Govt asks cos to bolster consumer complaints redressal system

Amid rising consumer complaints, the government today asked corporates to display the policy for replacement and refund of products as well as timeframe for redressal of grievances on their websites.
A conference on government-industry partnership for redressal of consumer grievances was convened here today chaired by Consumer Affairs Secretary Hem Pande.
The function was attended by all the leading industry chambers FICCI, CII, Assocham, PHD, DICCI and 130 companies cutting across various sectors such as consumer products, e- commerce, banking, insurance, travel etc, an official statement said.
In view of the increasing number of consumer grievances pertaining to different sectors of industry, Pande said there is a genuine need to pay immediate attention to strengthen redressal mechanism so that grievances are redressed within a given timeframe.

"The policy for replacement and refund should be placed on the website of the companies," Pande said.
Stating that the need for transparency in this regard is of prime importance, the secretary said that each company should bring out names of the nodal officers for handling grievances as well as the escalation matrix so that grievance if not redressed can be taken up with the next higher level.

The names and contact details of alternate nodal officers should also be given.
While the companies should acknowledge timeframe by which the grievances are addressed by giving a unique registration number, Pande asked them to also have regular interaction with the consumers. They should refrain from giving misleading image of the products and services.

The industries were asked to constantly share their ideas with the Department of Consumer Affairs so as to make the consumer redressal mechanism robust.
The industry chambers as well as companies endorsed their commitment towards redressal of consumer grievances.