# Du Recharge card Error - Lost AED 100



## creative4art (May 3, 2011)

I bought a Du Recharge card for AED 100 from a Grocery Store near Union Metro Station. I was on my way to Fujairah and got on the bus with the card. Shortly after I scratched the card and entered the code into the Phone. I get an error message saying "This card has already been redeemed". The bus already left the station, so I could not get back to the store to return it.
It was evening (around 2:45pm) when I got back from Fujairah. I went to the Grocery store and I told them that this card has no value because it has already been used. The Store keeper started getting worked up for no reason. Saying - They do not have a clue if the card works or not. They just buy it from sales agents and sell. Go to DU customer service center and tell it to them. 
The nearest one was in Ghurair Mall or something. I spoke to the customer care rep, and he scans the bar code of the card and says the card has already been used on September 2nd (the day this happened was Sept 20th). The supervisor says they cannot do anything because of what the System says. They cannot even register a complaint in their system because they suspect it might be a case of Fraud. They totally ignored such a thing is even a valid issue for a customer and let me on my way. 

Sad and depressed I went back to the grocery store and I told them the issue. The sales guy is just saying the same lines over and over again. Its like they earned the 100 bucks and did not want to give it back. I told them that this card was already used on Sept 2nd, and today is the 20th, so how can I just pay 100 for a card that has already been used? They said its not their problem. This guy did not have the common sense to understand my problem, so I asked for the shop owner's number. He was hesitant to give it to me saying that He may cut it from his salary. He gave me a business card on which the owners number was there. I tried that number and it says not reachable. Perfect. This is turning out to be the most shady store I have ever been in. 
He said the owner will be there at 6pm (and it was 4:30pm now). Plainly assuming that this guy was telling the truth, I started waiting there painfully for 1.5 hours. He gave me a chair to sit on, and then after that he says its an hinderance to the customers (it was not), and told me to sit in a corner. I was like - What the... I have no interest in sitting here... If you give me the proper numbers I will leave right now. There isn't anyone experiencing any major difficulties right now over here. 
1.5 hours later, he says I can talks to this guy, and points to another guy who is just like him (not the owner). And this guy also talks in the same tone as he did. I knew that this is not getting anywhere, so I started making some phone calls. 

Called Du Customer Care again to register a complaint - Spoke with someone and explained the case, they put me on hold to talk to their supervisors and said Sorry we cannot help you at this time. 

Called Dubai Police and after 10 holds and transfers, I finally get the right department. I explain the case completely to him, he says its Du's department. Call them up and hangs up. 

Then a Cop vehicle passes by the store, and I stop them and explain the whole thing to them hoping that they could convince the store keeper to either return my 100 or give me another card. They called Du Customer care, talk to them for 10 mins, called the store keeper out, spoke with him for 10 mins... and then finally said... yalla kalas... contact Du...this is not our problem. Even the Cops gave up on this!!! If it was a card that they bought from the same store, the story would have been different. 

So there I was... no one to turn to. It was around 7pm already. That's over 4 hours of running around and no result or justice. 

What bothers me is... when Du scanned the card, they could match the same bar code which matches the Same amount with the same voucher code and still say the card is Fraud?? Thats like a weird coincidence. 

The Question is, if tomorrow you buy a card form a Store, and it turns out to be invalid... chances are you can just forget about it because nobody will take responsibility for it. 

If Du accepts that its Du's fault, then they are going to loose some major money for this.

What would you do!?!? 

Lesson learned - Always scratch a card and check in front of the store to see if everything is ok.


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## Akhils39 (Aug 31, 2011)

creative4art said:


> What would you do?


Dont lose your hope for your $$$!
File a complaint to Telecom Regulatory Authority.

http://www.tra.gov.ae /consumer_affairs.php 


Fax : +971 2 611 8240

Or you can sent a letter to editor of gulf news which they forward it to du, if the complaint is not resolved then they will publish the complaint.

Hope it get resolved 

Sent from hell


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## zin (Oct 28, 2010)

My suggestion. Start topping up online. You just discovered the problem with scratch cards.


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## creative4art (May 3, 2011)

Akhils39 said:


> Dont lose your hope for your $$$!
> File a complaint to Telecom Regulatory Authority.
> Or you can sent a letter to editor of gulf news which they forward it to du, if the complaint is not resolved then they will publish the complaint.
> Hope it get resolved
> Sent from hell


Yeh, but Du will say that they receive several Fraud cases like this every week... They could say that I picked it up from the road??? Since they are aware of such an issue, I am pretty sure they have text book answers to get out of it.


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## creative4art (May 3, 2011)

zin said:


> My suggestion. Start topping up online. You just discovered the problem with scratch cards.


Yep. Been doing that ever since.


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## societedubai (Oct 17, 2011)

Hi,

I suggest to go to any DU shop, and tell them your story. I am pretty sure they will assist you, by checking the case and even giving you a new card.

Rgds


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## creative4art (May 3, 2011)

societedubai said:


> Hi,
> 
> I suggest to go to any DU shop, and tell them your story. I am pretty sure they will assist you, by checking the case and even giving you a new card.
> 
> Rgds


I did go to a Du shop as mentioned in my post. All they said was - We understand your situation but there is nothing we can do at this point. They even said the card was not theirs and was probably fabricated elsewhere...??? Which is nonsense because the barcode and info was in their system. 

They gave a bunch of responses. None of which was favoring my situation. 

No help from Du, No help from the Cops and Justice system. Boooooo!!!


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## zin (Oct 28, 2010)

Quite frankly the amount of time you spent on the matter for 100 aed probably cost you more.


