PERFORMANCE REPORT March 2012 1 A project of Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Performance Report for March 2012 National Consumer Helpline Department of Commerce, Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi-110007 Toll-free Number: 1800-11-4000 (MTNL/BSNL) 011-27006500 (Other Service Providers, Normal Call Charges Applicable), SMS: 8800939717 Email: [email protected], Website: www.nationalconsumerhelpline.in
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PERFORMANCE REPORT March 2012
1
A project of Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution
Performance Report for
March 2012
National Consumer Helpline Department of Commerce, Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi-110007
Toll-free Number: 1800-11-4000 (MTNL/BSNL) 011-27006500 (Other Service Providers, Normal Call Charges Applicable), SMS: 8800939717
6) Focus on Complaints relating to Banking Industry 9
7) Focus on Complaints relating to Telecom Industry 10
8) Focus on Complaints relating to Insurance Industry 11
9) Convergence 12
10) Consumer Response 15
11) Interactive Sessions & Meetings 17
12) Staff Details 18
13) NCH Website 19
14) SMS & Outbound Calls 20
15) Connect @ NCH – Training to State Helpline 21
16) Jagriti - an initiative towards making an informed consumer 22
17) Socio-Economic Profile of Callers at NCH 24
18) Consumer Detriment 26
19) Interesting Stories @ NCH 29
20) Infosource Report 30
21) Facilitation Desk- Monthly Report 33
Contents
PERFORMANCE REPORT March 2012
3
� The total no. of dockets made from calls handled during March 2012, was 10791. In addition to complaints handled over telephone, 885 complaints have been received through online complaint handling system on NCH website. Also, outbound
calls were made on the basis of SMSs received and abandoned calls, at the helpline. 1024dockets were made from outbound calls made to consumers. These calls are included in the total of 10791 calls handled in March 2012.
� The maximum number of calls came from Delhi – 2534 calls, forming 23% of total calls. Percentage of calls from Delhi has decreased from 30% in March 2011 to 23% in March 2012. Whereas Maharashtra, Haryana, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal have shown an increased share of calls. The rest of the top four states are Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Haryana and Rajasthan registering between 9%-15% of total calls.
� The ‘Telecom’ sector contributed 14% of the calls i.e. 1509. The percentage of calls in March 2011 was 18%. Calls related to e-commerce, education, Insurance, Electricity, Medical Negligence and NBFC (Non Banking Finance Companies) have shown an increased share of percentage. The rest of the top four sectors are ‘Products’, ‘LPG’, ‘Banking’, and ‘Education’ registering between 6%-13% calls.
� Resolved complaints/ Feedback for March 2012 are 823. Out of this, 701 complaints were resolved under convergence with various companies. 122 consumers either called back on the helpline to inform that their complaint has been resolved or informed of the resolution of their complaints through email/fax/ letter.
� Website www.nationalconsumerhelpline.in has registered a total Page hit count of 77,144 during March 2012. Whereas, during March 2011 the total page hit count was 9323 only (website: www.consumerhelpline.in). During the year the website has become popular with consumer who want to know about NCH.
� Socio-Economic Classification was done for 1916 callers during March 2012. The callers are classified according to educational qualification & assets owned into 12 stratas. The callers belonging to the top 5 strata i.e. A1, A2, A3, B1 & B2 comprise almost 73% of all 1916 callers, remaining 27% belong to the rest of the strata i.e. C1, C2, D1, D2, E1, E2 & E3.
� The total consumer detriment in 641 calls for which it was computed amounts to Rs. 2, 06, 58,988 during the month of March 2012. In its latest initiative, NCH has started estimating the monetary consumer detriment experienced by callers. For the month of March 2012. 641dockets were considered for estimating detriment value for the sectors- ‘Legal Metrology’, ‘Products’, ‘Telecom’, ‘Banking’, ‘E-Commerce, ‘Medical negligence’ etc. In course of time we expect to increase coverage of consumer detriment estimation after framing suitable guidelines.
S U M M A R Y
PERFORMANCE REPORT March 2012
4
State wise Distribution of Complaints Received:
10,791 dockets were made from calls handled during
March 2012. In addition to telephonic complaints/
enquiries, 885 complaints have been logged onto
NCH website.
State wise distribution of 10,791 calls handled
during the month of March 2012 is as under: -
GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION
PERFORMANCE REPORT March 2012
5
* The report on geographical distribution of calls is based on the total number of dockets made from calls
handled i.e 10791.
** As rounding off of percentages has been done, the total number may/ may not add upto 100%.
*** Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Arunachal Pradesh, Lakshadweep and Nagaland are states from which
no calls were received in March 2012. Generally no calls are received from these states/ union territories.
