Airtel apologises after Neelesh Misra calls out harassment over late mother’s phone bill. See post

In his post, Neelesh Misra described the emotional toll these calls had taken on his father.

Airtel has issued a public apology after renowned audio storyteller and writer Neelesh Misra criticised the telecom company for repeatedly contacting his elderly father about a phone bill belonging to his late mother. Misra took to X (formerly Twitter) to express his distress over the situation, which he described as a source of ongoing emotional trauma for his father.

Misra revealed that his 86-year-old father had been receiving frequent calls from Airtel demanding payment for a phone connection that had been suspended following his mother's death last September. Despite notifying the company of her passing, Airtel's customer service continued to contact his father, causing significant distress.

In his post, Misra described the emotional toll these calls had taken on his father, stating: "Can you imagine the trauma a person must go through saying again and again to your soulless executives that his wife is no more?" He questioned why Airtel had not updated their records to reflect the circumstances, despite repeated explanations from his father.

Dear @airtelindia for gods sake stop harassing my 86-year-old father by calling him constantly to pay the phone bill of my mother who passed away last September (her phone service was suspended immediately).Your last call was two days ago. He gets a call every second-third
Neelesh Misra (@neeleshmisra) August 23, 2024

Following the public outcry, Airtel responded by apologising for the oversight and assuring Misra that the necessary corrections had been made. "We're deeply sorry for the repeated calls your father has received and the pain this has caused. This was certainly not our intention. We have updated the account records and ensured that no further calls will be made regarding the bill," the company wrote on X.

"We understand how difficult this gap of communication must be for you and your family, Neelesh. Please accept our heartfelt apologies," the company stated. Airtel further confirmed that the account had been updated and that no further calls would be made regarding the bill."