Broadband Security Deposit or Advance Not Refunded: The 60-Day Rule and How to Use It

Reviewed on: 2026-06-12.

The direct answer first. Your operator should refund your security deposit after you close the connection. TRAI's quality of service norms have long required operators to process refunds of deposits within 60 days of closure. Delay beyond 60 days attracts interest, and the rate TRAI prescribed is 10 per cent a year. An unused advance for service you never consumed should also come back, adjusted for the period used. If your receipt says “deposit” and your agreement does not clearly say “non-refundable”, treat the money as refundable and claim it.

Take a typical case. Meera moved from Bengaluru to Kochi in January. She closed her fibre account with a national ISP, returned the ONT against a receipt, and paid the final bill. She had paid a Rs 2,000 equipment deposit and held Rs 1,650 of unused advance rental. By June, nothing had arrived. At that point she is not requesting a favour. She is recovering Rs 3,650 of her own money, plus interest for the months beyond the 60-day window.

Frame each amount correctly, because operators blur them to underpay.

• Security deposit. Money held against the router or unpaid bills. It returns in full once the account is closed, equipment is returned, and dues are nil.
• Advance rental. Prepayment for service. On disconnection, the unused portion returns. If you paid for twelve months and left after seven, claim five months back, calculated on the plan rate.

Quote the two figures separately in every letter.

1. Close the account in writing. A phone call leaves no record. Use the app, email, or web form, and save the ticket number and date. The 60-day window is measured from closure, so this date matters.
2. Return the equipment against a receipt. Hand over the router or ONT only against a dated receipt showing the serial number. If a technician collects it, photograph the device, the serial sticker, and the acknowledgement. “Equipment not returned” is the most common excuse for holding a deposit.
3. Clear genuine dues and confirm nil balance. Pay any real final bill and ask for written confirmation that the balance is zero. A clean closure removes the operator's only lawful ground to adjust your deposit.
4. Send a refund demand quoting the 60-day norm. State the deposit amount, the unused advance, the closure date, and your bank details. Ask for the refund within the remaining window, or immediately if 60 days have passed, with interest.
5. Escalate on a calendar, not on patience. Day 61 with no money is your trigger. Go to the operator's appellate authority, then the National Consumer Helpline on 1915, then the consumer commission through e-Daakhil. Refusing to return a refundable deposit is a deficiency in service, and commissions hear small claims. There is no court fee for claims up to Rs 5 lakh.

A concrete number makes your letter harder to ignore. Meera's Rs 3,650 stayed unpaid for ten months after closure, which is eight months beyond the 60-day window. At 10 per cent a year, that is roughly Rs 243 of interest. Small, yes. But naming the figure shows the operator you know the norm, and a consumer commission can award interest and compensation on top of the principal. Mention the interest claim in the demand letter and again in any e-Daakhil filing.

To: Nodal / Appellate Authority, [Operator name]
Subject: Refund of deposit and unused advance, account [customer ID],
closed on [date]

1. I closed broadband account [customer ID] on [date], ticket no.
   [number]. The equipment (serial no. [number]) was returned on
   [date] against a receipt. The final bill is paid and the balance
   is nil.
2. Refundable amounts: security deposit Rs [amount] (receipt dated
   [date]) and unused advance rental Rs [amount] for the period
   [dates].
3. More than [number] days have passed since closure. TRAI's quality
   of service norms expect deposit refunds within 60 days, with
   interest at 10 per cent a year for delay beyond that.
4. Credit Rs [total], with interest of Rs [amount] computed to date,
   to [bank, account no., IFSC] within 7 days.
5. Failing this, I will register the grievance with the National
   Consumer Helpline (1915) and file before the consumer commission
   through e-Daakhil, claiming interest and compensation.

[Name, mobile, email]

If your connection was with BSNL or MTNL, you can do something private-ISP customers cannot. File an RTI application with the operator's CPIO asking for: the date your closure was recorded, the status and file movement of your refund, the office and designation currently holding it, and a copy of the applicable deposit refund policy. A reply that shows your refund sat unprocessed for months is strong material before a consumer commission. Start with how to file RTI online. For private ISPs the RTI Act does not apply, so spend your energy on the appellate authority and e-Daakhil instead. The filing walkthrough is in our e-Daakhil guide.

This guide is for money stuck after you leave. If your connection was never installed in the first place, read broadband paid but not installed. If you are still a subscriber and the line underdelivers, read broadband speed below the promised plan. More guides are at the practical guides hub.

No. The deposit usually appears on your first invoice or in the operator's app under account details. Ask the operator in writing to confirm the deposit held against your customer ID. Their own records are enough to base a claim on.

Ask for the damage assessment in writing, with photographs and the date of inspection. If you photographed the device at handover, send those pictures. A deduction without a documented assessment is just a number invented to keep your money.

Ask for an itemised bill for the new dues with dates of usage. Charges for periods after your recorded closure date are not payable. Dispute them in writing and do not let them become the excuse for withholding the deposit.

Claim both. Quote 10 per cent a year for the period beyond 60 days from closure. A consumer commission can also award compensation for the harassment and your costs, so keep proof of every follow-up.

The company remains liable even if it exits a service area. Write to its registered office and appellate authority. If it is unresponsive, file on e-Daakhil against the company at its registered address. For licensing-level issues with a defunct operator you may also lodge a grievance on CPGRAMS addressed to the Department of Telecommunications.

The 60-day refund expectation comes from TRAI's quality of service framework and has been the consistent industry norm for years. Your agreement may promise something faster. Read your terms, quote whichever is shorter, and ask the operator to state its own refund timeline in writing. An operator that will not name a date is telling you to escalate.

Download the broadband deposit refund checklist (PDF).