THIS refers to the PTCL system of customer care unit and live chat on its website, inviting consumers to chat live with a PTCL agent between 9.00am and 9.00pm from Monday to Saturday to resolve PTCL-related issues.

The truth is it does not function at all and looks like a show-off by the PTCL to advertise its so-called good services.

Complaints e-mailed to care@ptcl.net.pk are acknowledged by an auto generated reply allotting a number, saying “we will respond in 48 hours. If urgent, dial 1218 or live chat on link, https://ptcl.com.pk/LiveChatWithAgent.”

Factually, a new agent turns up each time without fully reading e-mails and allots a fresh complaint number, without resolving the previous complaint. Every agent closes inquiry on his own without resolving the issue.

The so-called ‘PTCL live chat’ functions like e-mail, auto-responding: “Thank you for feedback”, without an answer by a live PTCL agent.

Unknown and unwanted callers frequently disturb people at the PTCL and mobile phone. However, there are no means to know the identity and location of numbers appearing on caller line identity via the PTCL web, except tracing such callers via the PTCL helpline 1218.

In case of overseas Pakistanis, intending consumers have to always call, bearing expenses of international calls to find answers to general inquiries, while residents in Pakistan too have no guidance on the PTCL website.

Pakistan Telecommunication Authority should take cognisance of these issues in the larger public interest.

Hasan Adil Malik
Saudi Arabia

Published in Dawn, February 15th, 2019