S.No. State Count %Age
1 Delhi 2534 23.48
2 Uttar Pradesh 1574 14.59
3 Maharashtra 1367 12.67
4 Haryana 976 9.04
5 Rajasthan 917 8.50
6 Gujarat 615 5.70
7 Bihar 438 4.06
8 Madhya Pradesh 437 4.05
9 West Bengal 423 3.92
10 Punjab 279 2.59
11 Odisha 197 1.83
12 Karnataka 179 1.66
13 Jharkhand 130 1.20
14 Andhra Pradesh 122 1.13
15 Uttarakhand 118 1.09
16 Chhattisgarh 109 1.01
17 Tamilnadu 106 0.98
18 Himachal Pradesh 80 0.74
19 Jammu & Kashmir 70 0.65
20 Kerala 28 0.26
21 Assam 24 0.22
22 Goa 24 0.22
23 Chandigarh 20 0.19
24 Meghalaya 7 0.06
25 Tripura 5 0.05
26 Manipur 4 0.04
27 Dadra & Nagar Haveli 3 0.03
28 Mizoram 2 0.02
29 Daman & Diu 1 0.01
30 Puducherry 1 0.01
31 Sikkim 1 0.01
10791 100.00
Geographical Distribution of Calls for
MARCH,2012*
**
PERFORMANCE REPORT March 2012
6
COMPARATIVE STUDY
* Maharashtra, Haryana, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal, have shown an increased share of calls in March 2012.
- No state from the above mentioned list of states has shown significant increase in the calls received from it. Sufficient publicity of our toll free number needs to be done in the above mentioned states so that consumers know where to call for consumer guidance and advice.
- The above report of calls is based on the total number of dockets made from calls handled i.e 10,791
S.No. State Calls %Age Calls %Age
1 Delhi 3084 29.70 2534 23.48
2 Uttar Pradesh 1673 16.11 1574 14.59
3 Maharashtra 1161 11.18 1367 12.67
4 Haryana 790 7.61 976 9.04
5 Rajasthan 939 9.04 917 8.50
6 Gujarat 462 4.45 615 5.70
7 Bihar 436 4.20 438 4.06
8 Madhya Pradesh 309 2.98 437 4.05
9 West Bengal 240 2.31 423 3.92
10 Punjab 390 3.76 279 2.59
Comparison of calls received from Top Ten States in March 2012
(as compared to March 2011)
March 2011 March 2012
*
*
*
*
*
S.No. State Complaints %Age Complaints %Age
1 Manipur 0 0.00 4 0.04
2 Dadra & Nagar Haveli 5 0.05 3 0.03
3 Mizoram 0 0.00 2 0.02
4 Daman & Diu 0 0.00 1 0.01
5 Puducherry 0 0.00 1 0.01
6 Sikkim 0 0.00 1 0.01
7 Andaman and Nicobar Islands 0 0.00 0 0.00
8 Arunachal Pradesh 0 0.00 0 0.00
9 Lakshadweep 0 0.00 0 0.00
10 Nagaland 1 0.01 0 0.00
March 2011 March 2012
Comparison of calls received from States from which least number of calls are received
in March 2012 (as compared to March 2011)
PERFORMANCE REPORT March 2012
7
SECTORAL BREAK-UP OF CALLS
** The report on sectoral distribution of calls is based on the total number of dockets made from calls handled
i.e 10791
S.No. Sectors Calls %Age
1 Telecom 1509 13.98
2 Products 1400 12.97
3 LPG 784 7.27
4 Banking 721 6.68
5 Education 604 5.60
6 Insurance 513 4.75
7 Legal 458 4.24
8 E-Commerce 421 3.90
9 Automobiles 313 2.90
10 Real Estate 274 2.54
11 Other Sectors 3794 35.16
Total 10791 100.00
Top Ten Sectors for the month of March, 2012S.No. Sectors Calls %Age
1 RTI 263 2.44
2 Fraudulent Complaints 287 2.66
3 General Inquiry 1274 11.81
4 Electricity 238 2.21
5 Weights & Measures 191 1.77
6 others-Service 180 1.67
7 NBFC`s 173 1.60
8 Queries related to UIDAI 113 1.05
9 Postal 101 0.94
10 Public Distribution System 97 0.90
11 Broadcaster 97 0.90
12 Medical Negligence 80 0.74
13 Employees Provident Fund 71 0.66
14 Travel & Tours 53 0.49
15 VAT 47 0.44
16 Railways 46 0.43
17 Courier /Cargo 44 0.41
18 Placement Agency 43 0.40
19 Broad-Band / Internet 38 0.35
20 National Consumer Helpline 37 0.34
21 Railway Enquiry 35 0.32
22 Share & Brokerag 33 0.31
23 Passport 32 0.30
24 Water 20 0.19
25 Kisan Call Centre 19 0.18
26 Publication 19 0.18
27 Food Safety 18 0.17
28 Airlines 14 0.13
29 Misleading Ads 12 0.11
30 Packers & Movers 10 0.09
31 Drugs & Cosmetics 9 0.08
32 National Commission 9 0.08
33 PAN Cards 9 0.08
34 BIS 9 0.08
35 Public Health Labs. 8 0.07
