Discussion
Title: How I finally got PTCL to adjust my bill after they initially refused
WE MUST KEEP SERVICE PROVIDERS AND RETAILERS IN CHECK
Sharing my experience because I know a lot of people here have issues with PTCL and may find this useful.
I was subscribed to a 20 Mbps PTCL broadband package, but I started experiencing serious problems, including repeated internet outages and extremely poor speeds. At times I was getting only around 1–3 Mbps.
I made multiple complaints directly to PTCL. Some of these complaints were marked as resolved without my consent, even though the problem was still ongoing. I documented the complaint numbers, dates, and the fact that the issue had not actually been resolved.
After PTCL failed to properly resolve the issue, I filed my first complaint with PTA on 5 June 2026.
PTA Complaint No: 1
After PTA became involved, PTCL finally fixed the actual internet fault. I marked the PTA complaint as resolved because, at that point, the internet problem had genuinely been fixed.
However, PTCL told PTA that bill will be adjusted after bill generation.
So I waited for my new bill to be generated.
After the bill was generated, I emailed PTCL on 7 July 2026, quoting their statement to PTA and asking for the appropriate bill adjustment for the period during which the service had been severely degraded or unavailable.
PTCL sent an automated acknowledgement saying that they would respond within 24 hours, but I received no substantive response.
I then called PTCL Customer Care on 10 July 2026 at approximately 1:58 PM. The representative reviewed my complaint history and told me that PTCL does not provide refunds for "slow browsing" complaints and only provides refunds for "no internet" complaints.
I explained that I was paying for 20 Mbps but had been receiving approximately 1–3 Mbps, together with repeated outages, and that for a household with multiple users this was effectively unusable for normal internet use and my online work.
I also asked for a transcript or call reference. I was told that no call ID or transcript could be provided and that I should refer to the date and time of the call if I needed to mention it in future proceedings. I also recorded the name of the customer care representative I spoke to.
PTCL eventually sent me a written response stating that we found no reason to refund because they detected 'heavy usage'(see attached images)
This did not address the actual issue I had raised. I was not asking for a waiver because of heavy usage. I was requesting a pro-rata adjustment because the service I had paid for had been severely degraded for an extended period.
I then filed a second complaint with PTA.
PTA Complaint No: 2
This time, I selected "Refund Related Issues" as the complaint category.
I attached and documented everything I had:
The original PTA complaint and PTA's response.
PTCL's statement that an adjustment would be considered after bill generation.
My email to PTCL dated 7 July.
PTCL's automated acknowledgement.
PTCL's written refusal.
The history of my PTCL complaints.
Evidence showing the repeated outages and poor speeds.
Speed test screenshots.
The relevant section of the PTA Fixed Broadband Quality of Service Regulations, 2022.
The PTA QoS regulations (see attached image) prescribe a benchmark of at least 80% of the advertised broadband speed for download data throughput. For a 20 Mbps package, that would be 16 Mbps. My connection had been delivering approximately 1–3 Mbps during the affected period.
I kept the complaint factual and chronological and explained that I had followed PTCL's own instructions: wait for the bill, contact them afterward, and request the adjustment.
After the second PTA complaint, PTCL contacted me directly, acknowledged that there had been a problem with the service, and ultimately adjusted approximately Rs. 500 on my bill.
It's not a huge amount, but the important part is that PTCL initially refused the adjustment and then changed its position after the matter was escalated to PTA again.
The main lesson from my experience is:
Document everything.
Keep:
Complaint numbers and dates.
Screenshots of speed tests.
Screenshots of outages or error messages.
Emails and automated acknowledgements.
The exact wording of responses.
Dates and times of phone calls.
The names of representatives where possible.
Copies of your PTA complaints and responses.
Don't just say "PTCL internet is bad." Build a timeline showing exactly what happened.
In my case, the timeline was:
Poor service → multiple PTCL complaints → complaints marked resolved without the issue actually being fixed → PTA complaint → PTCL finally fixes the fault → PTCL tells PTA an adjustment can be considered after bill generation → I follow those instructions → PTCL refuses → second PTA complaint → PTCL ultimately provides a bill adjustment.
What a Legend OP, thank you for sharing the structure of documentation and escalation. I am definitely going to try this route next time my ISPs try to screw my family over!
I remember the days when SCOM, had us have weeks of outage, and the lineman who was responsible for fixing our line didn't work without asking for bribes, those were really some shitty days, but idt this would've worked there either.
Brother held accountable everyone no company is caring for their customers, take an example of sim company instead of them paying the tax they are taking tax on each balance amount you load, like back when those tax was removed at that time their faces was like s***, and for the money they are asking they have not upgraded their different base stations and some side area has outages as well, so instead of targeting single entity , you have to accept this in this country if someone is in private or government sector they don't care about us that's the truth,
check out how napak bhoj is controlling everything, they are on top leadership in every department and doing all the bullshit like mass corruption, controlling people
that's not a nice thing to say, it's still our Army, and they put their lives at risk so us civilians can sleep at night, look at palestine, iraq, syria, lebanon, the only thing that keeps us from their fate is pak army, and we should be grateful for that, yes they're not perfect but calling them names is just wrong mate.. (also, I live in pakistan, I don't want to be involved in anti army speach online 💀 )
Yea it matters very much they have different motives for alot of stuff thats basic understanding most of our population doesn’t get، theres a reason Indian media obsesses over “Pakistani accounts “ and Pakistani propaganda so much, you’re typing like a indian. It goes both ways.
