” and ultimately “Refunded”. As predicted the same thing happened with my Order Number 110344922 also. By no means I am leveling any allegations to the way your system works (relating to the Orders). I am not able to contact any one at 01244187000 even after my repeated efforts nor can I contact any one at 01123278112 except in the beginning. As a result it makes, naturally, one to get impatient and apprehensive; after all, orders are placed to meet the desired requirements. As a Customer I don’t want my orders to be cancelled, and perhaps you don’t want the Orders to get cancelled either, but when there is no option I want them to get cancelled as early as possible so that I can look out for other options which, otherwise, I can’t do due to credit limit against my Card. I hope you will be kind enough to realize my predicament and do the requested needful at the earliest please. Inconvenience caused, if any, is deeply regretted.

Thanking you in anticipation and looking forward to hearing soon from you,

Yours Sincerely

Tshering Dukpa,
Deorali Bazaar
Post: Tadong
Gangtok
Sikkim-737102

The above letter was followed by many and ultimately I wrote the following letter. This too did not yield any result. Finally my Banker has assured me that they would look into the matter subject to availability of supporting Documents. So, all the victims of these monsters are suggested to retain the Correspondnces, etc. made with these cheaters.

From: Tshering Dukpa
Date: Friday, October 20, 2006 11:25 PM
To: indiatimesshopping@timesgroup.com
Cc: icare@timesgroup.com
Subject: Order Nos. 110350702; 110354999 and 110361305

Dear Sir/Madam,

Despite my repeated requests it seems that you did not bother to take up my case seriously. As a result my patience is running out with every single passing day. I am a peace loving man and don’t want to indulge into any controversy. As such you are requested to kindly review my cases of Order Nos. 110350702; 110354999 and 110361305 and deliver justice to me at the earliest please as justice delayed is justice denied. To be honest, in the long run I shall have nothing to lose in any case. This is my last and sincere request to you to settle the issues amicably. Since my transactions amount goes to the tune of thousands of Rupees I feel really hurt by your attitude. You are neither responding my telephone calls nor replying my mails so what should I presume from such behaviour of yours? Please try to see things from my perspective. Can you guess what you should have done if you were in my place? I have given you many opportunities to settle the issues amicably. Today also I am giving you the last chance for the reconciliation and it is up to you to decide. For me “Delhi door nahi hai” and for that matter even the world is so small. The ball is in your court. I hope you will come out with a positive solution before it gets too late. I also hope that you wont take me for granted and, at the same time, I do not want to prove a point because the misunderstanding, due to lack of communications from your end, has just begun.

Looking forward to hearing soon from you,

Yours Sincerely,
Tshering Dukpa,
Gangtok,
Sikkim-737102

Rabin Shrestha says
26-Oct-2006 at 12:22 pm


Shame on Indiatimes.com. In fact, I was planning to do some shopping at the website. Now, after seeing so many people being ceated by them, I’ve decided to totally stop shopping Online. I know Mr. Tshering Dukpa very well. He is one of the closest men in my life and feel very sorry for him because he is really honest man. Mr. Dukpa doesn’t cheat any one and he doesn’t like to be cheated by any one. My sympathies are with him and hope he will get back his money as early as possible. I can only suggest to all victims to removed the masks from the faces of these cheaters by making their experience public by means of electronic and print media as suggested by Mr. Tshering Dukpa, in his reply to Reema. I’ll take the trouble of walking, rather, 10 KM for shopping but don’t want to be one of their victims.


Suchi Garg says
27-Oct-2006 at 10:08 am


I am another victim of insiatimes.com, but thankfully i hv not lost any money. they ahve a system where we can pay suign netcarrots - and i did just that.
On Oct 3 I orderd a book - and paid entirely using netcarrots (good for me)
I havent recvd the book yet - and the order status says that he order has been cancelled. In the meantime I had sent 5 mails to those guys using thir feedback form (they certainly dont trply to those mails)
After reading this thread today - i called up their customer care number and talked to a highly inefficient person - and of course he doesnt know why the order was cancelled. I tries to talk to the manager or somebody senior - but nobody was around. Finally I got a complaint number - and a promise that somebody will be contacting me pretty soon. (the only thing that guy was good at was saying Sorry)
Thankfully I hc not lost any money on this - but the issue is not the money. The issue is the trust a consumer puts when he buys something from awebsite. One thing is for sure - i will never ever shop again on this site.


