Surendra Holambe was sold a unique post paid mobile connection scheme where calls within his user group would be free. The first month went smoothly but with the second month's bill came a shock. Holambe had been placed on a different scheme as the plan he had opted for had been discontinued.
Cases like his are not one-off and Telephone Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has decided to crack the whip on erring operators. Last week, it ordered an audit of all telecom operators for overbilling and other violations.
TRAI Chairman, Nripendra Mishra, says, "Everytime the auditor submits the report, he is supposed to come to us and make a presentation and then only do we clear the report."
And the guidelines are in black and white.
Audit Check Points
The auditors will check if the service provider has a documented process for identifying and investigating billing complaints.
And not just that. They will even check if appropriate records were created and steps taken to prevent similar problems in the future.
Cases like his are not one-off and Telephone Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has decided to crack the whip on erring operators. Last week, it ordered an audit of all telecom operators for overbilling and other violations.
TRAI Chairman, Nripendra Mishra, says, "Everytime the auditor submits the report, he is supposed to come to us and make a presentation and then only do we clear the report."
And the guidelines are in black and white.
Audit Check Points
- The external panel of auditors will pore over records of millions of consumers to check if they have been informed about tariff details for a particular service in writing within a week of activation.
- Billing samples will be audited to check the accuracy of measuring call durations.
- Check instruments used to measure rounding off of call durations.
- In case of value added services like ring tones and downloads, auditors will verify whether customers were informed about the charges before they committed to the scheme.
- According to TRAI norms service providers cannot increase tarriff within six months of enrolling onto a plan neither can they charge customers for migrating to other plans.
- Verify from bills of subscribers who have changed their tariff plans to ensure that no migration charges have been levied.
- The auditors will also be scrutinising cases of disconnections.
- They will check if post paid connections were discontinued despite customers being within their credit limits. The auditors will also check if customers were given sufficient time before de-activating connections.
The auditors will check if the service provider has a documented process for identifying and investigating billing complaints.
And not just that. They will even check if appropriate records were created and steps taken to prevent similar problems in the future.