VEHARI, Dec 26: Pakistan Telecommunications Company Limited (PTCL) subscribers have protested against the delayed delivery of telephone bills.

Over 36,000 PTCL consumers in Union Council 1, G Block, People’s Colony, Thingi Colony, Garahmore, Tibba Sultanpur, Machiwal, Danywal and Luddan Muslim Town complained that they had been receiving their telephone bills after the passage of the last date or last six months.

They said they had not received their current month’s bill despite the last date of payment was Dec 26.

Iqbal from UC 1 said he had collected his telephone bills from a shopkeeper, who was not legally supposed to deliver the bills to subscribers but postmen left the bills without ensuring that those reached the subscribers. He said the bills they received were without a post office stamp.

PTCL official Amjad said that the district revenue officer’s post had been vacant for the last three years but bills were dispatched in time, and their late delivery was postmen’s fault. He said that the department paid Rs6 per bill as delivery charges to distributors. He admitted that he received complaints about the late delivery of the bills, and had conveyed the complaints to the post office.

Head Post Master Jamil Mujahid said that he would not take any action against any postman without any written complaint. He said that the post office staff had delivered the bills before Dec 26, the last date for payment of bills. However, he said, some bills had been delivered late in the past.

Affected subscribers urged the PTCL general manager and senior officials of the Pakistan Post Office to order a probe into the delayed delivery of bills and exempt them from paying fine.