TSHERING DUKPA says
01-Nov-2006 at 12:55 pm


IMPORTANT NOTICE:

TO ALL CONCERNED I AM GIVING THE CONTACT NO. AND EMAIL ADDRESS OF INTIMES SHOPPING’S BUT I DON’T THINK THAT THEY WILL HELP YOUR CAUSE BECAUSE THE PEOPLE OUT THERE AND THE ENTIRE SYSTEM IS ONE WAY.

Telephone Nos. 01244187000 and 01123278112

Email:1. indiatimesshopping@timesgroup.com
2. icare@timesgroup.com
True it does suck big time says
11-Nov-2006 at 4:14 pm

I do not have faith in any of the indiatimes group products. The newspapers have less news and more masala, “direct to readers” offer only has gray market stuff and havent seen a rightly priced hotel on its travel site… See one more case of fraud in the link below…

http://mytreo.net/forum/index.php/topic,666.msg321899.html#msg321899

Naveen says
12-Nov-2006 at 1:09 pm


Well, I got my money back! After repeated calls and not budging from my position, I have been successful in forcing them to refund my money. It took 3 months, but I am glad. Indiatimes, we are done.


Suchi Garg says
13-Nov-2006 at 8:39 am


good news from my side as well. I sent an email to 1. indiatimesshopping@timesgroup.com
2. icare@timesgroup.com and several other email ids i found on their site and in the email i threatened them of taking legal course as well.
Finally one fine day i recvd my book - anf after that, i recvd 2-3 mails from them saying ur book has been dispatched, ur book has been delivered etc.
Wonder which email id did the trick :)


TSHERING DUKPA says
13-Nov-2006 at 2:00 pm


I think you guys are very lucky in comparison to me. It is almost one and a half months that I have been waiting for the refund or the order but I could get none. Ultimately I am keeping my fingers crossed to see the light at the end of the tunnel as my case has been taken up by the concerned bank. Hopefully, it will deliver goods sooner than later to me. Justice delayed is justice denied and for that matter I have been, already, denied the justice I deserved. Now, in the name of any consolation I am expecting at least my bank will help in getting back my money. Friends plz do pray for me and will do the same for all my fellow sufferers cheated by these frauds (?).

Tshering Dukpa,
Gangtok,
Sikkim-737101


Tshering Dukpa says
18-Nov-2006 at 3:07 pm


DEAR FRIENDS, AT LAST MY MONEY GOT RFUNDED BY THE INDIATIMES GROUP. I HAD VERY BAD EXPERIENCE WITH INDIATIMES SHOPPING, MAY BE IT WAS POSSIBLE BY YOUR MORAL SUPPORT, PRAYERS :) AND THE SUSTAINED EFFORTS MADE BY MY BANK THAT THE MONEY I, ALMOST, HAD GIVEN UP GOT BACK TO ME. MY SINCERE THANKS TO ALL THOSE PEOPLE WHO HELPED ME IN GETTING BACK MY HARD EARNED MONEY. THE LESSON, WHICH I GOT FROM TIMES GROUP, HAS TOUGHT ME IS “THINK BEFORE YOU JUMP” AND THE WOUND I GOT FROM THEM WILL NEVER BE HEALED. THE GREATEST CONSOLATION I GOT IN THIS TRANSACTION WAS THE HELP OF THE CONCERNED BANK.

WITH WARM REGARDS

TSHERING DUKPA,
DEORALAI BAZAAR,
GANGTOK,
SIKKIM-737101



TASHI says
25-Nov-2006 at 3:37 pm


Well the comments above by “Indiatimes customer care” is just to reassure that if you buy any product from them then those numbers have to be byhearted, cos’ there’s gonna be lot of calling.

