One of the best tricks of the trade in the good old days was for the ‘competent authority’ to mis-spell your name.
Train ticket, airline ticket, driving licence, scooter booking, radio licence, income tax refund, sales tax certificate, marriage certificate, school leaving certificate, board exam results, marriage certificates, travel documents, property documents, telephone booking receipt, gas cylinder records, legal paperwork ad infinitum. My name lends itself to variations, Viresh, Veresh, Mallik, Mullick, and so on and so forth. This culminates into been there, done it, smile and part with a few ‘Gandhis’ (read rupee notes) and move on.
One of the more interesting episodes involved a colleague with the surname "Shah". The ticket issued at the airport, despite showing the passport, was issued to "Saha". He did not look at the document carefully enough, and sure enough, in a well-sprung trap, the counter staff inside the airport denied the ‘Shah ban gaya Saha’, a boarding pass.
A few Gandhis later, the matter was resolved, but I took up cudgels after the act, on return, with long letters protesting the case and demanding a refund. It was all the more enjoyable because the person who had caused the chaos in the first case was one "Rai", so all letters from me to the airline referred to him as "King Mr RAT".
I am assuming people have read KING RAT. It has a gory ending. Something like this is happening right now.
I have had a cooking gas connection in my correct name for decades now. Luckily the original documents from day-zero are with me, through different dealers as they changed, even the gas company changed itself from Burshane to Bharatgas. At one stage, the Aadhaar number was added, with correct spelling and mobile number, because of which I get the subsidy in my bank account and the SMS confirmation therein.
However, somehow, without my noticing it, in the bills, the spelling of my name has changed itself to Verash and my mobile number has disappeared from the dealer's records, even though, as I said before, the subsidy reaches me directly and the SMS message gets through to me on phone too.
Obviously, therefore, somebody has fiddled with the local database at the dealer end. The dealer's staff, magically, know my mobile number, though.
What happens, if your dealer database name and phone number are at variance with the records kept by the gas company, in this case Bharat Petroleum (where I am a shareholder of a reasonably large number of shares, by the way) aka BharatGas?
1) You cannot raise an online complaint or vigilance report.
2) You cannot make an online payment for a refill.
3) The dealer can threaten to stop supply.
4) Complaints made for gas leakage and emergencies can and do go adrift.
5) You cannot fill any form if the mobile number is wrong or absent.
All the above are underway right now. Luckily, we have electrical and solar options for cooking at home, and so we are not dependant on cooking gas at all, so that's one stick the dealer, one Guptaji from Satish & Company, Hauz Khas, South Delhi, cannot beat me with. But he did try to insist that I go through a "change name procedure", which costs Rs500 and buy a new regulator which costs Rs750 and also pay another Rs250 for a new hose pipe. Over and above that, an inspection for "insurance" purposes, another Rs300.
So when I sent ‘Mr Gupat’ long letters telling him why I was not going to play along, he got kind of irritated with me referring to him as "Gupat", and refused to attend the gas leak emergency. Luckily, as an ex-tanker man myself, I know how to attend to this sort of stuff myself, but that's not the point.
The point is that all the other organisations, government or otherwise, have given up on the minor spelling variation games, and have moved on - or made it easier to fix matters.
It's called ‘correction’. Not "change".
After all, I am very happy with the name my parents gave me, so why is BharatGas aka BPCL ex-Burshane insisting that I have to "change" my name? Because Mr Gupatji of Satish & Company thinks, he can get away with it?
Note: If your name and other details have been altered by the dealer or gas company, then a "correction" is their responsibility. Don't get tricked into filling up a "name change" form and then paying for it.
But it takes ages for Indian govt. to implement it.
Govt. is busy giving speeches on "digital India" , "Artificial Intelligence", "Machine Learning", "Deep Learning" . .etc. but lacks "common sense" in these kinds of issues.
Thanks for Great Article.
And here are few things I could understand:-
1) Name spelling mistake is because of offline (paper system) to online computer system :- it’s like typo error of staff and as far as it can be understood tht the person is same they update mob no, addhar card etc
2) if ever customers wants to get this typo error corrected BPCL does not have any system to correct this in their software or option is to change it thru Name change. Dealer has all customer records in BPCL software and tht is what they have to use compulsorily..
3) their is no need to change your regulator if it is working fine!! Pipe has an expire date after tht it needs to change..
Mandatory inspection needs to be done every 2 years for insurance purpose and it thru government order specifly know as “Sudha Joshi committee recommendationsâ€
And regulator cost :-295/- pips cost :-190/- mandatory inspection cost is as per ur burner at home:- from 177 to 295/-
Hope this clarifies a lot and u can always msg in comment for any other questions!!
Your friend is being VERY economical with the Truth, we are also not fools, so pointwise.
1) Customer details flow is not paper-to-device anymore. The subsidy and message about bank update comes to the correct name and mobile number from the same database. Maintaining a separate local database for billing tricks is the reason for bigger game by dealer and side income by forcing customers to "change name/details" is the smaller game.
2) When I made a noise and filed a Public Grievance, all records were corrected by magic or what?
3) Regulator, pipe, expiry date, fine, let us see the details on Bharat Petroleum/BharatGas website. Insurance is another ripoff, the dealer is unable to provide details of master policy, what are they talking about?
