India Broadband Forum

cbhawsar

Though BSnl is a very good ISP, there are many traps in its billing system. This thread is to enlist all those traps to prevent others from falling into them.

BSNL combo 500 plan
1) the billing for the first month is something different... your free minutes will be counted by the date your connection was installed at your premises. for eg if your connection was installed on 9th day of the month then you will not get whole 2.5 gb(2560 mb) but you will get around 1700 free units.
P.S. The advanced rental will also decrease proportionately.

2) keep the dataone email id handy, the customer care sends an email to the users whenever his downloading exceeds the free limit.
P.S. your email id is the same as the user id in the modem. in most cases, the password is simply "password". u need to login to the domain given to you, i.e. for some people the email lies in dataone.in and for some people its in mail.bsnl.in. You don't even need to check it every now and then, in the settings page of the bsnl webmail, there is an option to forward the emails. use it to forward all the mails to your personal email id.

3)to use free night unlimited, you cant just schedule downloads in your download manager and sleep, you have to restart the modem after 2am to start the bsnl charging server to count it as free usage. a software like imran's broadband utility is very handy for this purpose.
this doesn't mean that if u continue downloading after 8am, it would be still counted as free. bsnl servers may reset at anytime after 8am automatically, so don't experiment.

I recommend everyone to post BSNL traps discovered by them so that many people don't get cheated. I believe BSNL is a very trusted brand, problems caused to us is due to ignorance of bsnl officers towards the conditions of the plans. and their unwillingness to spread the knowledge they have


You first month rent will be 1 month advance rental plus 1 month security deposit plus modem charges plus usage.

check this link if you are migrating from a limited plan to an unlimited plan like home 750.
indiabroadband.net/bsnl-broadband/24474-bsnl-bill-problem.html#post250329

(just copy the above link and paste it in the url field of the browser Mods dont allow me to add their own url)

meetdilip

Good one Rep added.

Logik

yeah good infor.....rep added

i highly doubt the knowledge part......though unwillingness is 100% true. ........
i somehow can't login into the data one email accnt.getting error like invalid username & pass.....i haven't checked this email accnt in last 2years. do i need to reactivate it again.

Jacksparrow

Thanks for the valuable information sir

talktoanil

i dont agree. At my place every one is cooperative and any issue is resolved in next working day. we get 2 confirmation calls for any issue which is resolved from BSNL side..

rishbhsharma

Very valuable, you saved my money Reps added

cbhawsar

I found this useful info from somewhere m copying it here

BSNL plan change is a bit tricky with hidden charges. BSNL like giving surprises. Let me list a few when you apply for a plan change.


1. For plan change, you need to apply in the previous month.


2. It does not mean that plan change will happen on 1st of next month.


3. When you change to a higher plan, you should pay one month's rent as advance.


4. Double, triple confirm the plan change before you start using it. Do not believe BSNL customer care or portal.
Both may lie.

5. If your plan is not changed from first of a particular month, then you have to pay for both plans for the days you
used them.


In detail,


1. In April, you want to change your plan and you start using unlimited as you expect to change your plan. This is not possible as the plan change cannot take effect unless you apply in March. Any plan change should wait for 1st of next month to pass.


2. After you applied for plan change in April, you expect to get the new plan on May 1st. Beware! it may not happen. You give your application in administrative section. They need to pass it to the technical section. Technical section approves it and pass it to Bangalore NIB where the plan change takes effect.


We consider all these departments as BSNL. But for them, these are like Pakistan, China and Srilanka. Your plan change will not be effective from the date of your application or from first of next month. The effective date is when the technical section sanctions it. They set an effective date. Which we can check under BSNL Portal under my orders.


3. If you change to Unlimited 750, you need to pay Rs. 1500 next month. RS. 750 as advance and Rs. 750 as rent.


4. According to what they say if you see the word PROVISIONED in my orders you can consider your plan change to be effective from the date beside it. Please do not start using even if you see provisioned. Check the speed and confirm you have a plan change. If you have changed to Unlimited plan, then chargeable units should show zero.


Do not confirm with Customer care or local exchange. Senior Divisional Engineer (SDE) will be the right person to answer your queries. Ask for his number when you speak to local exchange or customer care.


5. If your plan change is from 10th, you previously had Home - 250 and you changed to Unlimited 750. Then till 10th you should pay the charge as per Home 250. If you have exceeded 333 MB (1/3 of 1 GB) then you will have to pay for the extra usage, even if you shifted to an unlimited plan. And for the next 20 days you should pay (750/30 ) X 20 = 500.


