Thread: Guys, Pls. help me take up this dataone usage issue fight with BSNL...

I'll keep this short and sweet to begin with..
For the month of August, until the 28th or so.. my usage excluding the free time usage stood at 2.1 GB.. All of a sudden when I checked the supposedly to be billed amount for the month on the 31st, i was totally shocked to find a figure of 2.97 ..!?????

"I am totally 200% sure" i haven't used that much in a span of 2 days! When i downloaded the detailed excel report.. the figures here and there somehow add up to 2.9 GB?

Better yet, for the month of september my usage has already reached 0.9 GB when it was just 0.5 GB when I checked 2 days back. I always schedule my torrents to start up at 2.05 AM and the computer is put off at sharp 7:55 AM every. single. day. using a software.

This being the case, I was able to catch the useless good for nothing self care portal red handed today as its showing an usage for 21 MB from 8:00 AM to 10:03 AM. This is highly impossible because I woke up only at 9:20 in the morning and my PC was already switched off at 7:55 AM. There is no chance of the system being hanged cuz I witnessed it being in the OFF state when I woke up. Only the modem was ON though.

The point is, how in the world can I prove this to the accounts officer at BSNL? I'm damn sure many more usages have been "faked" like this.

Thanks for reading through and helping...

1. Which modem do you use ? Does it have wifi ?

2. Mention the mode in which you are connected to internet. PPPoE or Bridge ?

3. Keep download usage details excel sheet regularly and check for the difference. You may be able to find more proof. Also take a screen shot of portal page daily. What you need is as much proof as you can.

I have faced same issue. My usage on 1 st was updated on 21st and me too ended up with a huge bill and was stunned by the values in portal.

4. Use a bandwidth meter like Shaplus or Networx. Check whether the values tally.

5. Complain to Senior Divisional Engineer for suspected hacking.

6. If nothing works, talk to Nodal officer or Appellate authority. ID and phone no on the backside of your bill.

Thank you for the response Dilip..

Originally Posted by meetdilip

1. Which modem do you use ? Does it have wifi ?

-ITI DNA-A211-I Yes it does have wifi but disabled always.

2. Mention the mode in which you are connected to internet. PPPoE or Bridge

-PPPoE and I connect/disconnect the LAN using the network connections icon.

3. Keep download usage details excel sheet regularly and check for the difference. You may be able to find more proof. Also take a screen shot of portal page daily. What you need is as much proof as you can.

-Will do every day end from now on.

4. Use a bandwidth meter like Shaplus or Networx. Check whether the values tally.

-Yes, I have downloaded Shaplus upon reading other similar threads such as http://www.indiabroadband.net/bsnl-b...-shocking.html (BSNL cheating in usage calculation with solid evidence(shocking))

5. Complain to Senior Divisional Engineer for suspected hacking.

- I have done this a few months ago and they said they have checked the line and it is not being hacked. On the other side, is hacking actually possible in BSNL leaving apart wifi.

1. Instead of disabling LAN, try switching off the modem. Even when you have disconnected LAN, it is possible to use your line.

2. Your line can be hacked if it is not port binded. Try your ID and password on your friends' system and check whether it is connecting.

3. Are you sure wifi is disabled ? If possible, check any wifi phone and see if your connection is listed /accessible.

4. You can talk to someone (technical people) and show them that there is a reading while the modem is idle and you were asleep.

hmm.. I was under the assumption that all the dataone connections were binded to the respective telephone numbers. is it not?
Furthermore, what made me believe this strongly was that I had iptv (once ago) and since then my username was changed to ip442xxxxxx(my telephone no.) So, i thought it would not work from elsewhere after all. Was i wrong?

Nevertheless, just to check from my cousin's BSNL connection.. I just need to login to his router page and change the user name and password alone. right? leaving all other settings intact... (though he might use a bridge)

Regarding wifi, the LED for wifi is off on the modem and the router page setting for wifi also shows its disabled. confirmed with my mobile too now.

