Freecharge.in Review - It Sucks & I Totally Hate It!
Freecharge.in - the dream service that promises to make your recharges free by providing you with coupons worth equal to the amount you've spent looks too good to be true. The concept is cool and it's worked for several people. But not for everyone. What's wrong? Well the 'disclaimers' and the 'tiny text' that we often ignore that describe the 'conditions' under which you can use the coupons. Just a few moments ago, I recharged my Tata Sky account with Rs. 1000 and the service offered various coupons worth Rs. 1000. I was a happy person.
So I decided to pick following coupons: Barista Coffee, PVR & Naturals Spa. I was confident that I'd get a chance to use the coupons in the next 30 days. I paid Rs. 1010 for Rs. 1000 recharge and got all the coupons delivered to my email. Everything looked perfect until I decided to read the 'fine text' that accompanied the coupons.
For PVR: I can use the E-Coupon only when: 1. I buy one ticket and then get one free. Max discount I can get is Rs. 150 using one promo code 'per transaction' (SMART!). 2. The discount can only be availed when I'm watching a show on weekday - Monday to Thursday - for all show timings before 11:59 AM? 😨 (seriously, guys?) 3. If the price of the free ticket exceeds Rs. 150; I'll have to pay the balance from my pocket.
Result: The coupon is basically useless. I'd rather pay Rs. 100 from my pocket than remembering all these terms and conditions and then arguing with the uniformed personnel at the ticket counter. Meh!
For Naturals: 1. The billing must exceed Rs. 500 to get the discount. 2. The coupon code can only be availed at Bangalore @ HSR Layout, Bellandur and Jeevan Bhema Nagar Outlets (why did you not tell me earlier?)
Result: Useless coupon.
For Barista: 1. Valid only if I order ONE Cappuccino; so that I'll get another free. 2. You can't combine multiple codes in one go.
Result: Useless coupon. I don't like Cappuccino. I wasn't told that coupon works only for that tasteless coffee.
...and I wonder why I paid Rs. 10 more for all this mess. From next time onwards, I'm going to recharge directly from the official websites of the service providers. Goodbye, Freecharge!
So I decided to pick following coupons: Barista Coffee, PVR & Naturals Spa. I was confident that I'd get a chance to use the coupons in the next 30 days. I paid Rs. 1010 for Rs. 1000 recharge and got all the coupons delivered to my email. Everything looked perfect until I decided to read the 'fine text' that accompanied the coupons.
For PVR: I can use the E-Coupon only when: 1. I buy one ticket and then get one free. Max discount I can get is Rs. 150 using one promo code 'per transaction' (SMART!). 2. The discount can only be availed when I'm watching a show on weekday - Monday to Thursday - for all show timings before 11:59 AM? 😨 (seriously, guys?) 3. If the price of the free ticket exceeds Rs. 150; I'll have to pay the balance from my pocket.
Result: The coupon is basically useless. I'd rather pay Rs. 100 from my pocket than remembering all these terms and conditions and then arguing with the uniformed personnel at the ticket counter. Meh!
For Naturals: 1. The billing must exceed Rs. 500 to get the discount. 2. The coupon code can only be availed at Bangalore @ HSR Layout, Bellandur and Jeevan Bhema Nagar Outlets (why did you not tell me earlier?)
Result: Useless coupon.
For Barista: 1. Valid only if I order ONE Cappuccino; so that I'll get another free. 2. You can't combine multiple codes in one go.
Result: Useless coupon. I don't like Cappuccino. I wasn't told that coupon works only for that tasteless coffee.
...and I wonder why I paid Rs. 10 more for all this mess. From next time onwards, I'm going to recharge directly from the official websites of the service providers. Goodbye, Freecharge!
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