THIS is with reference to the editorial ‘Damning audit report’ (Aug 23), which, among other things, pointed out that a telecommunication company over-charged its customers to the tune of Rs6.58 billion in a single financial year.

Over the last couple of years, the same company has been regularly increasing the price of its basic post-paid package, with the result that I am now paying more than twice the amount than what was the case earlier. When asked, its representatives told me that I could now use 15GB of data compared to four in the past, along with 3,500 minutes talking time and 3,000 messages. But I do not want all that. I just want 4GB data and a talking time worth no more than 100 minutes.

Why is there no cheaper package for consumers like me? The official reply is that I can always use a pre-paid package or switch to another cellular company. This is what corporate fraud looks like.

Shakir Lakhani
Karachi

Published in Dawn, September 6th, 2025