Making the technical people understand. Thats it..! that's where the problem is. Im sure they would either think im mad or would not understand the situation. Whats the best proof that I could use to prove my PC was off ?! I mean.. is there a way that either of the senior officials could investigate and see as to from which computer the connection was established at the controversial time in question?

Not all connections are port bound. It will be difficult (almost impossible) to prove that "you switched off PC", "you could not have downloaded ...", etc. The BSNL site records MAC ID. Previously we could view the MAC Id in the usage details ... not any more. But MAC Id is still recorded in BSNL's site. You could ask the BSNL supervisors to investigate.

I suggest that you switch to bridge mode (dialer mode) to avoid such troubles.

My sincere advice is to switch the plan also to unlimited.

Ya, simply enter the ID and password in the modem leaving other settings intact.

Just ask them to check the Mac ID of the controversial usage. If it is a hacked one, mostly it will have a Mac ID different from your modem.

It will act as a great proof if your ID and password worked with your cousin's connection.

hi guys....,
me having the same problem....
i'm staying in my grandma's place and she's managing a small school here...
they've a bb conn and i didnt know which plan...
i've been using it normally wih some downloads of course...
but wen the last month's bill came we were shocked to see that the total including taxes came around Rs.50,000/-....
after enquiring them also they just said we'll send u the details in a week and have sent a usage de3tails which only contains numbers and no details of the sites visited.....
pls help me out...

1. Mention your BSNL plan.

2. Install a bandwidth meter on your PC. Try one from Shaplus or Networx.

3. Talk to the accounts officer and explain your situation.

Presumably you have a low bandwidth plan like Home 250 and used lavishly.

4. Please define " using it normally wih some downloads of course... "

What all do you use ?

5. Do you have wifi in your modem ? Does is have a security key ?

6. Go to BSNL portal, check the usage and try to find out whether there is any entry like 11.30 to 12.30 am when you were away.

7. New dispute settlement scheme by BSNL

.:Special Relief Scheme:.

This may help.

8. Switch to an unlimited plan. UL 750 give 512 Kbps unlimited for Rs. 750 per month.

1, i dont know exactly... guess its a 500c plan...
2,just installed one from shaplus
3,my grandpa did and since he doesnt know much abt internet they asked him to pay anyhow and also told of sending the usage details as told earlier...
4,i downloaded a couple of video songs and couple of movies...
5,yes it has wi-fi and no it doesnt hav a security key...
6,dont know how to findit.. sorry...
7,the accounts officer told my grandpa that these samadhaan plan wont apply for us since its only for ppl who have subscribed within the past 3 months...
8,will do once this issue is settled...
is der any other alternative....??!!
like a concession on de bill or sumthing like a warning....??!!

1. I think it is a case of wifi abuse. Mention your modem - model and make.

Use WPA or WEP encryption and make sure that it requires a pass key to connect to internet.

2. Mention your location.

3. Do you have portal ID ? If so, log in to data.bsnl.in

Under postpaid services, download excel sheet of usage details. Check for any suspected entries

Under postpaid orders, enter the phone no in the prescribed format and check your current plan.

Post the excel sheet here.

4. You need to try your negotiation skill. Talk to the accounts officer and try to convince him that the bill is way too much for you to afford.

You may also talk to the Nodal officer and / or appellate authority. ID and Phone no. on the backside of your bill. Talk to them and seek help.

5. There was an old scheme where excess usage beyond 1 GB get 15 percent discount. Check whether if you can get it.

Originally Posted by just4kix

Not all connections are port bound. It will be difficult (almost impossible) to prove that "you switched off PC", "you could not have downloaded ...", etc. The BSNL site records MAC ID. Previously we could view the MAC Id in the usage details ... not any more. But MAC Id is still recorded in BSNL's site. You could ask the BSNL supervisors to investigate.

I suggest that you switch to bridge mode (dialer mode) to avoid such troubles.

- Any quick guide on how to switch to bridge option?