I had pursued times-shopping for quiet sometime but never manged to get their cooperation.

I had no choice but to resort to Consumer Court and since September I have been attending hearing and my next hearing is on the 5th Dec (last one I guess) and I hope this will be the final show down.

If there is anyone who would like to approach consumer court, I would gladly help. Bringing these cheaters to justice is a must. I think, by bring these cheaters to book by all who are cheated can really make a difference to those innocent new victims.

Let join hands and fight this fraud.

I am not giving up and I will not stop.


Tshering Dukpa says
03-Dec-2006 at 7:51 pm


Dear Friends,

This letter of mine is in reply to that of India Times Shopping, Customer Service. If I am not wrong, similar assurance was given by the Customer Service even before but there was no improvement in their dealings. As someone has rightly said, “Sorry doesn’t make a dead man alive”, faith once lost is lost for ever (Once bitten twice shy). I’ll be the last man on earth to shop again with them and I’ll discourage my entire near and dear ones to shop with them. I wont recommend anyone to become a victim of his or her own “HARD EARNED MONEY”. I know, myself, how I had been harrssed by them for my orders. No…..No..Not again my friends!!!!! Sukriya Mehrbani to all those who fought for their own cause or others’. Hopefully, I will not have to write on this site again but my heartiest thanks to the gentleman who opened this website whis has been working as a “Consumer Forum”.

Tshering Dukpa
Deorali Bazaar
Gangtok
Sikkim-737102


Vincent Morris says
08-Dec-2006 at 4:02 pm


I FINALLY GOT THE ITEM FIVE MONTHS AFTER PURCHASE.

I went for 3 hearings at the consumer court. They ruled in my favour and send a notice to Indiatimes. They processed the order within 3 weeks.

FOR THE PAST 5 MONTHS THEY PUT ME THROUGH SO MUCH OF HASSLE. During this battle Indiatimes did not even bother to reply to any of my emails. They are just plain ARROGANT ARROGANT ARROGANT.

I PROMISE NEVER TO TYPE THEIR URL IN MY BROWSER AGAIN. I HATE THEM!


Upendra says
13-Dec-2006 at 7:06 pm


Even I had a very bad experience on Indiatimes.

I booked an airline ticket online.It showed many options of the Total cost for 1 Adult + 1 Infant. I choosed the lowest price,which took me to Spicejet site.I filled in all the details and then when the e ticket came it had only one Adult name. I called up spicejet and said that I booked for Two. But they said, no its for one person. I had to pay extra for my daughter. I called up Indiatimes 5 times, wrote to them, but never got a feedback or my extra money back.

This guys are there just to fleece you.

Beware..


Gitesh says
25-Jan-2007 at 3:00 pm


Hi!
I just purchased Sony Ericsson T68i after seeing the add in news paper from Indiatimes. First of all they did not collect the cheque before 5-6 days from the order date. After 10 to 15 days they deliver the product. When I check - the display of images were not correct. After few days its key-pad and joystick was failed. And its batrray was good. It did not attach correctly. I complaint many times by mail. But no body replying. Even local service centre of Sony Ericsson raised their hands helplessly.
Can any body help me out.
It is a great loss of rs. 3000/- to purchase a moblie from Indiatimes shopping.
Do not trust them.


ashu says
30-Jan-2007 at 11:56 am


I trusted them as they belongs to very famous newspaper and did not read all these reviews here and on mouthshut.

I ordered a item worth Rs. 8500/- and after many calls its showing status “Shipped with courier company [SAFEX].
and now I don’t know which courier company this is.

The nearest match is SAFEXPRESS which deals in Cargo & containers.

and Indiatimes guys says their system is down ,so they can not see the details.


Vijay Anand says
10-Feb-2007 at 9:35 pm


Indiatimes shopping sucks!

