MIANWALI, Jan 25: The Pakistan Telecommunication Corporation Ltd (PTCL) subscribers in the district were sent telephone bills after expiry of the last date for their payment. PTCL Assistant Accounts Officer Sanaullah Khan told Dawn that the bills were sent on Jan 18 evening to the post office for onward delivery to the subscribers because of five consecutive holidays of Eid-uz-Zuha.

He claimed the post office concerned delivered most of the bills on Jan 23, which was the last date for payment without fine. However, he said, some bills were delivered on the day after the last date. Mr Sanaullh said the number of the PTCL subscribers in the district was more than 25,000.

Meanwhile, the affected subscribers complained that none of the bills had the post office stamp to determine the delivery date.

They lamented that due to late delivery, the subscribers had to wait in long queues outside banks to deposit the bills along with the fine amount. Due to the inconvenience, almost half of the PTCL customers in the district had switched over to cell phones, they claimed.

The affected subscribers have urged the PTCL general manager to order a probe into the delayed delivery of bills and exempt them from paying fine amount. —Correspondent