36 Petroleum 8 0.07
37 Public Transport 8 0.07
38 Mutual Funds 6 0.06
39 Hallmark 6 0.06
40 Ministry of Consumer Affairs
(Facilitation Counter)
5 0.05
41 Mediation Centre 5 0.05
42 Commodity 5 0.05
43 Beauty Product /Cosmetics 4 0.04
44 Excise 3 0.03
45 Women Helpline 3 0.03
46 Cable 3 0.03
47 Census of India 2 0.02
48 Consumer Voice 2 0.02
49 ISO 2 0.02
50 CERC - Consumer Education &
Research Centre
1 0.01
51 Pollution Control 1 0.01
52 Pharmacy Council of India 1 0.01
Other Sectors
Sectoral Distribution of Calls for March 2012
Telecom13.98%
Products12.97%
LPG7.27%
Banking6.68%
Education5.60%
Insurance4.75%
Legal4.24%
E-Commerce3.90%
Automobiles2.90%
Real Estate2.54%
RTI2.44%
Electricity2.21%
Weights & Measures1.77%
NBFC`s1.60%
Other sectors27.14%
Telecom
Products
LPG
Banking
Education
Insurance
Legal
E-Commerce
Automobiles
Real Estate
RTI
Electricity
Weights & Measures
NBFC`s
Other sectors
Total Calls=10791
PERFORMANCE REPORT March 2012
8
GENDER WISE DISTRIBUTION
Males dominate Complaint Making- Women in Background
(April 2011 - March 2012)
9964
9781
10193
12474
9700
10083
11816
6728
10722
11879
9843
9402
827
803
1108
821
734
714
1014
565
9181072
917
768
0
2000
4000
6000
8000
10000
12000
14000
April 2011
May 2
011
June 2
011
July 2
011
Aug 2
011
Sept 2011
Oct
2011
Nov 2
011
Dec 2011
Jan 2
012
Feb 2
012
Mar 2012
Months
Numbers
Male Female
Male Female Total
122585 10261 132846
Genderwise Distribution of Calls
Genderwise Distribution of Calls
(April 2011 - March 2012)
MALE92.28%
FEMALE7.72%
MALE FEMALE
PERFORMANCE REPORT March 2012
9
The above Table shows the report on the Banking Sector for March 2012 in comparison to February 2012.
•
Tota
l No. of com
plaints
in the B
anking sector re
ceived in Febru
ary
2012 w
ere
353 w
hich incr
eased to 3
86 in M
arc
h 2
012.
•
Highest num
ber of com
plain
ts d
uring the m
onth
was
against
Sta
te B
ank o
f In
dia. S
BI to
pped the c
hart in term
s o
f both
, absolute
num
ber as
well a
s p
erc
enta
ge o
f
com
plain
ts received. The a
bso
lute
num
ber of com
plain
ts a
gainst SBI has registe
red a
n incr
ease
fro
m 9
5 to 1
12. Also, th
e p
erc
enta
ge o
f com
plaints
against
SBI over
the tota
l com
plaints
incr
eased fro
m 2
6.9
1%
to 2
9.0
2%
.
•
The top 5
banks, in term
s o
f com
plaints
received a
t NCH, are
Sta
te B
ank o
f In
dia, Punja
b N
ational Bank, HDFC B
ank L
td., ICIC
I Bank L
td. and Indusind B
ank. The
perc
enta
ge s
hare
of com
plaints
of Sta
te B
ank o
f In
dia, Punja
b N
ational Bank, and Indusind B
ank h
as incre
ased w
here
as the p
erc
enta
ge s
hare
of com
plaints
of HDFC
Bank Ltd
. and ICIC
I Bank Ltd
. has d
ecre
ased.
•
A striking d
iffe
rence is a
t No.5
and 8
positions a
s shown in the T
able. 5
th a
nd 8
th h
ighest n
um
bers
of com
plaints
in M
arc
h w
ere
against
Indusind B
ank a
nd C
anara
Bank.
The b
anks d
id n
ot fe
atu
re in the top 1
0 com
panies a
gainst
which com
plaints
were
received a
t NCH in Febru
ary
2012. This sure
ly requires som
e a
ttention b
y the b
anks.
•
Fre
quently O
ccu
rrin
g P
roblem
s (FOPs)
fro
m the b
anking sect
or m
ainly com
prise o
f Deficiency in B
anking S
erv
ices, ATM relate
d p
roblem
s, Cre
dit C
ard
s a
nd L
oans. The
no. of Com
plaints
under each h
ead h
as b
een specified in the T
able.
Focus o
n C
om
pla
ints
rela
tin
g t
o B
ankin
g I
ndu
str
y
* NCH received 386 complaints related to 39 banks in M
arch 2012. The following table shows banks w
ith highest number of complaints
received at NCH.
** This report on banking sector is based on the total number of banking complaints received i.e 386. A complaint made during the month of
March 2012 is counted only once irrespective of the number of times calls received for it during the month.