Reasons:
1. They don’t have all the products that they so proudly advertise.
2. Their customer service is poor.
3. The call center guys are rude.
4. You cannot reach a higher official or escalate the problem.

The only thing they do best is to debit money from your credit card and they are so prompt at that.

I ordered a Windows XP GGK on 1st February.
My payment was verified on 2nd February.
And nothing after that.

Wonder when the status will change from “VERIFIED” to “SHIPPED”…

I tried calling customer care and the guy abruptly cut me off.. twice!!

Now that’s unacceptable! I guess many of you would have got similar experiences.

We gotta expose these guys! I guess the news channels could do something with this.. what say?


Manish Kumar Maheshwari says
12-Feb-2007 at 8:41 pm


I didn’t read this page before I booked a Sanyo frost free refrigerator 700 Litre on January 29th 2007.
They were quick in taking money from my credit card. Further to it, the experience has been hell. The CSR would commit the delivery in the next 4-5 days, which would never occur. I lodged a complaint with CSR (who says expect a call in 7 DAYS from the tracing team [they are good at negotiating days.]), and I am planning to move ahead to the consumer court. Also, I plan to instruct my banker to take back the money transacted through credit card.


chahal says
15-Feb-2007 at 4:41 pm


For a change looks like I had a relatively better experience. I ordered flowers for valentine’s day. it didnt reached on 14th. when I called on next day of delivery, I got good response from CSR at 01123278112 (someone name Om Prakash) . He agree to give me direct contact of vendor ‘Sparsh Floral Express - 9891026575 mr Gautam’. I called him and he was embarrassed for his mistake and replied they will deliver it right now. I just got a confirmation mail that its been delivered.


kumkum says
26-Feb-2007 at 3:37 pm


I am interested to purchase something from indiatimes I was trying on toll free number But it never called on that number pls give me any direct contact numberRegards
kumkum


Jayant says
01-Mar-2007 at 9:57 am


Well, even i had the worst shopping experience ever with indiatimes. Had ordered flowers on valentine’s day and they never got delivered. Well, to top it up, i made a complaint and asked for a refund. Nothing happened. So i called them up. They had marked the previous complaint as “query - resolved”. So i made another complaint and asked for a refund. I was assured that the refund will be done in 4 working days.

But it seems that they never work, since i have not yet got my refund.

Indiatimes suck big time. If there is a way we could ask the credit card and online banks to blacklist them, it would be a great favour to the online users.

Suggesions anyone??


Milind says
05-Mar-2007 at 7:32 pm


I tried too teleshop from this site. Toll free number is very difficult to connect. The advertisement does not have enough information to order on cell. It just says SMS SHOP3 to 8888. When I tried I got return message to send complete address. Finally I managed to get them on telephone. But the payment terms and customer unfriendly. Thanks god I went through customer reactions on this site. I decided not to order on this site.


A says
12-Mar-2007 at 5:50 pm


I had a terrible shopping experience on Indiatimes, where my order was not processed, and money was not refunded either for over 10 months. I finally searched through the names of the Timesgroup CEO, Board of Directors, etc and sent them emails for over thre weeks. Looks like this has done the trick, and my money has been finally refunded! You can also try sending mails to these people in case your complaints are not addressed: ‘vineet.jain@timesgroup.com’; ’sunil.lulla@timesgroup.com’; ’sumir.chadha@timesgroup.com’; ’surendra.jain@timesgroup.com’; ‘indu.jain@timesgroup.com’; ‘mahendra.swarup@timesgroup.com’; ‘dinesh.wadhawan@timesgroup.com’; ‘upen.rai@timesgroup.com’; ’sk.jain@sequoiacap.com’; ’sumir.chadha@sequoiacap.com’; ‘indiatimesshopping@timesgroup.com’; ‘icare@timesgroup.com’


Patrick Sequeira says
13-Mar-2007 at 8:16 pm


I had a similar experience shopping with Indiatimes Shopping.

