May 25, 2001 01:31 PM
14614 Views
They came here with a big bang. In 1995, cellular services were launched in India. The government auctioned the licenses. Two licenses were awarded in each ''circle'' Now I don't know what exactly is the definition of a circle, but a circle can be simply stated as a wide coverage area.
BPL mobile is one of the two company operating in Bombay. They also operate in interiors of Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Pondicherry, coastal region of Goa, inner coastal regions of Kerala, with scattered showers in haha, do I sound like Doordarshan's dumb weather report? I will try to not name anyone in this review and not mention any personalities but be objective.
I spent six months in Bombay last year. No sooner did I land in Bombay, I subscribed to BPL Mobile. I had an instrument so all it took was a phone call to get a SIM card delivered at my residence (my sister's).
From day one, I started having problems. BPL mobile says ''beleive in the best'' but they dont even come close to providing Ok type of service.
Recycled Numbers:
I started getting wrong calls from day one. I had to tell these people ki ''Sorry wrong # hai'' ''Sorry Jagdish bhai nahi hain'' I called BPL mobile and it took me forever to reach their customer service executive. She heard my problem and sweared that it is a fresh # they gave me and is not a recycled no. Lekin mujhey itna wrong number aata hai uska kya karoon? She finally agreed to change my #. Without changing the SIM card. I was like, jaanay do.
Billing Fraud:
I am very conscious of the money I spend. Although I am quite rich by most standards, I am frugal. I was making calls worth Rs. 1,000 per month. But no, BPL billed me almost 2400 per monthl. I had to literally scream at them. Very often they did reduce the bill. They have an office in Santacruz, if you go there, there is always a scene of altercation and war. Most people there are fighting to get their bills reduced.
Once, I refused to pay the bill. Their billing department sent me a warning letter...saying they will terminate my bill. I was ready for it. Believe me they did not terminate my bill, but charged me more next time. They billed me for Pune roaming and all the other services which I had never requested them. When I called them, they said, oh Pune roaming was free for the first month and second month is Rs. 99 You should have called us if you did not want the roaming. I was furious. What kind of company is this? I told them bluntly, ''Are you stupid?'' ''Do you charge people for something they have never asked for'' Anyway, they assigned me a ''Billing Expert'' to resolve all my disputes. This billing expert was in one of their offices in Dadar. I had several rounds of fax/phone communication with this ''expert'' She verbally acknowledged that BPL overbills MOST OF IT'S CUSTOMERS. Few months later I called this billing expert. Guess what, She quit her job! Obviously this expert was facing lot of criticisms from angry customers such as me. BPL is BILLING FRAUD.
Network:
BPL's network is fairly ok. Not as good as it's competitor but then both can be termed OK.
Pricing:
Not much can be said, all cell operators agree to Telecom Regulatory Authority of India's tariff structure.
Overall recommendation:
Orange and BPL compete on quality of service and network. It is like saying which is better Coke or Pepsi. Both are frauds. The bigger fraud is BPL. BPL has cheated thousands of customers. I am not alone. Ask any BPL customer, he is not satisfied.
The day is not far when Mumbaites will kick them out.
