The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : BSNL to open more payment counters

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jan 04, 2005

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

BSNL to open more payment counters

By G Ravikiran

VIJAYAWADA, JAN. 3. Telecom officials have stumbled upon interesting reasons for BSNL customers not to opt for payment of their telephone bills through the electronic payment mode. Only 2,500 out of the total 78,000 subscribers in the city have chosen to make bill payments electronically.

The electronic option was first introduced in Vijayawada in the hope of getting good response from educated customers and Government offices, but it proved otherwise.

Fear of excess metering

The chief reason for customers not opting for this mode seems to be the fear about excess meter complaints. In the electronic clearance system, the bill amount would automatically be deducted from the bank account of the customer. The customers feel that they will not get proper response in case of billing complaints, if the payment is made electronically. The General Manager of BSNL Vijayawada, C.K. Radhakrishnan, told The Hindu on Monday that there was no need for customers to be apprehensive about excess meter billing any more.

He said that the number of billing complaints had come down significantly after the introduction of computerised services. If at least 20,000 customers paid electronically, pressure on online payment counters would ease.

Surprisingly, even Government offices and private businesses did not evince interest in electronic clearance since they had their reasons like an officer having to pay from his pocket the amount over and above that sanctioned by his office for telephone expenses. This would pose problems in electronic payments.

More online counters

Mr. Radhakrishnan said heavy rush was being witnessed at the 25 online payment counters located across the city. It was decided to expand the online counters network and increase the number of counters by 10 in the city. He said these counters were likely to be spread over Poranki, Ramavarappadu, Ajitsinghnagar, Nunna, Kankipadu and other areas, from where customers were presently going to nearby places to pay the bills.

Mr Radhakrishnan pointed out that rural customers were paying through post offices which forwarded the payments to the BSNL's main office in Vijayawada. This process was taking time and energy, prompting the officials to think of setting up not less than 12 online payment counters in rural areas. Online payments proved to be convenient with details of payments being made available to officials and field staff simultaneously.

Work on expansion of online counters in the city was expected to begin soon. Presently, the online payment counters in the city were: Seven counters at Boyapati Building near Hotel Kandhari, five at BSNL Bhavan, two each at Telecom Centre opposite Rama Mandir on Elur Road, DTO above Post Office at Buckinghampet and Kaleswararao Market exchange, one each at Telecom Office near Industrial Estate Gate, Telecom Office in Benz Circle, Central Telegraph Office near Vastralata complex, Bhavanipuram DTO and Satyanarayanapuram DTO.

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