All these happened to me when I changed from Home 250 to Unlimited 750. Just wanted to share that others need not suffer these surprises. But BSNL may have more in stock for you. Please share this with your friends who intend a plan change.

cbhawsar

again copying, my purpose is to gather all traps at one place. I dont wana take credit of ne of those who actually wrote this

Unless you use an unlimited plan, your bill will be based on your usage data as recorded by BSNL. If we use more than the allowed limit, we need to pay extra for this usage. Even if we are careful, some virus infection in our system can increase the chargeable units to a dangerous extent. It can happen even if you have a very good antivirus. Therefore it is important to monitor the usage closely. Unfortunately BSNL fails to provide useful information to its users. Many of us rely on a single BSNL site we managed to identify for monitoring the usage.

BSNL sites do not update on a real time basis and is neither dependable as it has a very high downtime due to maintenance and billing activities. From 1st to 5 th of every month, BSNL sites are totally unreliable as they are used for billing purposes than updating user details. If you are a new user, your usage details may not appear for about 2 weeks. From my personal experience, I can tell you that BSNL may update the usage on 1st of month on 20 th. I ended up with a huge bill after they did this to me.

Another common error is that many believe usage means only download. BSNL calculates your usage as download + upload. If we use internet just for browsing, it will cost around 15 MB per hour in your usage stats. It is impossible to manually calculate the usage. Please use the following methods.

BSNL allots two server IPs. One of the format 117.xxx.xxx.xxx and other 59.xxx.xxx.xxx. If your IP starts with 59.xxx, options other than option 3 may not work for you.

In that case, Check here. To check your IP, Click here.

You can also test your speed on the link given above. If you find it difficult, use What is my IP ?


How to Check BSNL Broadband Usage details – Methods


There are 4 sources to check your usage. 2 BSNL portals, 1 Independent software and 1 BSNL software.

1. BSNL Portal , values in MB, user friendly.

Connection with IPs 59.xxx.xxx.xxx check here

2. BSNL - Broadband Account Management , values in KB.

3. Both these sites can be down at times. BSNL sites do not update on real time basis. Today's
usage is shown after 2 days. So most of us use a Bandwidth meter.

Click here to download. (Top Rated)

4. A software from BSNL can help us check the usage without using the portal. Click here to download.

BSNL also provides SMS and email alerts when you cross your usage limit. You can also receive weekly alerts.

Use this link to register Web Registration for Usage Alerts

Option 1 & 2 needs a 14 digit Portal ID and password from BSNL. Password is usually password.

Eg. for portal ID:

ABC+++25102008, where

ABC from my surname, +++ a 3 digit no. , 25102008 date of broadband application. If you do not have this, check with your local exchange. They normally keep this in their records. A phone call can fix it for you.

Your BSNL email ID will receive email alerts when the usage limit is crossed. Always ask your exchange for email ID. If you try to use option 4, it will ask for your BSNL email ID.

Use option 1 or 2, log in using Portal ID and password and check for the email link on the upper part of the page.


Other methods and tools :

The above mentioned are sources for information. Many were kind enough to write programs that we can save the trouble of logging into the portals. Let us discuss a few reliable options.

1. Datafox

If you use Firefox, an add on called Datafox can retrieve data from BSNL site. Click here to download






2. Dataone Quick Usage Finder

Dataone Quick Usage finder logs in automatically to the BSNL portal and retrieves data for you. It has a facility to calculate the billed amount (excluding telephone charges). If we exceed our usage, we can find out how much extra should be paid in the next bill. It also provides a Dialup Connection and disconnection scheduler for Night Unlimited Plans. Click here to download.

3. Dataone Tool

* Daily total of non free and free usage ( for those having night (2am to 8am) unlimited).
* Graphic display of daily usage.
* Option to auto login to dataone usage checking site.
* Summary of usage, daily average used , average usable, estimated bill etc.

For users with IP 59.xx.xx.xx

Click here to download. More details.

For users with IP 117.xxx.xxx.xxx

Click here to download. More details.

Don't know your IP ? Check here - What is My IP ?

Hope you will find them useful. Please do spread the word and help your friends from falling prey to huge bills.

Please note that the above tools simply retrieve data from BSNL portals. If data in BSNL website is not up to date, you will get non finalized data.

Recommended reference :

Top 7 Tips to Protect Your Computer from Virus, Spyware, Adware & Malware.

Precautions during BSNL Broadband Plan change.

Free Bandwidth meters

Top 10 Tips for Safe Internet Banking
« Last Edit: July 26, 2009, 06:56:53 PM by ADMIN »
Logged

cbhawsar

again copying, my purpose is to gather all traps at one place. I dont wana take credit of ne of those who actually wrote this

Unless you use an unlimited plan, your bill will be based on your usage data as recorded by BSNL. If we use more than the allowed limit, we need to pay extra for this usage. Even if we are careful, some virus infection in our system can increase the chargeable units to a dangerous extent. It can happen even if you have a very good antivirus. Therefore it is important to monitor the usage closely. Unfortunately BSNL fails to provide useful information to its users. Many of us rely on a single BSNL site we managed to identify for monitoring the usage.

