E-Bills instead of traditional Paper bills, by Phone companies - Good or Bad?
Recently I am receiving emails from phone service providers asking me to switch to eBills (aka Bills via Email). The main reason they say is “Save Trees, Save paper, Save Environment”. But I suspect the main reason is - to cut the cost on their front. Though the underlying idea is good. Why don’t they start with themselves? Why dont they cut short the usage of paper in their offices? Did you ever notice how much print materials like pamphlets, slips, banners, posters etc go waste, whenever they run a campaign ? If they can cut that cost, they can save millions.
Another problem I see when switching to EBills is - Address proof. Most of the BSNL bills are used as address proof and for reimbursment claims. Submitting a ebill (taken as a print out) is not accepted by the Income Tax dept. So I am not going to support the eBill, unless the I.T dept comes up with a policy to accept bills in the form or print-outs.
Instead of asking users to switch to eBills, let those corporates correct their own policy for using paper.
- Rajesh Sundaram