Po
sti
on
in
Fe
bru
ary
20
12
Po
sti
on
in
Ma
rch
20
12
Co
mp
an
yC
om
pla
ints
re
ce
ive
d
at
NC
H i
n M
arc
h
20
12
%A
ge o
f
co
mp
lain
ts f
or
Ma
rch
20
12
Co
mp
lain
ts r
ece
ive
d
at
NC
H i
n F
eb
rua
ry
20
12
%A
ge o
f
co
mp
lain
ts f
or
Fe
bru
ary
201
2
De
fic
ien
cy i
n
Ba
nk
ing
Se
rvic
es
AT
MC
RE
DIT
CA
RD
S
LO
AN
ST
OT
AL
11
Sta
te B
ank o
f In
dia
112
29.0
295
26.9
150
45
611
112
32
Punja
b N
ational Bank
46
11.9
232
9.0
723
19
04
46
23
HDFC B
ank Ltd
.30
7.7
739
11.0
513
38
630
44
ICIC
I Bank Ltd
.25
6.4
828
7.9
312
72
425
Not in top ten
5In
dusind B
ank
12
3.1
14
1.1
34
11
612
56
Central Bank o
f In
dia
11
2.8
516
4.5
39
10
111
87
Bank o
f In
dia
10
2.5
910
2.8
37
20
110
Not in top ten
8Canara
Bank
92.3
36
1.7
06
20
19
69
AXIS
Bank
82.0
711
3.1
26
20
08
710
Bank o
f Baro
da
82.0
711
3.1
23
40
18
11
11
Oth
er Banks
115
29.7
9101
28.6
155
26
430
115
38
610
0.0
03
53
10
0.0
01
88
11
221
65
38
6
PERFORMANCE REPORT March 2012
10
** - The report on telecom sector is based on the total number of telecom complaints received i.e. 901. A complaint made during the month of March 2012
is counted only once irrespective of the number of times calls received for it during the month.
- The complaints for the telecom companies mentioned above includes complaints related to landline connection and broadband connections also.
The above Table shows the report on the Telecom Sector for March 2012 in comparison to February 2012.
• T
ota
l num
ber of com
plain
ts received in Febru
ary
2012 w
as 955, which h
as d
ecre
ase
d to 9
01 in M
arc
h 2
012.
• I
n M
arc
h 2
012 B
harti Airte
l Ltd
. is o
n top o
f th
e chart w
ith 1
51 com
plain
ts w
hich const
itute
16.7
6%
of th
e tota
l perc
enta
ge o
f co
mplaints
received. The a
bsolu
te n
um
ber
of com
plain
ts a
gainst Bharti Airte
l Ltd
. has registe
red a
fall fro
m 1
74 to 1
51. Also, th
e p
erc
enta
ge o
f com
plain
ts o
ver th
e tota
l com
plaints
, decre
ased fro
m 1
8.2
2%
to
16.7
6%
.
• T
he top four te
lecom
com
panies, in
term
s o
f com
plaints
rece
ived a
t NCH, are
Bharti Airte
l Ltd
., B
SNL, Reliance C
om
munications Ltd
. and V
odafo
ne.
• T
his m
onth
has s
een a
majo
r re
shuffle in the p
ositions o
f th
e top 1
0 c
om
panies p
ertainin
g to this s
ecto
r. T
hough a
ll the c
om
panies d
id featu
re a
mong the top 1
0 in
Febru
ary
2012 e
xcept fo
r MTNL, Delhi, their p
ositions c
hanged a
s c
an b
e s
een in the table. Five telecom
com
panies-
Bharti Airte
l Ltd
., B
SNL, Reliance C
om
munications
Ltd
., V
odafo
ne a
nd T
ata
Tele serv
ices Ltd
. have reta
ined their last m
onth
s p
ositions.
• F
requently O
ccu
rring P
roblem
s (FOPs) from
the T
elecom
secto
r m
ain
ly com
prise o
f Activation o
f Unsu
bsc
ribed S
erv
ices, Unfa
ir D
eductions, W
rong P
rom
ises, In
flate
d B
ills
/ Overc
harg
ing a
nd D
isconnect
ion w
ithout In
tim
ation. T
he n
o. of com
plaints
under each
head h
as b
een specified in the T
able.
Fo
cus o
n C
om
pla
ints
re
lating
to T
ele
com
Ind
ustr
y
* NCH received 901 complaints of 17 telecom companies in March 2012. The following table shows the highest number of complaints
received at NCH in this sector.
P
os
itio
n in
Feb
ruary
20
12
Po
sit
ion
in
Marc
h 2
01
2
Co
mp
an
yC
om
pla
ints
rece
ive
d
at
NC
H in
Ma
rch
20
12
%A
ge
of
co
mp
lain
ts f
or
Marc
h 2
012
Co
mp
lain
ts r
eceiv
ed
at
NC
H in
Fe
bru
ary
201
2
%A
ge o
f
co
mp
lain
ts f
or
Fe
bru
ary
2012
Ac
tiv
ati
on
of
Un
su
bscri
be
d
Serv
ices
Un
fair
De
du
cti
on
s
Wro
ng
Pro
mis
es
Infl
ate
d B
ills
/
Ov
erc
ha
rgin
g
Dis
co
nn
ec
tio
n
Wit
ho
ut
Inti
mati
on
Oth
er
co
mp
lain
ts
11
Bh
art
i A
irte
l Ltd
. 151
16.7
6174
18.2
224
10
11
13
489
22
BS
NL
149
16.5
4144
15.0
839
10
29
584
33
Relia
nce
Com
munic
ations L
td.
