KARACHI, Feb 3: The number of complaints about the code- barring facility getting “hung” has increased over the months.

Divisional engineers working at various customer care centres of the Pakistan Telecommunication Company told Dawn on Sunday that while it would be difficult to quote the exact number of complaints, the fact of the matter was that subscribers quite often complained about their code-barring facility — which prevented the misuse of telephones — becoming non-functional.

Subscribers point out that unless the person under whose name a telephone number is registered appears in person at the customer care centre and submits the photocopy of his national identity card, the PTCL does not clear the code of the number.

Well-placed sources said the PTCL had about 20 customer service divisional engineers to sort out the complaints of 800,000 plus subscribers.

In large telephone exchanges, senior PTCL officials said, there were at least three divisional engineers among whom the workload was equally divided. “For instance, the internal divisional engineer is responsible for the switch room in a telephone exchange. The external divisional engineer is entrusted with the task of ensuring that the PTCL infrastructure outside the telephone exchange works properly.

The customer service divisional engineer is tasked to sort out all the complaints of the subscribers by coordinating with other divisional engineers and revenue officers.”

A large number of PTCL subscribers that Dawn spoke to said that customer service divisional engineers were too busy and too powerless to help a subscriber in any meaningful way. “First, there is always a long queue in front of a customer service centre at a telephone exchange. When, with a bit of luck, you manage to get to the customer service divisional engineer, you find that he tries to get rid of you by finding fault with your application or bill. For instance, if you have not attached a photocopy of a document, he will refuse to do anything unless you have a photocopied document. Now, telephone exchanges do not have photocopiers. So you first locate a photocopy shop and get your documents photocopied. When you return, you join the queue as a newcomer. This wastes a lot of time and energy.”

Dawn also spoke to some customer service divisional engineers who, on condition of anonymity, said that subscribers did not realize the constraints they worked under. “A customer service divisional engineer is too beleaguered to help a subscriber in any significant manner. People turn to him for all sorts of complaints: correction of bills, issuance of demand notes, delay in delivery of demand notes/bills/telephone directories, restoration of telephones disconnected on non- payment of dues, sale and registration of application forms, information on new PTCL services, such as value-added services, etc.

First, in order to get all these complaints redressed promptly, there should be excellent coordination between various PTCL departments which is not the case all the time. Second, we don’t have any facilities. We do not have fax machines and computer data bank to help a subscriber.”