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The National Consumer Helpline (NCH) functioning at Delhi University has received 1585 complaints from consumers from ten states during April 2005. Complaints regarding domestic home appliances and telecom services constituted thirty per cent each of the total complaints. The Helpline was inaugurated by Shri Sharad Pawar, Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution on March 15, 2005 coinciding with the World Consumer Rights Day this year. With financial assistance from the Department of Consumer Affairs, the project provides a toll free telephone no. (1600-11- 4000), where a citizen could call to seek information, advice or guidance for dealing with his day- to-day consumer problem.
The maximum number of calls received by NCH (43 %) were from consumers in Delhi, 21per cent from Maharastra and ten per cent from U.P. The complaints on products covered a wide range of items like television, refrigerator, water purifier, food processors, motor bikes and cars, computers, VCD, DVD, CD players etc. In the service sector, the telecom sector invited maximum complaints regarding excess time taken by Telecom companies for converting pre-paid connection to post - paid connection, overcharging, excess/inflated billing, non-availability of roaming facility even after confirmation by telecom companies etc.
NCH received a total of 4000 calls from March 15 to May 21, 2005 out of which 404 were pertaining to defective services of the telecom sector including 93 complaints against BSNL for false billing. Airtel and Tata Indicom received 70 and 71 complaints respectively on grounds of defective and unsatisfactory services.
The Online Complaints Registration and Mediation Mechanism of CORE (Consumer Online Resource And Empowerment ) Centre which was also launched on March 15 this year with financial support from the Department of Consumer Affairs received a total of 491 calls during April, 2005 of which 30 per cent was about telecom sector and 22 per cent on domestic appliances.
Initially the Helpline intends to deal with cases relating to telecom, courier, banking, insurance, financial services etc. where the consumer is faced with problems of defective products or deficient services and unfair trade practices. In case the problem remained unresolved even with the efforts of NCH the consumer would be directed to take up the matter with industry level bodies or chambers of commerce, industry regulators (as they exist in sectors like insurance and banking) or Government officials who are in charge of the relevant industrial sector. It is only as a last resort the consumer will be advised to take their case to consumer courts under the Consumer Protection Act. This Helpline is designed to promote avenues of out of court settlement of consumers’ disputes and resultantly help reduce the burden on consumer courts. It is hoped that major consumer goods companies and service providers would cooperate to have consumer disputes resolved in a harmonious fashion.
SBK:BS:NCH services 9.06.05
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