I have people from dealer and BharatGas contacting me relentlessly. My background in shipping on tankers chartered to PSU companies, friends and family in the same business, and ground level contacts all point to a much larger fraud in such cases. Let the dealer be audited for name address mistakes, and what should be permissible error. 1%? 5%? 10%?
And as far as Sudha Joshi Committee is concerned, just throwing names around of a report from 1987 does not impress me, please take a look at something more recent in the same context.
Rajesh Nandal vs Lpg Gas Companies on 25 November, 2010, COMPETITION COMMISSION OF lNDlA
Case No. UTPE no. 104I2009 Date 253.1 .10
Rajesh Nandal informant
LPG Gas Companies Respondent
Have a nice day.
Pointwise reply to ur points...
1) name problem happens only in old cases!!! In new cases once the SV voucher is printed and signed by consumer distributor cant change the same in system!!
2) As i know correction is not possible in bpcl they must have got a name change done witout any charge to u!! As u must have shouted in social media and any ways lpg and petrol pump have dealers are in general know to thiefs due to olden days where LPG and petrol were scares!!
I am not saying all are good but not all are bad also!!!
3) All the dealers have the mandatory inspection letters from their head offices and in a way it’s compulsory!! Website not updated is a miatake of BPCL and dealers has no say in it!!
4) ur details on case is right and after reading it clearly shows tht omc distributer can change customer as per govt guidelines and letters for the same has been issued by ministry!!
Sudha joshi committee in from 1987 and regular letter for revision of charges is issued by ministry to omc’s and same is fowarded to distributos... it’s available with distbutors!!
You too have a nice day..
1) Old/new, everything levelled off when Aadhar details were added for subsidy and direct messaging, but if dealer chooses to maintain double books like in the good old days, only this time on computers, then they need to be pulled up.
2) Correction of name and re-addition of mobile phone number as well as correction of PIN code was done at dealer end on their internal database. It was always correct on BPCL database. The fiddle with names and addresses is to make reconciliation difficult. Bear in mind that we use about 3 cyclinders per annum.
3) The BharatGas dealer has not got a single staff member who is PESO accredited or compliant and they don't have the required ID cards or certification either. Compare this with Indane.
I know what I'm talking about. The dealer is supposed to regularly update customer database. If they run multiple databases for customers on different servers or computers then that needs to be investigated. Especially if the receipt issued does not carry a valid consumer number.
2) no dealer can mentain 2 databases because all the bill printings are done online thru OMC software!!! Here again u dnt know the workings... u just saying things which are technically not possible!!
3) BPcL software is everything they dont have any internal database... everning detail of customer and past records stay with bpcl!!! U again dnt know bocl’s working!!
4) U really think this distributors can afford peso certified staff with the commission they get!! And it is no where in their rules also!! Its like asking vodafone to have trai trained staff at their stores!!!
I told u they dnt have other database its all on BPCL server and they just have access to it and permission to update with customers concent!!!
Non of the recipts can be printed without customer number as it comes from server which is fully owned by BPcl or in other cases respective OMC’s!!
Hope this clears ur mind..
1) Datebase has been same just an update to feed in addhar number came in... nothing gets levelled off by just giving an option to update addhar card tht too in bpcl server!!!
2) no dealer can mentain 2 database as all the date is in BPCL server.. smallest of the changes which are required has to be done in tht BPCL OWNED AND OPERATED SOFTWEAR!!
3) What ever is printed is from BPCl software only it can be changed in tht server only which distributor has access to.. Everything is online and every customer can see his details online!!! Its open to all thru bpcl website!! There is no other place to save this data!! Nor dealer can have extra software and its locked down by BPCL!!
3) U really think this distributor can afford to have staff which is peso certified!! Tht too in this commission!! It is not their in rule book of OMC or of ministry!!
Its like asking Vodafone to keep all their staff trai certified in all their stores!!! Think before to talk such things..
4) U really dnt know working of this dealers andeverything printed is from BPcL software and database is govened by BPCL... dealer only have access to it!!! Consumer is printed in all their bills from bpcl only!!!
Hope this helps u!!
1) Datebase has been same just an update to feed in addhar number came in... nothing gets levelled off by just giving an option to update addhar card tht too in bpcl server!!!
2) no dealer can mentain 2 database as all the date is in BPCL server.. smallest of the changes which are required has to be done in tht BPCL OWNED AND OPERATED SOFTWEAR!!
3) What ever is printed is from BPCl software only it can be changed in tht server only which distributor has access to.. Everything is online and every customer can see his details online!!! Its open to all thru bpcl website!! There is no other place to save this data!! Nor dealer can have extra software and its locked down by BPCL!!
3) U really think this distributor can afford to have staff which is peso certified!! Tht too in this commission!! It is not their in rule book of OMC or of ministry!!
Its like asking Vodafone to keep all their staff trai certified in all their stores!!! Think before to talk such things..
4) U really dnt know working of this dealers andeverything printed is from BPcL software and database is govened by BPCL... dealer only have access to it!!! Consumer is printed in all their bills from bpcl only!!!
Hope this helps u!!
Incredible indian mentality
Till they cross a line with me.
Manage without cooking gas for a few days and teach them "procedures" is what is happening right now.