Consumer Helpline: National Consumer Helpline (NCH) has partnered with more than 1000 companies under its Convergence Program to speed up resolution of complaints lodged by consumers. These companies are from e-commerce, travel and tourism, private education, FMCG, consumer durables, electronic products, retail outlets, automobile, DTH, cable services, banking and other major sectors.
The Consumer Affairs Ministry said on Sunday that under the convergence program, complaints related to these companies are directly transferred to them for online resolution. Further said that the number of partnership companies has increased to 1,009, which was 263 in 2017. This growth highlights the role of these partners in enhancing the efficiency of the helpline, enabling quick and effective grievance redressal and promoting transparency and accountability.
This partnership ensures that consumer complaints are resolved at a pre-litigation stage, thereby promoting consumer confidence. However, if any complaint remains unresolved, consumers can approach the appropriate consumer commission under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.
The Department of Consumer Affairs has identified the top ten non-convergence companies that have received the most number of complaints during the current financial year (2024-25). These companies include Delhivery Limited, ElectronicsComp.com, Domino’s Pizza, Haier Appliances India Private Limited, Firstcry.com, Thomson India, Mahindra & Mahindra, Rapido, Orient Electric Limited and Symphony Limited.
The official statement said that a meeting is proposed with these companies next week to discuss the ongoing complaints and to make them partners in the convergence program.
The statement further said that the technological transformation of NCH has led to a strong increase in its call-handling capacity. The number of calls received by NCH has increased almost tenfold from 14,795 calls in January 2015 to 1,41,817 calls in January 2024. This rapid growth reflects the growing confidence of consumers in using the helpline to lodge their complaints. The average number of complaints filed per month has increased from 37,062 in 2017 to 1,12,468 in 2024.
