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Consumer Grievances


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Details of Public Grievance Appellate Authority ( Telecom Circle wise)


Consumer Grievances Redressal Mechanism in BSNL


Consumer Grievances Redressal Mechanism (Public Grievances Redressal Mechanism)

BSNL has a well structured and multilayered Public Grievances Redressal Mechanism including Dispute Resolution Mechanism. The Public Redressal setup in BSNL has been introduced right from the Corporate Office to SSA(Secondary Switching Area) levels. Subscribers having complaints or grievances can interact with the organization through the following for Public Grievance / Dispute settlements: -

  • Complaints are being booked on "198". This Toll Free Service of booking complaints are available in every telephone system. Grievances can be booked on "12727"(for Circle Office) or "1095" (for District Office). This special Toll Free Service has been introduced by BSNL for booking public grievances.
  • In every office 'visiting hours' are prescribed where the subscribers having complaints or grievances can approach the officers of BSNL at various levels,
  • Public Grievance Officers are available right from Corporate Office to SSA (Secondary Switching Area) level. The complainant can approach these officers in person or through written complaints or communicate through e-mail or contact on telephones,
  • Special attention is being given to holding meetings with consumer organizations.
  • Telephones Advisory Committees have been constituted,
  • Senior Officers are available for public without prior appointment during a specified hours on working days.
  • Customer Service Centres have been opened for IMPCS.

Open House Session:


Complaints/suggestions of general nature as regard to improving the telecom services in the area are discussed in the Open House Sessions. The basic idea of conducting such Open House Sessions is to establish direct channels of communications with our customers and also to enable the telecom staff to appreciate and evaluate the customers difficulties and complaints from their point of view. A press notification is issued in leading newspaper to hold the Open House Session for inviting customers to attend and submit their suggestions/grievances. Subscribers are invited in a public hall. The session is presided over by Senior Officers i.e. Area GM/Area Manager. Customers are requested to place general grievances which are recorded. Replies are given on the spot. In few cases, which cannot be settled on the spot a time frame is given. Efforts are made to settle the case within the given time frame. Written reply is sent to the customers.

Telephone Adalats:


Subscribers whose grievances remained unsettled are invited to make petitions for redressal of their grievances in Telephone Adalats. SSA(Secondary Switching Area) Level Telephone Adalats are being conducted on bimonthly periodicity and Circle level Telephone Adalats are being conducted once in three months.

Customers are asked to give their grievances in writing with all supporting documents within stipulated period to District Complaint Officer (DCO). The concerned office to whom the case relates examines the case received by DCO and settles the case. A speaking order settling the case is communicated to the customers. For unsettled cases, a date is fixed for holding the Telephone Adalat. The customers are invited to attend the Telephone Adalat. The Adalat is presided over by General Manager of the area. The concerned officers of the Department are also called to be present in the Adalat. The full details of the case is presented to the presiding officer. The order of the presiding officer is communicated in the Adalat after hearing the arguments from both the parties.

Appellate Jurisdiction of Telephone Adalats:

Circle level adalats headed by CGMs can consider the cases of the appeals against the decisions of the adalats chaired by SSA Heads. Adalats headed by SSA Heads can consider cases of excess billing which have been rejected by them as administrative heads of SSAs.

Telecom consumers Protection and Regulation of Grievances


[TRAI Regulation, 2007(3 of 2007)]
BSNL ensures prompt rectification of any fault or complaint booked through its extensive grass root level online fault restoration system (FRS). However, in case you still have your problem unsolved timely, BSNL has implemented a three tier consumer grievance redressal mechanism comprising of call centres for various services, nodal officers at SSA and Circle level and an appellate authority for deciding cases that the consumers may wish to appeal against. As a first step, you may contact our Call Centre on toll free helpline numbers given below.

  • For basic services including broadband services:1500 (toll free number)
  • For GSM Mobile services: 9400024365 (toll free number).
  • For Broadband &Internet services:1800-424-1600 (toll free number).
  • For MPLS & Other Data services: 1800-425-1957 (toll free number).