121
13.4
3144
15.0
813
51
58
971
44
Vo
dafo
ne
Essar
Ltd
.115
12.7
6124
12.9
812
91
01
08
66
65
IDE
A C
ellu
lar
Ltd
.112
12.4
384
8.8
021
15
10
14
547
56
Tata
Doco
mo
88
9.7
787
9.1
125
11
92
239
77
Tata
Tele
serv
ice
s L
td.
47
5.2
251
5.3
42
26
42
31
98
MT
S Ind
ia34
3.7
733
3.4
68
33
03
17
89
Air
cel Ltd
.23
2.5
534
3.5
67
40
10
11
Not in T
op T
en
10
Mah
anag
ar
Tele
phone
Nig
am
Ltd
.( M
TN
L,
Delh
i)21
2.3
320
2.0
92
00
40
15
11
11
Oth
er
tele
co
m c
om
pla
ints
40
4.4
460
6.2
85
12
07
25
To
tal
901
10
0.0
095
51
00.0
0158
70
68
65
45
495
PERFORMANCE REPORT March 2012
11
Focus o
n C
om
pla
ints
rela
ting t
o I
nsu
rance In
dustr
y
** NCH received 274 complaints related to 34 insurance companies in March 2012. The following table shows insurance companies
with highest number of complaints received at NCH.
** The report on insurance sector is based on the total number of insurance complaints received i.e 274. A complaint made during the month of March
2012 is counted only once irrespective of the number of times calls are received for it during the month.
The above Table shows the report on the Insurance Sector for March 2012 in comparison to the m
onth of February 2012.
• T
ota
l num
ber of com
plaints
received in F
ebru
ary
2012 w
as 2
16 w
hich incre
ased to 2
74 in M
arc
h 2
012.
•
Life Insu
rance C
orp
ora
tion o
f In
dia h
as b
een o
n top o
f th
e chart in term
s o
f both
, absolute
num
ber as w
ell a
s p
erc
enta
ge o
f com
plaints
rece
ived, fo
r both
the m
onth
s.
The a
bsolute
num
ber of com
plaints
again
st L
IC h
as incr
ease
d to 5
1 fro
m 2
7. Also, th
e p
erc
enta
ge o
f com
plaints
again
st L
IC o
ver th
e tota
l co
mplain
ts h
as incr
ease
d
from
12.5
0%
to 1
8.6
1%
.
•
A s
triking d
iffe
rence c
an b
e n
oticed a
t No. 5 a
nd 7
positions a
s shown b
y the T
able. The 5
th a
nd 7
th p
ositions for th
e m
onth
of Marc
h 2
012 a
re h
eld b
y R
eliance L
ife
Insu
rance
and A
viva L
ife Insu
rance C
om
pany respect
ively. The two c
om
panies d
id n
ot fe
atu
re a
mong the top ten c
om
panies a
t NCH in F
ebru
ary
2012. This requires
som
e a
ttention b
y these
insu
rance com
panies.
•
Fre
quently O
ccu
rring P
roblem
s (FOPs)
fro
m the insu
rance
secto
r m
ainly c
om
prise o
f Non rece
ipt / partial re
ceipt of th
e c
laim
, Deficiency
in S
erv
ice, W
rong P
rom
ises
by A
gent / DSA, Reje
ction o
f Claim
, and U
nsatisfa
cto
ry R
edre
ssal. T
he n
o. of Com
plaints
under each
head h
as b
een specified in the T
able.
S.N
oP
osti
on
in
Feb
ruary
2012
Po
sti
on
in
Marc
h 2
012
Co
mp
an
yC
om
pla
ints
receiv
ed
at
NC
H in
Marc
h 2
012
%A
ge o
f
co
mp
lain
ts f
or
Marc
h 2
012
Co
mp
lain
ts
receiv
ed
at
NC
H in
Feb
ruary
2012
%A
ge o
f
co
mp
lain
ts f
or
Feb
ruary
2012
No
n r
eceip
t /
part
ial re
ceip
t o
f
the c
laim
Defi
cie
ncy in
Serv
ice
Wro
ng
Pro
mis
es b
y
Ag
en
t / D
SA
Reje
cti
on
of
Cla
im
Un
sati
sfa
cto
ry
Red
ressal
Oth
er
Insu
ran
ce
Co
mp
lain
ts
11
1Life Insu
rance C
orp
ora
tion o
f india
51
18.6
127
12.5
09
14
84
88
23
2United India Insura
nce
17
6.2
014
6.4
85
40
41
3
32
3National In
sura
nce
16
5.8
418
8.3
37
20
60
1
46
4IC
ICI Lom
bard
Genera
l In
sura
nce
15
5.4
710
4.6
36
20
32
2
5Not in top ten
5Reliance Life Insu
rance
15
5.4
75
2.3
10
112
02
0
64
6Orienta
l In
sura
nce
14
5.1
112
5.5
68
20
31
0
7Not in top ten
7Aviva Life Insu
rance
Com
pany
12
4.3
87
3.2
40
27
11
1
810
8Baja
j Allianz Life Insura
nce
12
4.3
88
3.7
00
44
01
3
99
9Max N
ew Y
ork
Life Insura
nce
12
4.3
89
4.1
71
36
11
0
10
810
The N
ew India A
ssu
rance
12
4.3
810
4.6
35
10
41
1
11
11
11
Oth
er In
sura
nce
com
panies
98
35.7
796
44.4
420
24
17
21
511
274
100.0
0216
100.0
061
59
54
47
23
30
PERFORMANCE REPORT March 2012
12
NCH receives a large number of complaints over its widely advertised and publicized Toll Free No 1800 11 4000, under the popular ‘Jago Grahak Jago’ campaign of the Ministry.
