JioPhone early refund: Recharge must be worth Rs 1,500 in a year

New Delhi: JioPhone users can get early refund of their deposit partially if they recharge their phone with a total value of Rs 1,500 in a year, a Jio channel partner said.

Under the new condition set by Jio for the users, handset buyers can get refund of Rs 500 if they return the device in the first year, provided they have made recharge of Rs 1,500 during the year, he said.

"Customers have the flexibility to reach the Rs 1,500 per year usage figure according to their convenience by choosing among the various tariff plans announced by the company," the channel partner said.

Similarly, on return of the phone in the second year, the customer will get refund of Rs 1,000 and in the third year entire amount of Rs 1,500 will be refunded, he said.

Reliance Industries Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh Ambani had announced that the 4G phone will be "effectively free" for users, but to prevent misuse of the scheme JioPhone buyers will need to pay one-time fully refundable deposit of Rs 1,500. The entire money will be refunded to customer after usage of the phone for 36 months.

A query sent to Jio elicited no immediate response.

"The total recharge amount in a year is slightly lower than the Rs 153 per month special tariff that the company had announced for the JioPhone initially. Consumers can achieve total amount with monthly recharge of Rs 125 either at one go or in sachets. Still it's lower than the average amount of Rs 150 paid by individual mobile subscribers for 2G service in a month," the channel partner said.

In just three days, about six million people booked JioPhone by paying Rs 500 in advance. The company has started shipping JioPhones from Sunday and delivery of all phones is expected to be completed within 15 days.

"The early return and refund conditions make the usage more flexible for customers but this also clarifies that customers cannot just keep the phone and not use it," he said.