- This MAC Id trick is interesting but I wonder if they will actually encourage customers asking to check for such info's and whether they will really take the pains to do that. Anybody here successful with such an investigation in the past?

- Also, can the local A.E in my area (or the users ourselves for that matter) identify if our BB connection is a port binded one or not by looking at 'something'? (having some problem testing from my cousin's pc as he is using it in PPPoE mode as well and does not even know the password.. so restoring his own password post the test is going to be a problem !)

Oh by the way, could the new relief scheme be applicable/useful in my case as well ? didn't really get their point on the website..

Do at your own risk.

To switch to bridge mode,

1. Type 192.168.1.1 in your browser.

2. ID and password is admin.

3. In " internet configuration ", select the entry 0_35.

4. Click " Edit " the entry and browse through. You will find an option to switch to bridge and PPPoE.

5. If nothing works, delete the entry and create a new one.

---

I have asked SDE to check my connection some 1 year back. He checked and told me it is fine. He even sent me the list.

Originally Posted by karthik316_1999

-
Oh by the way, could the new relief scheme be applicable/useful in my case as well ? didn't really get their point on the website..

Such cases are a test for your negotiation skills. They can even waive the full amount is you can convince them.

This happened to me.Refer this thread

***Danger***Excess usage right after the NU time ***Danger***

I complained and I got the reply from accounts officer saying that no mistakes found from their part and I was advised to change my usage style according to the plan

After one year of successful usage of 500C+ plan I changed to 750 UL.That was the ultimate solution.No worries

Also enjoying some advantages by mistake from BSNL.No rental and 175 free calls in home UL 750 combining with 20% off 660/- month.

Thats why I am still on BSNL

Originally Posted by ajai5777

This happened to me.Refer this thread

***Danger***Excess usage right after the NU time ***Danger***

I complained and I got the reply from accounts officer saying that no mistakes found from their part and I was advised to change my usage style according to the plan

Exactly ...!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is the same thing that is happening to me. I just took the billed report for August and upon analyzing it, the "fake" sessions have accounted to about 500 MB that explains my usage shooting up to 2.9 GB !

I see that EVERY SINGLE DAY there has been a "fake" charge/meter reading:

1. Before the NU start session of 2 AM (The start time of this "fake" session is random on each day .. sometimes starting at 11:30 PM, 12:55 PM, etc..)

2. After the NU end session of 8 AM (The end time of this "fake" session is again random on each day .. but I believe that these end times (should or must?) correlate to the time when my modem was put off ?


So, having identified the problem.. i'm contemplating whether to report the issue to BSNL or can it solved from my side (in future).

I assume that the "fake" session after the NU end time of 8 AM can be solved by just putting the modem off. Correct?

Then, how do I solve the "fake" session before the NU start time at 2 AM? I sure dont want to wake up from my sleep just for the cause of switching ON the modem..!
I saw a mention about something called "Imrans utility". Will that be useful to solve this problem?

OR

Is it that the problem of "fake" sessions will completely be solved once i switch to the bridge mode?

Thanks a lot for all these info guys.. never expected to identify the cause of the sh**y issue so very soon.

Meanwhile....

Originally Posted by meetdilip

Do at your own risk.

To switch to bridge mode,

1. Type 192.168.1.1 in your browser.

2. ID and password is admin.

3. In " internet configuration ", select the entry 0_35.

4. Click " Edit " the entry and browse through. You will find an option to switch to bridge and PPPoE.

5. If nothing works, delete the entry and create a new one.

I just tried my luck with the bridge mode and it did not work unfortunately.. Configured all the settings correctly, created a dialer from within windows and it was able to successfully verify username and password and create a connection.
But, the "INET" LED on the modem would not come ON and wasn't able to browse also. Had the router reset using the button at the back and back to PPPoE mode now..
Guess i'm needing some help here with the bridge mode...

