E-Paper
Government puts up website for consumers grievances
The complaint will be posted on the website as a blog for the company to respond, reports Prerna K Mishra.
Consumers have reason to rejoice. Complaints against brands can now be posted on blogs on a consumer redressal website of the Ministry of Consumer Affairs.
Within the next ten days, the ministry's Consumer Online Resource & Empowerment Centre (CORE) plans to take the entire complaint filing and addressing process online. The website is being assisted by the technology company Mobile Mantra.
"Obviously we will first verify the authenticity of each user and the complaint itself. The complaint will be posted on the website as a blog for the company to respond. If it does, its response will also be posted below the blog," says Mobile Mantra Founder and CEO Naveen Varshneya.
Earlier, when a consumer filed a complaint with the CORE, a copy of the complaint with a forwarding letter was sent to the company marketing the brand concerned.
In case there was no response, another letter would be sent as a reminder. If there was still no response, the consumer was advised to take the matter to court.
CORE registered about 1,500 complaints every month but the redressal rate was less than 20 per cent. But once the complaints are on a website, for all to see, the companies concerned may well be shamed into redressing grievances more often.
