Charged ₹1699 for a replacement physical SIM (NRI owner). Did I get scammed and how do I complain?
My physical SIM was deactivated due to a technical glitch in the Airtel Thanks app during an eSIM upgrade. I went to the airtel store in Hyderabad. The airtel employee explicitly told me the app eSIM process is broken and they don't allow customers to do it themselves.
The number is registered to my brother, who is currently in the US. The employee took my brother's NRI documents via WhatsApp to process a manual SIM replacement.
He charged me ₹1699 for this new physical SIM (I was stressed about losing my number so paid him quickly without thinking much, it was only few days later when I researched about it and learned that the cost for new Sim is usually 50-200 rupees).
It took 7 to 8 days to get a working sim, but the network finally activated and I can make calls and use mobile data now.
My questions:
Is ₹1699 the official Airtel fee for processing a manual NRI SIM replacement, or did this employee pocket the money? I read the official cost is ₹50.
What is the exact escalation path to report this specific employee for extortion and get a refund? The 198/121 IVR bots are useless for store-level complaints.
Please do share what I should do next?