You were charged double the MRP for a bottle of water. What do you do? Where can you complain? And how far can you take your complaint? There is a forum — an official one at that — which can and should answer all your questions, also guide you through the next course of action.
But the success of such forums varies from district to district. The District Consumer Information Centre (DCIC) in Bengaluru, for example, has received less than a dozen calls since its establishment in September 2015.
This is the time when citizens are witnessing a new wave of government intervention in fighting against unfair practices — from deeming payment of service charge at restaurants “voluntary” to cracking down on vendors overcharging for water bottles.
At the same time, however, there is very little awareness about the government-appointed consumer information centres in some districts.
Consumer Rights Education and Awareness Trust (CREAT) was chosen as the nodal agency to run the DCIC for Bengaluru Urban. “We have been bringing out booklets pertaining to consumer rights, running consumer rights clubs in schools and the like. But we have received only 10 or 12 calls so far, mostly to do with issues about real estate, automobiles and mobile phones,” said Y.G. Muralidharan from CREAT.
Under a scheme, launched by the Centre in 2000, the government gives the chosen organisations ₹5 lakh to run an office and library, and disseminate information about consumer rights, etc.
The DCIC for Dakshina Kannada started in 2008. Vishnu Naik from the Dakshina Kanada District Federation of Consumer Organisations said though awareness about the centre was much more in the district, the number of enquiries were “comparatively low”.
The DCIC in Mysuru gets 15 to 20 enquiries a month. “These could be anything, from fake silk saris and sale of expired medicines to ATMs not giving out money and even how to write a will,” said M.N. Suryanarayan, secretary of the Akhila Bharat Grahak Panchyat, which runs the DCIC. This one is being operated out of his house and by his family, saving them the cost of hiring a computer operator, etc. “We are not looking to make a profit. The books we publish run on a no-profit-no-loss model. But the ₹5-lakh grant is not enough,” he added.
Strengthening the system
Though Minister for Consumer Affairs U.T. Khader made no specific promises for the DCICs, he said the government was focussing on consumer grievance redressal on the whole. “We are planning to introduce an online redressal system as even the 1967 helpline for Anna Bhagya complaints has not been favourable. We are also increasing manpower in the districts where the number of cases are more, such as in Bengaluru, Mysuru and Mangaluru, by recruiting more judges for the consumer courts,” he added.
Some get enquiries in the hundreds
While some DCICs are struggling to get noticed by consumers, others are managing to get enquiries in the hundreds. The one in Gadag, for instance, has received as many as 300 enquiries since its establishment in 2015. Around 100 of them have been converted into complaints.
“Most complaints are related to financial dealings. Some complaints are about machinery not working and some others about fake goods, such as unbranded shoes being sold as branded ones,” said S.B. Soppin from Shristi Integrated Urban Rural Society.
How did they manage to get so many people to use their services? “We conduct a radio programme every week about the Childline (1098). During this, we also tell listeners about the DCIC,” he said.
Even the DCIC for Bengaluru Rural gets a steady number of calls. Bijjvara Subramanya, president, Devanahalli Grahaka Vedike, said they receive five to 10 calls every day. “Many are to do with problems in getting Aadhaar card, ration card and driver’s licence,” he said.