Under the normal course we advise these customers to approach Corporate/ Customer care/ Supportive team and other lower tier officials and in the event of their remaining unsatisfied, approach the higher tiers. Resorting to legal remedies however is suggested as a last resort only.
As a part of our Convergence initiative, for selected organizations that show their willingness to join this initiative, we adopt the system of consolidating the complaints received at NCH, which are systematically compiled and forwarded electronically in MS Excel format to their nominated /designated official with full consumer particulars captured at our end. These complaints are attended to by these organizations as per their own redressal systems and a feedback is sent to the customer as well as to NCH. NCH also obtains feedback from the customers, which is shared with the organizations.
The system essentially works as a two-way communication.
The Process
Step 1: Capturing of complaint data received on a pan-India basis at NCH and collating it on a sectoral/ company wise basis.
Step 2: Identification of nodal contact persons both at NCH and Organization/ Company level who shall facilitate smooth and effective transmission of data and feedback.
Step 3: Transmission of data by NCH to the company/organization. This would include pertinent details like a) Docket No. generated at NCH b) Name and address of the consumer c) Telephone number, email ID d) Name of the Company/Organization e) Details of the problem /Complaint
Step 4: The complaint is addressed /redressed by the company/organization as per their own redressal system and a feedback is sent to the consumer as also to NCH.
Step 5: Feedback from consumers through telephone/ letters/ faxes/email, which is shared with the company/organization at nodal officer Level.
The following table shows the progress of complaints under the Convergence System.
Online Complaint System at NCH Website
The National Consumer Helpline web site with online complaint handling system is an interface between consumers and companies under convergence with NCH. Since September 2011 it facilitates escalation and resolution of the consumer complaints directly through the web.
This system provides a platform where consumers and companies can interact with each other virtually. Complaints logged by consumers can directly be seen by the companies and then companies can put their remarks and resolutions, which are accessible to the consumers. In the month of March 2012 NCH has received 885 online complaints.
CONVERGENCE
Convergence @ NCH Convergence @ NCH
S.No Month Complaints
1 April,2011 1292
2 May,2011 1113
3 June,2011 1416
4 July 2011 856
5 Aug 2011 615
6 Sept 2011 1006
7 Oct 2011 1141
8 Nov 2011 967
9 Dec 2011 1631
10 Jan 2012 1008
11 Feb 2012 781
12 Mar 2012 1001
PERFORMANCE REPORT March 2012
13
The online complaints received from companies not under convergence are clubbed under ‘Others’. 316 such complaints were
received in March 2012. Efforts are on to initiate convergence process with such companies.
Some of the companies shown in the above table have given responses of complaints sent in the previous months.
