Mumbai:
After three-and-a-half years of watching cable television for free, the last thing the residents of a Dadar society expected was a bill. They were in for a rude shock when Penguin Cable Network billed households in Anil Apartments between Rs 5,000 and Rs 10,000 for TV cable, last week.
"We haven't been receiving our cable bills since 2007, nor did the cable boy turn up to collect the monthly fee. Now, all of a sudden, we are being asked to pay Rs 10,000 at one go for three years," said Alka Sindwani, a resident of Anil Apartments. An additional grouse was that some of channels beamed were not clear either.
Anil Apartments had been enjoying free viewing of GECs (General Entertainment Channels) like
Star Plus, Sony, Cartoon Network and news channels until now.
"We were shocked to see the bill. We didn't receive any prior notice, so how could the cable operator send us such a huge bill out of the blue? We are also being charged for free channels like Colors," says Pauline Fernandes, another resident. The residents have requested the cable operator to let them pay the amount in installments.
Manish Chawla, who owns Penguin Cable Network said, "In 2007, the set top box was a new addition. We didn't understand the billing system but our cable boy would go to Anil Apartments every month. The residents would make an entry in the card but not pay the amount.
"Since I'm on friendly terms with most of them, I felt uncomfortable asking them for the money, yet we never stopped beaming the channels. The current bills we drew up for every home include free-to-air charges, pay channels, service tax and entertainment tax."