1. Procedure for handling grievances by Call Centres.


  • The Call Centres, immediately on receipt of your complaint:
  • Shall register such complaint by allotting a unique identification number to be called the docket number;
  • Communicate, at the time of lodging the complaint, the unique identification number to be called docket number, date and time of registration of the complaint, to you;
  • Record details in respect of such complaint;
  • Intimate you
    (i)Through telephone or other electronic means or any other means; and
    (ii)Within the time limit specified the action taken on your complaint; and
  • give you contact details of the Nodal Officer (including his name, telephone number and address) in case you are not satisfied with the redressal of your grievance or when requested by you.

1.1 Time limit for redressal of grievance of consumers by Call Centres.

  • Unless specified elsewhere, all complaints relating to fault or disruption of service or disconnection of service shall be redressed within three days from the date of registration of complaint;
  • Unless specified elsewhere, all other complaints shall be redressed within seven days from the date of registration of complaint;
  • where lesser time limit has been specified by any other law for the time being in force or other regulations of TRAI or DOT or by BSNL for redressal of grievance, the Call Centres shall redress the grievances of the consumer within such specified time.

In case you are not satisfied with the redressal of your grievance at the Call Centre level or in case the Call Centre within the above time limit does not attend to the complaint, you may approach the Nodal Officer for redressal of your grievance.

2. Redressal of Consumer Grievances by Nodal Officers.

You may approach, by a letter in writing, or through telephone, or web based online filing of complaints or through short message service or through other electronic means and any other means, the Nodal Officer of the concerned SSA of the Circle/District for redressal of your grievance.

In emergent situation, one can approach at the first instance itself a Nodal Officer instead of a Call Centre and the Nodal Officer shall redress the grievance.

2.1 Handling of grievances of consumers by Nodal Officers.

The Nodal Officer shall be accessible to the consumers at the address made available by the public notice and telephone bills, as referred to above register every complaint lodged by the consumers;
  • communicate, within three days from date of the receipt of the complaint, the unique complaint number to the consumer;
  • after taking the remedial measure for redressal of the grievance or decision thereon, intimate, within the time limit specified as below the remedial measure or decision taken, to the consumer.

2.2 Time limit for redressal of complaints by Nodal Officer.


The Nodal Officer shall redress the complaints of the consumer within ten days of the registration of the complaint, provided that complaints relating to fault or disruption of service or disconnection of service shall be redressed within three days from the date of registration of complaint.

In case the consumer is still not satisfied with the redressal of his grievance by the Nodal Officer or in case his complaint is not redressed by the Nodal Officer within the time limit specified or no reply is received regarding resolution of the complaint from Nodal Officer, he may appeal to the appellate authority for redressal of his grievance.

Please Use the following form to findut the Nodal PG Officer in your SSA/ Circle
Please Choose Your Circle :
Please Choose an SSA :

3. Appeal to appellate authority for redressal of consumer grievances.

  • In case a consumer is not satisfied with the redressal of his grievance by the Nodal Officer, or his complaint remains to be redressed or no reply is received within the period of ten days of the registration of the complaint by the Nodal Officer or three days of the registration of complaint by the Nodal Officer relating to fault or disruption of service or disconnection such consumer may, in writing, make an appeal to the appellate authority of the concerned Circle.
  • Every appeal to the appellate authority under sub-para (1) shall be made in duplicate, in this Form.
  • Every appeal under sub-para (1) shall be filed within three months after the expiry of the time limit specified in within the period of ten days of the registration of the complaint by the Nodal Officer or three days of the registration of complaint by the Nodal Officer relating to fault or disruption of service or disconnection:

    Provided that the appellate authority may entertain any appeal after the expiry of the said period of three months but before one year from the time limit of ten days of the registration of the complaint by the Nodal Officer or three days of the registration of complaint by the Nodal Officer relating to fault or disruption of service or disconnection if it is satisfied that there was sufficient cause for not filing it within that period.

