Only 120 companies 'happy to help' consumers

SOCIAL ENTERPRISE

Tall claims that companies make about their corporate social responsibility packages may not always ring true. Sample some figures. Only 120 companies in India have joined hands with the National Consumer Helpline to help their customers register complaints against their products and services. The helpline was started a year ago jointly by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs and the University of Delhi.

The helpline, which operates out of the university campus, now registers almost 4,000 complaints a month. However, it has managed to forward only 3,500 complaints to companies for redressal in four months. This is because very few companies have geared themselves up to participate in the helpline initiative. So a majority of the complaints are going unheard.

According to the consumer helpline, it receives the largest number of complaints against telecom services providers. In the last four months, there were 1,128 complaints against BSNL and 405 against Vodafone. Though both the companies have CSR programmes and Vodafone has a “happy to help” tag line, too, neither has linked up with the National Consumer Helpline programme designed to address grievances.

When contacted, BSNL’s deputy director general (public grievances) Narendra Kumar said that he wanted the helpline to be integrated with the company’s own redressal system, but this was ruled out by the helpline.

“We had received complaints through email from the helpline. We are waiting for the second set of complaints,” he said. The National Consumer Helpline Project Manager S K Virmani said that the company did not respond to the first set of complaints either.

He said Vodafone and Reliance do not respond to complaints sent through the helpline. When asked why the company did not link up with the helpline, a Vodafone spokesperson said that the company would not be able to comment immediately. Reliance Communications was silent on the helpline. Its spokesperson Gaurav Wahi said: “Our call centre, the single largest call centre facility in India, can handle a few lakh calls daily and is a major differentiator to provide quality customer support.”

Meanwhile, there were 320 complaints against Nokia and 481 against Airtel. The two companies, however, have signed up for the convergence programme of the helpline which allows them to access complaints against them. Both Airtel and Tata Indicom executives claimed that the companies have a large consumer base and some customers could face problems.

However, at least 22 leading banks and insurance companies are reporting to the helpline. While private companies like HDFC, ICICI, Kotak Mahindra HSBC, Centurion Bank of Punjab, and Punjab National Bank and insurance companies like Bajaj Allianz, Birla Sun life, Aviva Life Insurance etc. have joined the helpline’s convergence plan, nationalised banks have not. Among airlines, only Air Deccan has signed up.

Virmani said that the helpline has tied up with the Ficci to coax companies to respond to complaints by joining its covergence programme. Amita Joseph, executive director, Business and Community Foundation, a consultant on CSR for companies, said that the companies talk big when it comes to CSR. The least they can do is to bear responsibility for their consumers. This helpline is their hall of shame.”