Complaints Registered Online - March 2012
*
**
Company No of complaints
logged
Closed Company No of complaints
logged
Closed
ABN AMRO 1 0 Indiatimes.com 17 37
Acer India 1 0 ING Vyasya Bank 1 0
Aircel 22 25 ING Vyasya Life Insurance 1 1
Airtel 59 29 Kotak Mahindra Bank 9 2
Airtel Digitel 6 1 Kotak Mahindra Life Insurance 2 0
Akai 1 0 LG Electronics India Pvt Ltd. 7 0
Amul 13 0 Lenovo 2 0
Apollo Tyers 2 0 Luminous 1 0
Bag It Today 2 0 Max New York Life Insurance 1 0
Baja Auto Finance Ltd. 1 0 Metlife 1 0
Bajaj Allianz General insurance 1 0 Motorola 4 0
Bajaj Allianz Life insurance 2 0 MTNL (M) 7 0
Bajaj Electricals 0 3 MTNL(D) 7 0
Barclays PLC 1 3 NDPL 6 9
Big TV 1 0 Nokia 8 8
Birla Sun Life Insurance 3 0 Onida 1 0
Blaze Flash Couriers 2 0 Phillips 1 0
BSES Rajdhani 1 1 Punjab National Bank 6 0
BSES Yamuna 3 0 Rediff.com 6 0
Canara Bank 1 0 Reliance Life Insurance 6 0
Carrier India 5 0 Reliance- Telecom 44 40
Citi bank 5 2 Royal Sundram General Insurance 1 0
Club Mahindra 21 0 Samsung 19 2
Deals4all 2 0 Sansui 1 0
Dell India Pvt. Ltd. 6 12 Sify 2 0
DTDC Couriers 5 0 Sony Ericsson 4 1
Electrolux 2 0 Spice Mobile 3 0
Eureka fobes 6 0 Standard Chartered Bank 5 0
Exide 2 0 Start CJ 1 0
Fly Mobile 2 0 Sun Direct 1 0
Futurebazar.com 10 0 Tata - AIG Life Insurance 2 0
Godrej 5 0 Tata Sky 5 0
HCL Infosystems Ltd. 5 2 Tata Tele service 28 26
HDFC Bank 18 5 Telebrand(Tele Shopping) 4 0
HDFC ERGO General Insurance Company 1 5 Tikona digital networks 15 0
48 Indraprastha Gas Ltd. 105 Videocon Industries (Mobiles) 160 CitiFinancial Consumer Finance India Ltd..
106 Voltas Ltd. 161 ICICI Home Finance Pvt. Ltd.
107 Whirpool of India Ltd. 162 IDBI Home Finance Ltd.
163 Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services Ltd.
164 Reliance Capital Ltd. Company
Convergence @ NCH
PERFORMANCE REPORT March 2012
15
823 Problems solved out of 1001 complaints in March 2012
(Does not include online complaints)
National Consumer Helpline has taken up
Convergence with various service providers and
transmits data to participating companies. 701
of 823 complaints resolved in March 2012, were
solved directly by Convergence Companies
while 122 consumers either called back to
inform about their resolution or informed NCH
by email/letter/fax.
Online resolutions are being included from March 2012 Performance report. The break up of resolutions received online is
given on page 13 of the performance report.
CONSUMER RESPONSE
Feedback for the period March 2011 to March 2012
263
323
192
640
606
352
765
670
1064
756
603
90
105
95
63
59
46
65
84
45
66
147
701 122 270
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200
Apr 2011
May 2011
June 2011
July 2011
Aug 2011
Sept. 2011
Oct. 2011
Nov. 2011
Dec. 2011
Jan 2012
Feb 2012
Mar 2012
Months
Feedback
Company Written Online Resolutions
*
*
PERFORMANCE REPORT March 2012
16
• The responses are those received from the companies under convergence.
• The resolutions through telephone are those received over NCH’s Helpline. The rest are received through
Fax/Email or by Post from consumers. The above does not include online complaints resolved by Convergence
Companies
Responses under Convergence Resolutions received through Tel./Fax/ Email/ Post
Feedback received through Tel./Fax/ Email/
PostS.No. Name of the Company No. of Resolutions
1 AXIS Bank 2
2 Bank of India 3
3 BPCL 3
4 BPL Loop Mobile 1
5 BSNL 13
6 Central Bank of India 1
7 HPCL 8
8 IOCL 17
9 Life Insurance Corporation of India 3
10 Oriental Bank of Commerce & Global Trust Bank 2
11 State Bank of Bikaner & Jaipur 3
12 State Bank of India 7
13 State Bank of Saurashtra 1
14 Vijaya Bank 1
Other responses received, relate to:-
15 Automobiles 1
16 Controller of Legal Metrology (Weights & Measures) 1
17 Ecommerce 5
18 Education 9
19 Electricity 1
20 Employees Provident Fund 1
21 Indian Railways Catering & Tourism Corp. Ltd. 1
22 Medical Negligence 1
23 NBFC 1
24 Passport 1
25 PDS 1
26 Postal 3
27 Product 15
28 Queries placed under Right to Information Act 2
29 Real Estate 4
30 Services 8
31 Travel & tours 2
Total 122
Resolutions under Convergence
S.No. Name of the Company Responses
1 Bharti Airtel Ltd. 188
2 Reliance Communications Ltd. 154
3 Vodafone Essar Ltd. 79
4 Nokia India Pvt. Ltd.. 62
5 Tata Tele services Ltd. 41
6 Aircel Ltd. 29
7 Samsung India Electronics Ltd. 24
8 ICICI Bank Ltd. 23
9 HDFC Bank Ltd. 19
10 Airtel Digital TV 14
11 Hindustan Unilever Ltd. 9
12 North Delhi Power Ltd. (NDPL) 8
13 Punjab National Bank 6
14 Sansui 6
15 Tata Motors 6
16 Electrolux 5
17 Kelvinator 5
18 Videocon Induries Ltd. 5
19 Dell India Pvt. Ltd. 4
20 Bajaj Electricals Ltd. 3
21 Videocon D2H 3
22 BSES - Yamuna Power Ltd.. 2
23 Dell Mobile 2
24 HDFC ERGO General Insurance Company Ltd. 1
25 Kenstar 1
26 SONY India Pvt. Ltd. 1
27 Videocon Moblie Handset 1
Total 701
PERFORMANCE REPORT March 2012
17
1. MEDIA INTERACTION NCH has been active in spreading Consumer Awareness through media interactions. Prof. Sri Ram Khanna, Principal Investigator, NCH was present for various discussions and interviews on issues related to consumer affairs and consumer protection.
2. OTHER MEETINGS & EVENTS
Date Media Topic
12/03/2012 CNEB Discussion on Budget 2012 and Industrial Growth
Rate.
