'O' PTCL feel the difference FREDDY SETHNA ARTICLE (December 16 2007): Through advertisements, PTCL is promoting nation

wide calls, "free but for Rs 199", and for the sake of convenience, the Pakistan Package, has already been activated on the landline phone of every customer. From the PTCL web site, information in the following paragraph has been extracted. The total number of PTCL customers at present is 5.7 million. At a press conference held recently in Islamabad, it was disclosed that about 95 percent of the customers have welcomed the package, (meaning a meagre 285,000 customers do not wish to avail this service). When asked whether PTCL has acquired permission of the regulator, Pakistan telecommunication Authority (PTA), a Senior Executive of PTCL said "We have informed PTA about the launch of this new package." Unfortunately, there is no mention of the total number of customers who have not yet called PTCL on 1236, for deactivation of this 'unapproved' Pakistan Package. Assuming even if only a small number, say 2 percent of the customers, actually do not call PTCL to deactivate the service, for unknown reasons, possibly unawareness, or not reading or viewing the complete advertisement in the media, or for that matter unable to read, these 114,000 customers will be billed a small fee of Rs 199 every month, which increases the fee income of PTCL to a staggering Rs 22.7 million a month, thereby, keeping up with the trend of their slogan "feel the difference", which makes one think whether this slogan relates to PTCL or its customers. Besides, the acceptance of the package by 95 percent customers seems to be blowing the trumpet, hence the PTCL balance sheet shall certainly "feel the difference" if a more likely figure of 40% of the customers do not deactivate this facility, thereby, filling the PTCL treasure chest by Rs 454 million only each month. The regulatory body, PTA, is urged to stop this over-night over-rich fiasco, before the current billing cycle commences. By law, such a fee deduction needs to be carried out under the explicit consent of the customer, rather than being implicit.

Furthermore, PTA must ensure that the amount is duly refunded to customers who call 1236 after noticing the "free-fee of Rs 199", once charged in their bills. An ethical and candid approach of PTCL should have been to activate the facility by dialling 1236.