BSNL sites do not update on a real time basis and is neither dependable as it has a very high downtime due to maintenance and billing activities. From 1st to 5 th of every month, BSNL sites are totally unreliable as they are used for billing purposes than updating user details. If you are a new user, your usage details may not appear for about 2 weeks. From my personal experience, I can tell you that BSNL may update the usage on 1st of month on 20 th. I ended up with a huge bill after they did this to me.

Another common error is that many believe usage means only download. BSNL calculates your usage as download + upload. If we use internet just for browsing, it will cost around 15 MB per hour in your usage stats. It is impossible to manually calculate the usage. Please use the following methods.

BSNL allots two server IPs. One of the format 117.xxx.xxx.xxx and other 59.xxx.xxx.xxx. If your IP starts with 59.xxx, options other than option 3 may not work for you.

In that case, Check here. To check your IP, Click here.

You can also test your speed on the link given above. If you find it difficult, use What is my IP ?


How to Check BSNL Broadband Usage details – Methods


There are 4 sources to check your usage. 2 BSNL portals, 1 Independent software and 1 BSNL software.

1. BSNL Portal , values in MB, user friendly.

Connection with IPs 59.xxx.xxx.xxx check here

2. BSNL - Broadband Account Management , values in KB.

3. Both these sites can be down at times. BSNL sites do not update on real time basis. Today's
usage is shown after 2 days. So most of us use a Bandwidth meter.

Click here to download. (Top Rated)

4. A software from BSNL can help us check the usage without using the portal. Click here to download.

BSNL also provides SMS and email alerts when you cross your usage limit. You can also receive weekly alerts.

Use this link to register Web Registration for Usage Alerts

Option 1 & 2 needs a 14 digit Portal ID and password from BSNL. Password is usually password.

Eg. for portal ID:

ABC+++25102008, where

ABC from my surname, +++ a 3 digit no. , 25102008 date of broadband application. If you do not have this, check with your local exchange. They normally keep this in their records. A phone call can fix it for you.

Your BSNL email ID will receive email alerts when the usage limit is crossed. Always ask your exchange for email ID. If you try to use option 4, it will ask for your BSNL email ID.

Use option 1 or 2, log in using Portal ID and password and check for the email link on the upper part of the page.


Other methods and tools :

The above mentioned are sources for information. Many were kind enough to write programs that we can save the trouble of logging into the portals. Let us discuss a few reliable options.

1. Datafox

If you use Firefox, an add on called Datafox can retrieve data from BSNL site.

2. Dataone Quick Usage Finder

Dataone Quick Usage finder logs in automatically to the BSNL portal and retrieves data for you. It has a facility to calculate the billed amount (excluding telephone charges). If we exceed our usage, we can find out how much extra should be paid in the next bill. It also provides a Dialup Connection and disconnection scheduler for Night Unlimited Plans.

3. Dataone Tool

* Daily total of non free and free usage ( for those having night (2am to 8am) unlimited).
* Graphic display of daily usage.
* Option to auto login to dataone usage checking site.
* Summary of usage, daily average used , average usable, estimated bill etc.

Hope you will find them useful. Please do spread the word and help your friends from falling prey to huge bills.

Please note that the above tools simply retrieve data from BSNL portals. If data in BSNL website is not up to date, you will get non finalized data.

meetdilip

This is my article. Present as the first thread in the BSNL broadband forum.

Glad you found it useful.

cbhawsar

Ya i found it on naradhvicharam.com
hey y dont you post your article here... with all the links and stuff.. i will delete mine..

StormShadow

3 persons added rep to cbhawsar..but only 1 rep is displayed... :?

now who is lying among the 3 of u :P

essbebe

@Logik
[/quote]
If your ID is abcd @dataone.in use the same ID/PW used for connecting to Internet.
log in here
Dataone WebMail

meetdilip

Rep points change every 100 points. When 3 people give reps they give point according to their rep power. He might have got total 3 points. Once he reaches 100 points or 1000 posts, his rep power will increase. He can see the reps in his usercp.

Logik

@essbebe
thanks for info buddy......but i think i have changed the dataone email id pass long back by logging into the email accnt, using pass change option. so my net & email pass are not same anymore.

essbebe

@logik
Checked in web mail my email account. IP 59.xx.xx.xx
Dataone WebMail
Usually/daily I check in OE only.

To log in to webmail acct:
try the USER ID /password.
If it does not work as you have changed it
No other way , other than asking CC for same.

2. If webmail can be accessed
options webmail password.jpg

Can take up with BSNL , to incorporate same
in Usage portal for email also ( for IP 59.xx.xx.xx abcd @dataone.in)
Feedback required.

PS: Mine is single PW, for past three years ( as given by BSNL)

Unregistered

jus help me by giving the license information of dumeter 4

meetdilip

DU meter is not a freeware. Try this

ShaPlus Bandwidth Meter - Freeware to display bandwidth consumed for session, day and month

I am using it myself. Quite reliable.