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Public sector telephone companies are answerable to consumers for poor services

The public sector telephone companies have always been protected from unhappy subscribers by outdated rules and regulations. But the consumer courts have shown that there are ways to get around the antiquated regulations and ruling in favour of the customer.

Take the case of Harkishan Lal Kamboj Vs General Manager, Telephones. Kamboj, was a rich farmer in Abohar, Punjab and his phone went dead and stayed that way for 37 days. He filed a complaint before the district consumer forum in Firozpur and claimed compensation for the inconvenience and the loss suffered by him. In his complaint, Kamboj stated that he was a rich farmer who owned 20 acres of irrigated land and that he needed a working telephone.

The telephone department argued in its defence that Kamboj