  • Every Telecom Circle/Telephone District shall make available to the consumer the Form of appeal free of charge: (a) At its every office and sales outlets, and at every office of the Nodal Officer and the appellate authority;
    (b) At its website for download by consumers.

3.1 Disposal of appeal by appellate authority.

  • The appellate authority shall ensure uniformity in the procedure for deciding appeals and comply with the provisions contained in succeeding paras.
  • The secretariat of the appellate authority shall:-
  • Register every appeal immediately on receipt of the same and send, within three days of receipt of the appeal, an acknowledgement to the appellant indicating the serial number of the appeal registered;
  • Forward, within six days from the date of receipt of an appeal, a copy of the appeal to the concerned Section of the Circle office and/or the concerned SSA head and/or the concerned Nodal Officer;
  • The concerned Section of the Circle office and/or the concerned SSA head and/or the concerned Nodal Officer, shall, within fifteen days from the date of receipt of the appeal forwarded by the Secretariat of the Appellate Authority file in writing its reply;
  • In case the concerned Section of the Circle office and/or the concerned SSA head and/or the concerned Nodal Officer fails to file its reply within the period specified the appellate authority shall proceed on the basis of the material available on record;
  • The appellate authority may call for, any information, document or record, from the concerned Section of the Circle office and/or the concerned SSA head and/or the concerned Nodal Officer or the appellant, which may be relevant and necessary for examination and disposal of the appeal, as the case may be;
  • The concerned Section of the Circle office and/or the concerned SSA head and/or the concerned Nodal Officer and the appellant, shall provide such information, document or record as the appellate authority may call for;
  • Provided also that in case a party to the case fails to furnish such information, document or record, the appellate authority, on being satisfied that the party in possession of the record is withholding it, it may decide the appeal after appraising the material available on record and decide the appeal to the best of its judgment on merits.
  • The appellate authority shall, on receipt of the reply from concerned Section of the Circle office and/or the concerned SSA head and/or the concerned Nodal Officer and on the basis of information, document or record under the para above from and after conducting such inquiry as the appellate authority may consider necessary, and after affording reasonable opportunity of hearing to the parties, dispose of the appeal by passing an order in writing and stating therein the points for determination, the decision thereon and the reasons for the decision;
  • The appellant, being consumer, may, either appear in person or authorize any of his representative to present his case or send his representation with a request to dispose of the appeal, without being present in person;
  • The concerned Section of the Circle office and/or the concerned SSA head and/or the concerned Nodal Officer may authorize one or more of its officers or employees to present its case;
  • Provided that in case the service provider fails to present its case before the appellate authority on the date fixed for hearing, the appellate authority may proceed ex-parte and decide the appeal on merits.
  • The appellate authority shall decide every appeal within three months from the date of filing the appeal and pass order in accordance with the provisions of sub para-7 above;
  • The order of the appellate authority shall be communicated in writing within seven days of the order to the appellant and the concerned Section of the Circle office and/or the concerned SSA head and/or the concerned Nodal Officer;
  • The concerned Section of the Circle office and/or the concerned SSA head and/or the concerned Nodal Officer shall, within fifteen days from the date of receipt of the order referred to above, comply with the order of the appellate authority and report immediately compliance thereof to the appellate authority;
  • The appellate authority may decide any appeal with the consent between the parties at any stage of the proceedings and such appeal shall be treated as decided with the mutual consent of the parties.

Details of Public Grievance Appellate Authority ( Telecom Circle wise)


Please Use the following form to find out the PG Appellate Authority in your Circle
Please Choose Your Circle :

4. Publicity of the Redressal Mechanism

  • The address and telephone numbers of officers are printed in the information pages of telephone directory as well as through notice boards in customer service centers and exchange buildings.
  • The date of holding of adalats are notified through local news papers and electronic media.

If a complainant is not able to get the complaint redressed through 3-tier mechanism of Consumer grievances, click CPGRAMS Link below for lodging the grievance.



Download MANUAL FOR CONSUMERS’ EDUCATION AND PREVENTION OF THEIR GRIEVANCES