GP ghost bills
Problems due to system update: Operator
Post-paid service subscribers of Grameenphone (GP), the countrys largest mobile telephone service provider, are receiving bills higher than their usage, reportedly due to a technical fault caused by a software upgrade.
Talking to The Independent, a GP post-paid customer said he received an SMS from the service provider on June 25, giving him a monthly bill of Tk 1,379.96 against his usage. The very next day, he received another SMS which said his usage bill was Tk 2,678.73. When he contacted the GP customer care over this unusual bill, the service provider sought 72 hours of time to look into the matter.
The customer care of GP said mostly the post-paid customers are facing such problems that are caused due to a recent software upgrade. GP, however, is yet to make any statement or give any information over the anomaly to their over 50 million subscribers. The GP has an estimated 5 million post-paid subscribers, according to BTRC (Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission) statistics.
Hasib Chowdhury, another GP post-paid subscriber, said he usually pays around Tk 1,500 as mobile bill every month. But on June 24, he received a monthly bill of over Tk 3,000.
Post and Telecommunications Division Secretary Faizur Rahman said, Allegations against mobile phone operators of charging extra amounts are received quite often. We are trying to bring it under control.
According to the complaints received at the BTRC in 2014 against mobile phone operators, Grameenphone tops the list for billing extra amount, network disconnection, low quality voice service, call drop, delay in SMS exchange and some other services.
A senior official of System and Services Division of the BTRC said over 1,500 customers filed complaints with the regulator in 2014 over services of mobile phone and WIMAX operators. Over 500 of these were made by customers of Grameenphone. Around 200 complaints came against Banglalink and there were also some complaints filed against mobile operators Robi and Airtel and WIMAX operators Banglalion and Qubee.
Apart from these formal complaints made with the BTRC, numerous complaints were filed with the customer care departments of the service providers.
Talking to The Independent, a senior BTRC official said, If a customer faces harassment over service by any operator and the person informs the matter to the BTRC, we take measures against the service provider.
The official said the BTRC informs the matter to the respective operator and instructs it to solve the issue. After solving the problem, the operator informs the customer as well as the BTRC about the measures taken. If the operator fails to respond or solve the matter, rules are there to take measures against the operator, he said.
When contacted over the matter of extra-billing, Grameenphone Head of External Communications Sayed Talat Kamal provided a written statement that says, Some of our post-paid customers are experiencing sporadic connectivity loss on their mobile connections. The problem has originated from a standard system update that has not gone as planned, thus prolonging customer suffering.
The statement also said, We have also learnt that for inexplicable reasons pre-paid customers are also facing difficulty with their SIM-replacement as a result. Grameenphone keeps customer experience at its core and we deeply regret the inconvenience caused to our valued subscribers.
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