I had ordered a all-in-one printer model 4355 with 1 GB pen drive offered by them. I received a wrong merchandise which I communicated to them immediately on next day of the receipt. I had been pursuing with their helpline center regularly to take it back and replace. It took nearly 3 months for them to agree to take back the merchandise. Since then I have been pursuing with them for the refund.

They are now insisting that the order cannot tbe cancelled and trying to dump it on me.

I would like all the persons who have faced similar situations with Indiatimes Shopping should come to gether and teach them a lesson. Persons interested should contact me on my email. patrick@rediffmail.com.


hetul says
19-Jun-2007 at 5:41 pm


I have ordered a Sony Ericson’s p990i from them , around 10 days back.
after going thru these stories.. am worried . Just found out the phone is at the octroi.. and has not been cleared due to no documents provided.
The cell phone has been send without any supporting documents.
It was shipped by some seller called 1st wholesaler,
does anybody have his contact??

Thanks,
Hetul


Nirbhay Prakash says
24-Jun-2007 at 10:37 am


I was about to invest money on one of the product of Indiatimes.com advertised via luring ‘Readers offer’.Thanks to all of you for sharing your experiences with innocent shoppers. I have dropped the idea of shopping from the indiatimes.com. it’s better, you pay some 2-3 grands more and get a good product from the market than inviting mental hassles from Indiatimes.com


Pushpendra says
25-Jun-2007 at 11:17 am


Hi Hetul,
Even i ordered the same P990i phone on 9th June…I am too worried..till now no information regarding the product.The customer care people are telling it is not shipped till now.Since i paid through credit card it will take more time…Hope you would received the product.How is the quality of product shipped?? Please help me..\
thanks in advance


Fasi Rahman says
17-Jul-2007 at 4:28 pm


Hi,

I ordered some toys & gifts for my relatives in India & 5 days passed, no response from Indiatimes portal… I find it very unprofessional.

Surprisingly the basket (”My Cart”) still remains outstanding & Two orders added in my outstanding order which I never ordered.

Am chasing Inditimes to findout whats wrong & no one seems to respond, eventhough they claim that all sales related questions are answered in 48 hours, its 5th day & still waiting.

Am thinking of taking this further with Verisign of some intermediate authority & more over I dont hink the payment page is sufficuently encripted.

Any contact number or suggestions or comments you people can give.

Thanks
Fasi Rahman

Subhro mukherjee says
21-Jul-2007 at 7:02 pm


i have ordered a harry potter 7th book online through inditimes and they were supposed to deliver it today .
but still waiting anxiously for it , i have failed to receive it, it should have been better for me to get it by the book seller alone . i therefore strongly recommend indiatimes to view the matter seriously. the order no. is attached below….10698566.
thanks .
subhro mukherjee


Pratiti says
22-Jul-2007 at 5:33 pm


i had pre-ordered the 7th book of Harry Potter and not yet got it. What’s the point in pre-booking something if i am not going to be able to read it on time. It’s totally unethical for them to behave like this. adding to which i can’t even find any contact to get in touch with them. order no is 110696142. i really feel indiatimes should look into this matter seriously. can anyone give me their contact number plzzz…


Israr Ahmad says
26-Jul-2007 at 12:53 pm


Hi,

Really it is bullshit portal. I ordered a Sony Erricson P990i to to gift some one and fill the shipping address of that person. Indiatimes send me a mail that your credit card billing address is different with your shipping address. It is really mental haressment. No customer care no is given. I have paid the amount using credit card what to do ????

Please away from this shopping portal.


Tashi says
26-Jul-2007 at 1:13 pm


I honestly feel pity for all you guys !!

I have been a victim too and for last 11 months I have been waiting for some justice but don’t seem it will ever come.

In India the rich and powerful ruleZ. My case has been lying in the consumer court for last 11 months and it is still dragging.

I have given up any hope of a refund and hope of justice from the consumer forum.

I hope that anyone who wishes to purchase anything from timesshoppin.com be AWARE.

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