India's leading mobile service providers Vodafone, Idea Cellular BSNL and Aircel are tops on the list of higher billing dispute in several telecom circles during the quarter ended June, 2013 according to sector regulator TRAI's Telecom Services Performance Indicators Report (Metering and billing credibility).
As per TRAI Quility of Service (QoS) benchmark, not more than 0.1 per cent of the total bills raised by a company in a telecom circle should be disputed.
In this report, the percentage of billing disputes against six mobile service providers - Vodafone India, Idea Cellular, BSNL, MTS India, Aircel, and Uninor ranges between 0.11 per cent and 0.7 per cent. Aircel's record in Maharashtra and Goa circle is the worst at 0.7 per cent.
While Vodafone India has maximum dispute (0.54%) in its postpaid segment of Orissa telecom circle followed by disputes in Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab and UP East.
This report revels that state run telecom operators BSNL has billing dispute with its postpaid customers in Assam, Kolkata and Maharashtra & Goa telecom circles.
Aircel has 0.16% and 0.21% of postpaid bills were disputed in Maharashtra & Goa and Mumbai circle. TRAI's report has also revels that MTS India and Uninor for billing disputes in UP West and Gujarat telecom circles respectively.
Idea Cellular has false billing dispute in postpaid bills 0.15% in Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh, 0.13% in Tamil Nadu and 0.12% in UP East.
In case of prepaid balance and charging disputes, TRAI reports named Vodafone India for Bihar and Jharkhand, Kolkata and UP East below quality of service benchmark. Among all operators, Aircel had maximum prepaid billing dispute in Maharashtra & Goa and Mumbai telecom circle.
BSNL was also found non-compliant with Prepaid Billing Quality of Service benchmark in Assam, Kolkata and Maharashtra & Goa circles.
According to TRAI, Aircel and BSNL are the two mobile service providers which could not resolve there billing disputes within four weeks, the time set under regulation as Service Quality benchmark.
TRAI has found in its audit reports that many customers of Aircel, Reliance Communications, Bharti Airtel, Tata Docomo, Uninor and MTS in some of the telecom circles had to wait for more than a minute to get their calls answered.
Reliance Mobile's customers (GSM / 3G) across 17 out of 22 telecom circles and Aircel customers in 14 out of 22 circles had to wait for more than a minute to connect the calls which is below quality benchmark set by the TRAI.
In terms of Accessibility of call centre/ customer care number, BSNL is failed to maintain TRAI benchmark in Assam, Kolkata, North East and Maharashtra - Goa circles while Bharti Airtel could not in Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab circles.