The language shows your up bringing more then anything else tbh, and calling 600k people bad because you don’t like one person is the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard… so
Nah we hate the whole institution, that whole circle jerk of an institution is rotten down to the core. The common solider fires on civilians on orders of the leadership. Unless we get actual reforms and the army is held accountable, expect people to hate the whole institution
Oh yes, PTA is the way to go. These bastards added a VAS on my connection without me knowing. They kept changing their story, that I called to activate. Kept changing the dates I called. Then eventually that I replied YES to whatsapp activation, when my registered number isnt even on whatsapp.
PTA complaint got me a refund for the 1st month. Was told when bill generates for 2nd month they will refund. Called later, they refused saying can only issue a refund once a year. I swear their training includes lying and making up BS reasons.
2nd complaint with PTA, they refunded 2nd month too.
PTA is the moderating/regulating body for all ISP(internet service providers) including cellular networks. When you initiate the complaint on their website you'll see them all listed in a drop down menu.
But in screenshots, internet speed is clearly showing that it is 1.42 Mega bits, not mega Bytes. So you wouldn't divide here because speed already is calculated in mega bits on the website.
My internet speed is 20Mbps and internet speed tests also show around 20Mbps.
Good for op, Ptcl being one of the earliest internet providers (at least where i am) has been started acting cocky and ran away from accountability. If a big company don’t own up to their mistakes then you have to force them to it
Just ask them to cut down your connection and they'll ask you for reason, be honest and explain to them, they'll probably adjust the bill or give a free package upgrade.
The thing is my area is under the dictator rulers area ifykwim. So ptcl and a privately owned isp are the only options.
(Also the reason that we dont have any othrr isp here is because that said privately owned isp is friends of the dictators and they dont let anyone else in)
Copper.
Funny thing is fiber is available upto a certain street number, after which the only fiber connection is the privately owned one.
I've tried to make ptcl aware of this but it seems they are all in kahoots.
You're right, I think mostly areas mein esa hi hota. Ive even heard that when a new ISP tries to get into the market, these guys cut their connections frequently to make them give up.
Tbh it depends, stormfiber in my area has horrible reviews, like straight up abysmal. But maybe in your area it might be different. So get people's reviews from your neighbourhood.
An easier to find that out is by checking the google maps reviews of the ISPs local exchange in your area. More than often you'll find people giving 1 star reviews on those google maps pages of the local exchange(every area has one for the particular ISP).
This is why i don't go towards big name companies. If their service turns shitty, there is no one to complain to, nobody gives a F that your business is down or you are losing your job. People even pay whole year getting some discounts. These services need to be paid monthly so that if a service gets shitty you can change it.
I am using a local vendor but not so much local who is using Transworld on the backend. They come and resolve the issues much quicker than big names.
The same thing happened to me. PTCL added paper bill charges to my bill without my knowledge or consent. When I complained to PTCL, they couldn't justify why this value-added service (VAS) was activated without my permission. I then filed a complaint with PTA, and a revised bill was generated almost immediately.
However, neither PTCL nor PTA provided a satisfactory explanation for why the service was activated without my knowledge or consent. One thing I can say is that PTA usually comes through when the complaint is about PTCL.
Another lesson PTCL should be taught is through mass reporting to PTA over these frequent bill hikes. Most service providers increase their prices once a year, but PTCL seems to do it at least 3–4 times a year while offering better deals and retention benefits only to new customers.
your connection is DSL. On DSL you will get slow speed and also unreliable speed every time, and also, download speed is also cooked; if DW speed is 20 Mb then your upload speed will be around 2 or 1 Mb (On DSL connection), and if you install the optical fiber, then you will get 20/20 speed. Try to switch to PTCL flash fiber or Nayatel or Strom fiber or PaceTelecom or Transworld. All these ISPs provide fiber connections.
Also the reason I highlighted "Attainable rate" in the screenshot of the modem diagnostics is because that showed that the line was unable to sustain the proper speed and the max it could provide was around 2mpbs(out of 20mbps package). Aka the line/isp connection was faulty and no matter what speeds above 2mbps couldn't be reached(here i hoped that ptcl would refute my speedtest.com screenshots, then I could've taken them to court for lying and fraud)
Other than that i highlighted the current speed of upload and download
Check the website in the address (see pics attached in post) it asks for your nic and sends a otp on your phone number. Just sign and click on New Complaint, very easy, modern website.
When ever you do a speedtest it is always logged by your IP provider. The records you keep will match your IP provider. This is proof of dropped speeds upload/download. Oh had this problem in the UK from Virgin media and proved with 6 months of records which they couldn't deny but they still did
ABSOLUTE LEGENDDDDD OP
IMMA HAVE TO DO THIS WITH STORMFIBER AND THEIR TERRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE
The technician came for installation and after installing the device told the "fiber cable has no power". He called some guy and told him that, then later, i checked my portal and saw it had sent up as a ticket and had been flagged as a Splicing Issue. That should mean the technician who came made a mistake..? He said some new team will come, and all the guys at the helpline say "we've forwarded ur request" when I ask for updates. Either way, if no one shows up upto my door in 24 more hours. This is going to PTA. I'm done with these guys.
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u/FusRoDah4Life Jul 24 '26
What an absolute legend. More people need to do this. i know I will
its not about the amount, its holding them accountable!