Watch out! BSNL cheating on D1 night time billing!. Review on BSNL Dataone Broadband Service

BSNL stopped the trial offer of 'unlimited download on 16/17 Aug 2005 & introduced 'free night time download' - ie between 0200-0800 hrs.

However, due to their stupid 'activity log' system not having the ability to record precisely the traffic till 0200 hrs & thereafter but till 0800 hrs, you run the risk of being billed for the traffic during these duration too, if you session started before 0200 hrs or ended after 0800 hrs.

To make matters worse, as encountered by me, their (activity log server) clock was awfully wrong. As a result, if you thought you started a night session precisely at or few minutes after 0200, you could be in for a surprise (particularly during the first half of Sep 2005).

Yours truly was billed Rs 5000 (on a Rs500-1GB/mth 256KB Home Plan) instead of Rs 1000, for the month of Aug, Sep 2005, due above glaring billing errors. Thanks to Electronic Clearing Service for bill payment, the excess money was gone off my bank account, even before I got the (wrong) bill in hand!

Thanks to their web log (by the way, after my complaint, I think they have become smart, they have removed access hyperlinks from their web site home page - but you could access your traffic log still, directly at ... https://10.240.43.216/webLogin.jsp ...!!) I took the trouble of downloading the traffic volume, session start, end time stamps logged & put up a complaint to their Chennai HO (my circle), marking copy, to the slumbering TRAI & Consumer Society of India, extolling TRAI to review BSNL's billing system & Consumer Society of India to promote awareness about possible large-scale financial damage to individual Home Plan users of DataONE).

Not withstanding TRAI's (and the Delhi BSNL babudom's overall country-wide Director of Customer Service/Grievance for all BSNL services) utter callousness of not even acknowledging (so much for the much publicised 'Customer Service' of the ''Director of Grievances''), BSNL Chennai acknowledged and wrote to me that 'We accept your ''contention'' and go by your traffic volumes & we shall be refunding the difference in future bills'. Their pride would have been injured if they had admitted that their was an error in their billing system; they bloodddy well accept my 'contention' - I was just holding a mirror to reflect their own server log entries!

Being the good old Public Sector, I am sure, even this Chennai babu would not have cared to respond , though a month later, but for his fear that some day a TRAI or one of the highly paid but never working 'Director' may wake up was the cause why I got a response & commitment to pay me back.

However, the computed refund amount was not taking into account the refund due on account of the 10.2% charges that P Chidambaram levies mis-called ''service charge'', without providing any modicum of Govt Service - what?!? employing sloppy babus of TRAI & TDSAT to paper over 'proposals & controls' for years, while technological evolution is making anything they say obsolete before they say, is the only 'service' we get for what they spend off our tax money, to keep them in the gaddi with time-bound promotions!

So, the saga of more claims (for service tax differential) is still pending before the Chennai babu!

So, Watch out: 1) take a snap shot of your traffic as recorded in their log-server, verify with your bill received 2) dont forget: while paying 10.2%, even for the correct bill amount, is a waste as it goes to fund Lallu like ministers for them to loot State Fund or disburse pay & perks to bloated & corrupt bureaucrats who kill any individual & private sector initiative, there is no reason why you should concede 10.2% for over-billed amount. 3) incase your session spans beyond the start/end of night time, there is no reason why the proportionate traffic volume computed as minutes between 0200-0800 over total session minutes should NOT be discounted!

Their web server allows you to download only last 3 calendar month's traffic; still not too late to check whether you have been ripped off!

As for me, while I am happy that the babu has promised in Oct 2005, that excess paid will be adjusted against future bills, till Dec 2005 it has not been effected - to add insult to injury, I continue to be over billed!! The babu's note to go to a bean counter in this ''Govt'' like department stuffed with people who came in not by merit but by Reservation is just to be anticipated; I am still hopeful that atleast my Grand child will get the refund amount, even if I die before they finally act.

Thanks to Young educated ministers like Maran; he did not trust any of these entrenched babu in the department; the whole broad band service as a 'black-box' was offered to a foreign supplier & hence it is working & reasonably well. It is very likely that a few would have made some money in the process of implementing DataONE through this service provider; on the other hand, I am willing to accept 10% bribery cost on anything from Govt, atleast as long as 'intended service' is provided to a reasonable efficiency & consistency unlike (for e.g.,) the State Electricity Departments, Income Tax Dept who keep collecting tax returns, never replying to you 'it is ok settled' or refunding tax-refunds claimed nor disputing with reasons for few years & a decade.

Few educated Ministers like Maran & Private Industry participation/competition can indeed create necessary job insecurity in 'Govt (or quasi Govt) service provider' to get them to work & not just eat tax payers money & do nothing in return!!

I will be happy if more DataONE customers verify their bills vs traffic & protect their wallet from this 'State Mentality' Internet Service Provider!! Their help desk, 1-600--number etc are a disguise to employ the un-needed people - it never works; shoot your complaint to the very top & publicise.

Postscript 2006 Feb 20: Good news guys; after 6months of battle & two personal visit to a babu counting beans, I got back bulk of the Rs 5000 disputed (thats damn good perforamance, given the fact that the 'old' foxes employed in our over populated PSUs are just not accountable to anyone). Go check your bill, download usage stats, discover the swindling & give a hard kick on the backside of your local Accounts Officer; you will be rewarded some day!!