The past three months were worrisome for a large number of BSNL customers who were on night unlimited plans. We had first reported (in June 2014) about a possible drastic plan change that would take away the night unlimited part from the price plan i.e., customers would be charged for night usage albeit at a lesser rate. However, several BSNL circles / telecom districts failed to intimate customers on time which resulted in an uproar with customers receiving bills to the tune of Rs. 25000. It must be noted that bills as per usage would never have exceeded Rs. 1000 in all such cases.
TelecomTALK had been at the forefront in reporting this grave concern of BSNL subscribers along with the possible impact on BSNL. Reader opinions reached an all time high for all related stories and we received over 1000+ comments on this single topic.
Story Coverage Timeline
- June 09, 2014: End of a Golden Era: BSNL to do Away with Night Unlimited Broadband Plans?
- July 05, 2014: Unethical Move by BSNL: Customers not Intimated about Major Plan Changes
- August 02, 2014: BSNL Broadband Customers Anxious about Upcoming bills due to Sudden Plan Changes
- August 29, 2014: Is BSNL’s Broadband Strategy Hurting its own Growth and Driving Customers Away?
- Sept. 01, 2014: The Good News
On all the above stories several readers expressed their inability to switch to another ISP as BSNL is the sole provider in their area. Those who had choices did shift away from BSNL.
The Good News!
Today we learnt from our exclusive sources that after our August 29 article, BSNL authorities realized the gravity of the situation and have issued a note to all the circles in the country to resolve billing complaints on an expeditious manner. This indicates that all the customers can expect a positive resolution.
What's Next for Impacted Customers?
Rush to your nearest BSNL office or call up concerned personnel for an update. If you still receive a negative response we urge you to contact higher authorities at state or national level.
Is BSNL too late?
It is unfortunate that a national level ISP like BSNL took over three months to wake up to the situation. Given the fact that it took time till mid-July for BSNL officials to communicate the changes to customers we doubt if all concerned personnel will act based on the present note! Hence, our suggestion above to contact higher authorities at state or national level.
This is what a (old) customer Ramachandran from Trichy said today:
Just now I received email from PG Portal that a refund for Rs. 313 for night usage btw 1/7 to7/7 was provided by BSNL. Thanks for every one especially telecom talk and the friend who gave a link to pg.portal However I have disconnected my LL and switched to MTS postpaid Thanks once again my dear friends. I hope you all receive rebate from BSNL
Had BSNL acted on time such customer exits could have been easily avoided!
Do keep us posted through comments on how BSNL authorities acted in solving the problem.
