Already booked the zero cost Reliance JioPhone, or looking to book one for your data needs? Think twice, the Indian telecom operator Reliance Jio has updated its terms and conditions pertaining to JioPhone. Guess what there are lots of clauses that can essentially cost you more money owning a JioPhone or lose money when you try to return it early.
To the back story, JioPhone which is also termed as ‘India ka smartphone‘ by Mukesh Ambani was launched during the 40th AGM of Reliance Industries. The 4G LTE and VoLTE supported smart feature phone costs you Rs 0 but, all you need to pay is a three-year refundable security deposit of Rs 1500. With the phone, Jio also offers a special Rs 153 per month affordable unlimited tariff plan. You can also upgrade the plan to any of the Jio Dhan Dhana Dhan plans.
Booking for the JioPhone started on 24th August 2017. According to Jio itself, around 6 million people pre-booked the phone, before the company has to pause the booking due to overwhelming demand. For those who have pre-booked, Jio has already started shipping the phones.
Everything seems to be way good until now, as today Reliance Jio has updated its terms and condition for JioPhone. The company has now released the details of return policy, recharge policy and more pertaining to JioPhone. Let’s get into the details.
Return JioPhone before 3 Year, you loose Money
First major clause added by Reliance Jio on JioPhone is the return policy. When you buy a JioPhone, you need to pay a security deposit of Rs 1500. This amount will is fully refundable when you return the JioPhone after three years. Take the words after ‘three years’ or 36 months.
If you choose to return the JioPhone within the first 12 months, Jio will take away all your Rs 1500 security deposit or no refund will be given. But if you return the JioPhone between 12 months and 24 months (after 1st year and before the 2nd year) Jio will refund you only Rs 500. Again, if you return the JioPhone after 24 months and up to 36 months, then Jio will refund you only Rs 1000. On the top of all this, you also need to pay additional GST charges if any.
JioPhone Early Return Charges
| JioPhone return period | Early Return Charges | What you get back |
| Up to 12 months from the date of the first issue of the JioPhone | Rs 1,500 plus applicable GST or other taxes | Rs 0 |
| After 12 months and up to 24 months from the date of the first issue of the JioPhone | Rs 1,000 plus applicable GST or other taxes | Rs 500 |
| After 24 months and up to 36 months from the date of the first issue of the JioPhone | Rs 500 plus applicable GST or other taxes | Rs 1000 |
| After 36 months from the date of the first issue of the JioPhone | Rs 0 | Rs 1500 minus applicable GST or other taxes |
You can return the JioPhone at any time during the period of three years from the date of the first issue on payment of the above “Early Return Charges”.
Recharge every month or lose your JioPhone
Another interesting clause added by Reliance Jio is the repossession of your JioPhone by the operator if you fail to recharge every month. You need to do a minimum recharge of Rs 1500 per year for the period of three years. That’s, you must spend around Rs 4500 only on Jio recharges during the 3-year usage of JioPhone. This will take the overall cost of JioPhone + Jio connection usage charge to minimum Rs 6000 in three years.
Basically, you need recharge your JioPhone every month, as per your Jio plan. If you fail to recharge (for a year or around Rs 1500 in a year), then Reliance Jio can take back your device.
What if you forgot to return after 3 Years?
Further, if you fail to return the JioPhone within a period of three months after expiry of thirty-six months from the date of the first issue of JioPhone for whatsoever reasons, you will lose the entire refundable deposit. In addition, Reliance Jio has the right to receive back or take back the JioPhone from you.