Note: Few months back, when troubleshooting some IPTV issues, I remember some guy telling me that I could not configure my modem with bridge mode now that IPTV connection has been given. (Though my IPTV connection has been disabled, i doubt if some issue could lie there...)

In bridge mode INTERNET led will blink only when there is data transfer and not always as used to be in PPPoE mode. And if it connects to internet you can see one more network icon in the system tray.

Originally Posted by mvb4u

In bridge mode INTERNET led will blink only when there is data transfer and not always as used to be in PPPoE mode. And if it connects to internet you can see one more network icon in the system tray.

You are right. I did see two network icons (one was the already existing LAN icon) but it showed an yellow exclamation indicating limited or no connectivity. But i guess the LAN thing can be deleted from network connections and is no more needed once in bridge mode right? So what could be the problem then?

Edit:

-> Okay.. I just had to enter the ip address manually for the LAN connection. Bridge mode successfully connected now.

Back to the billing issue... Now, would this bridge mode prevent the "fake" sessions? (I would connect/disconnect by scheduling and running the rasdial batch file at 2:05 AM and 7:55 AM respectively "although" leaving the modem ON from 10 PM to 9 AM.

although leaving the modem ON from 10 PM to 9 AM.
Modem to be switched OFF when not in use, and RESTART at about
0205AM and again switched OFF again at 0755 AM . for free NU downloads
Check for schedulers here.
http://www.indiabroadband.net/bsnl-b...tml#post284627 (BSNL NU Schedulers)

Originally Posted by essbebe

although leaving the modem ON from 10 PM to 9 AM.
Modem to be switched OFF when not in use, and RESTART at about
0205AM and again switched OFF again at 0755 AM . for free NU downloads
Check for schedulers here.
http://www.indiabroadband.net/bsnl-b...tml#post284627 (BSNL NU Schedulers)

Hi essbebe,

When you say "modem needs to be restarted at 02:05 AM"... i don't get what exactly you mean.. Its obvious that one cant wake up at the middle of the night just for restarting the modem..

Also, the software's in the link above only have options to dial the windows dialer.. which is what I intended to do with the batch files of the "rasdial" command.. kindly clarify...

1.Try Automatic Schedulers in "Search Box" above.
.for other schedulers like Imran's etc.

2.Try a test down say between say 0155AM and 0230 AM
and also 0745AM and 0820 AM.
Check in Usage portal how the down load is counted.CHARGED/ FREE ( whether split occurs exactly at 0200AM AND 0800AM.

3. Seems you have not read the post fully. and the other posts in the thread..

Make sure that the start and end times of your night time usage falls between 2 - 8 time slot. No need to awake at midnight. There are many tools using which you can automate the process.

Friends
Sorry , but nobody should go for limited plans coz bsnl is hopeless,

Not only bsnl every government officers are corrupted

I decided not to help any government officer and expect the same from you my friends

I hate all BABUS

Grievance Redress Mechanism in Government

This is the best site for complaining against any govt BABU

Thanks to Meetdilip (he gave me the site address)

Originally Posted by essbebe

Seems you have not read the post fully. and the other posts in the thread..

I did go through each of the post essbebe. Maybe im missing something or im not understanding. Can you pls. help me understand ?

For example, in the Broadband Scheduler software, there is an option called Start time and Stop time. So, is that what you exactly meant by "restarting the modem" ?

Originally Posted by meetdilip

No need to awake at midnight. There are many tools using which you can automate the process.

Dilip, by "automate" are you referring to the action of "dialing the windows dialer" or "re-starting/re-booting the modem" ?

An ounce of practice is worth a ton of theory.
Set up a time during day for say 40 minutes and test.

Use NetworX from softperfect.com and cross check accuracy.

Originally Posted by karthik316_1999

I
Dilip, by "automate" are you referring to the action of "dialing the windows dialer" or "re-starting/re-booting the modem" ?

It depends on your mode of connection. If in bridge mode, simply disconnecting the dialer will do. But if in PPPoE, you need to reboot the modem. Both can be done automatically.