Apps that pierce ballooning utility bills

Years ago, when Jigar Doshi returned from the US, he realised his monthly phone bill was around Rs 3,000 — more than what he paid in US, where rates are significantly higher. Perturbed by the disparity, Doshi started planning an android app which could track voice calls and messages from a phone and use the data to suggest the best available plan in the market and save you money. He joined hands with Ankit Chhajer to develop Planhound. The app today has over a million monthly users and plans are to reach 10 million users. This is one example of how a few Indian startups have created apps to help users choose the right plan and reduce their phone and utility bills. Automatic detection The inspiration for Planhound came from the US website Billshrink.com, which helps users find the best wireless plans, television services and credit cards rates, reveals co-founder Ankit Chhajer. The app detects all connections a user owns — across mobile, Internet (wired and wireless), landline and DTH — even if they are not recharged through its app or website. “It does this automatically without any user input,” Chhajer says. “It gives a user live balances of each connection. It can also unify all connections owned by a family in the cloud if Planhound is installed on their respective devices.” Planhound alerts users at the right time to renew their mobile packs, buy top-ups, recharge DTH connection or pay post-paid bill. The firm now plans to extend their services to utility services such as electricity. Chhajer says the app puts a disclaimer that if there are deviations in data usage, the users have to check with the operator for accuracy. Planhound is not the only player in this segment. The Hindu