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## creative4art (May 3, 2011)

zin said:


> Quite frankly the amount of time you spent on the matter for 100 aed probably cost you more.


It is true. I guess it was the curiosity whether a genuine problem like this could get resolved.


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## CDN2012 (Jun 15, 2011)

zin said:


> Quite frankly the amount of time you spent on the matter for 100 aed probably cost you more.


That's besides the point. If I only spent 20 AeD I would want my money back. Du at least should of registered the fraud and out of good faith gave him his money back instead of giving dumb excuses. 

But this goes back to the other post about poor customer service in this country. When the police and DU won't do anything about fraud, I don't know what to say.


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## Tropicana (Apr 29, 2010)

I am surprised Du did not register it "because it might be fraud", !

The shady nature of the store makes me inclined to believe the fraud is on their part and not on Du's part.....


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## creative4art (May 3, 2011)

CDN2012 said:


> That's besides the point....
> When the police and DU won't do anything about fraud, I don't know what to say.


Exactly. Its ridiculous.


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## creative4art (May 3, 2011)

Tropicana said:


> I am surprised Du did not register it "because it might be fraud", !
> 
> The shady nature of the store makes me inclined to believe the fraud is on their part and not on Du's part.....


yeh but that makes you think.. how can the Barcode, amount and Voucher code match up to the card that is on Du's system? If it was a fraud-fabricated card, what are the chances that all these 3 will be identical to what is there on Du's database?


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## CVDS (May 10, 2011)

creative4art said:


> I bought a Du Recharge card for AED 100 from a Grocery Store near Union Metro Station. I was on my way to Fujairah and got on the bus with the card. Shortly after I scratched the card and entered the code into the Phone. I get an error message saying "This card has already been redeemed". The bus already left the station, so I could not get back to the store to return it.
> It was evening (around 2:45pm) when I got back from Fujairah. I went to the Grocery store and I told them that this card has no value because it has already been used. The Store keeper started getting worked up for no reason. Saying - They do not have a clue if the card works or not. They just buy it from sales agents and sell. Go to DU customer service center and tell it to them.
> The nearest one was in Ghurair Mall or something. I spoke to the customer care rep, and he scans the bar code of the card and says the card has already been used on September 2nd (the day this happened was Sept 20th). The supervisor says they cannot do anything because of what the System says. They cannot even register a complaint in their system because they suspect it might be a case of Fraud. They totally ignored such a thing is even a valid issue for a customer and let me on my way.
> 
> ...



Wow Sorry this happened to you! But thanks for the story because I will definitively be more careful when I purchase my cards!!!


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## Jynxgirl (Nov 27, 2009)

I never buy those cards. I get them from the same gas station. I had been forwarned about this. One time they tried to hand me one that had been printed earlier. I asked for them to print a new one. It may have worked fine and I could have probly put it in my phone right then and had them do another if hadnt worked, but it is better to just be sure. There is zero consumer protection here and to say someone cheated you can end up getting yourself in trouble with the police for ruining someones good name... even if they did cheat you. Be glad the store didnt cause a stink about you causing problems in their store. 

Get to know your local store worker and make friends. Especially if you are going to the small stores where prices are subject to change....


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## BedouGirl (Sep 15, 2011)

Isn't there a new consumer rights body here now? Perhaps it's worth giving them a call?


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## Akhils39 (Aug 31, 2011)

BedouGirl said:


> Isn't there a new consumer rights body here now? Perhaps it's worth giving them a call?


Yeah heard about it and it seems they have stands in major shopping mall.

Sent from hell


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## creative4art (May 3, 2011)

BedouGirl said:


> Isn't there a new consumer rights body here now? Perhaps it's worth giving them a call?


Is that what "Ahlan" is all about? I have seen their stalls in IKEA- Festival City Center mall.


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## BedouGirl (Sep 15, 2011)

Not sure what you are referring to - Ahlan is a girly mag as far as I know? This is what I was talking about http://www.consumerrights.ae/


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## creative4art (May 3, 2011)

BedouGirl said:


> Not sure what you are referring to - Ahlan is a girly mag as far as I know? This is what I was talking about Department of Economic Development :


Lol... maybe that sign board was next to the one I was looking at. 

Will check the website out.


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## BedouGirl (Sep 15, 2011)

Good luck and happy reading


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## zin (Oct 28, 2010)

Looking at the website the service is called Ahlan Dubai and they aim to "resolve" an issue within 2 working days. I find this incredibly optimistic and suspect their resolution would involve responses the original poster faced!


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## Akhils39 (Aug 31, 2011)

creative4art said:


> Lol... maybe that sign board was next to the one I was looking at.
> 
> Will check the website out.


 gulfnews.com/business/general/mobile-monitoring-units-to-tackle-consumer-problems-in-dubai-1.883826

Sent from hell


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## creative4art (May 3, 2011)

zin said:


> Looking at the website the service is called Ahlan Dubai and they aim to "resolve" an issue within 2 working days. I find this incredibly optimistic and suspect their resolution would involve responses the original poster faced!


Ah I knew it was called "Ahlan" something! Will definitely submit my complaint report there.


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## ccr (Jun 20, 2010)

I commend you on your perseverance, it must be on principle.

Personally, I would have written off that 100 AED as bad luck instead of taking on hours of stress and anxiety in trying to recover it.


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## Jynxgirl (Nov 27, 2009)

Not sure if the OP falls in this category, but to quite a bit of people in the uae, 100 dirhams is quite a lot of money.


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## creative4art (May 3, 2011)

Jynxgirl said:


> Not sure if the OP falls in this category, but to quite a bit of people in the uae, 100 dirhams is quite a lot of money.


I know.. thats like I just donated a week worth of groceries to some stranger!


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