Date Organisation Details
2/03/2012 Confederation of Real Estate
Developer's Association's of India
(CREDAI)
Members of NCH met officials of Confederation of
Real Estate Developer's Association's of India
(CREDAI) to understand each other's working
model; to discuss consumer problems in real
estate sector; consumer's grievance redressal
hierarchy in CREDAI and NCH. Lastly to discuss
ISO-10002 world class standards for consumer
complaints Handling Management.
12 /3/2012 Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India
Private Ltd.
Senior members of NCH met senior officials of
Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India Private Ltd. to
discuss about implementation of ISO 10002. Also,
a brief presentation on ISO 10002 was given.
17/3/2012 jAGRITI- Consumer Awareness
Program at Entrepreneurial and
Management Processes
International (EMPI)
National Consumer Helpline organized a consumer
awareness program at EMPI Business School, CSKM
Educational Complex, Satbari, Chattarpur, New
Delhi-110074 on Saturday, 17th of March 2012 for
spreading the message of consumer protection.
24/3/2012 National Seminar on "Consumer
Mediation" - A Better Option
Members of NCH participated in National Seminar
on “Consumer Mediation” - A Better Option. The
seminar was conducted by Consumer Coordination
council (CCC).
26 to 30/3/ 2012
Visit to Kerala State Consumer
Helpline
Members of NCH visited Kerala State Consumer
Helpline to conduct training program for the
helpline.
28/3/2012 jAGRITI- Consumer Awareness
Program at Jagannath Institute of Management Studies
National Consumer Helpline organized a consumer
awareness program at EMPI Business School, CSKM
Educational Complex, Satbari, Chattarpur, New
Delhi-110074 on Wednesday the 28th of March 2012
for spreading the message of consumer protection.
INTERACTIVE SESSIONS/ MEETINGS
PERFORMANCE REPORT March 2012
18
STAFF
The total full time staff strength during March 2012 was as sanctioned. In addition, 12 part time/student
counselors/ consultants worked in March 2012. A Junior Counsellor has been posted at the facilitation-cum-
information counter of the department of Consumer Affairs at Krishi Bhawan.
S.No. Staff In Numbers
1 Manager 1
2 Senior Counselor 3
3 Jr. Counselor Supervisor 1
4 Web Administrator 1
5 Accountant 1
6 Junior Counselor 10
7 Market Research Associate 1
8 Office Attendant 1
9 Gardener 1
10 Safai Karamchari 1
Total 21
Full Time Staff
STAFF DETAILS
S.No. Staff In Numbers
1 Student Counselor 5
2 Part Time Sector Incharge 3
3 Part Time Expert/ Consultants 3
4 Consulting Student Counselor 1
Total 12
Part Time/Student Counselors/ Consultants
PERFORMANCE REPORT March 2012
19
www.nationalconsumerhelpline.in
NCH website was basically designed to provide consumer related information & guidance online, and also provide complaint handling system for faster dissemination of consumer complaints directly by the service provider using the effective tools of E-Communications such as Internet.
NCH website is now also accessible by the url http://www.nationalconsumerhelpline.in. NCH website has zones that help visitors to learn more about NCH, it’s related activities, functional areas, the vision, mission of NCH, NCH channel partner details and their respective website links.
NCH website has dynamic section of photo gallery, event details that shows press conferences organized by NCH in the respective sectors such as BANKING, LPG, TELECOM, LEGAL, BIS etc. with the motto of providing consumer related information and guidance and reaching out to as many consumers as possible. Besides this NCH website has pages on Jagriti programme for imparting consumer awareness knowledge, Interesting Cases, Consumer Awareness, Consumer Articles and Tips, Events, Guidance for smart consumers, Convergence Process, Consumer Responses, Advocacy Reports, NCH Jago Grahak Channel on YouTube, NCH Annual Reports Careers, Feedback, Valued comments etc.
Total Hit Count Details of website for March 2012
1) Total Page Hit Count –77144 1
2) Unique User Hits – 7190 2
Google Analytical Statistics for NCH Website:
1) Total Page Hit Count – 484191
2) Unique User Hit –8164 2
Traffic Sources Overview on NCH Website
Search Engines - 6,049 (74.09%) 3
Direct Traffic - 1,633 (20.00%) 4
Referring Sites - 482 (5.90%) 5
Most visited Pages:
Online Complaint Management System
NCH initiated the tasks of developing a common platform for online grievance submission by the consumer and providing the interface for service provider to retrieve the dockets reports and incorporate their comments / feedback to redress the same online.
This facilitates the tasks of consumer grievance handling & redressal services to register consumer Complaints / grievances and to check for action taken by the service provider on their complaints reported to them online.
Analytical Statistics for Online Complaint Management
System:
Total Consumer Login: 1257 6
Total Complaints Received: 885 7
NCH Website
Important terms are explained-
1 Total Page Hit Count- Includes the number of times visitors visited NCH’s website which may be once or many times during March 2012, browsing through at least one page which may be same or different from the one visited previously during March 2012.
2 Unique User Hits- Each visitor who visited NCH’s website during March 2012 is counted only once irrespective of the fact whether he visited many times during the period or he visited same or different pages each time he visited.
3 Search Engines- The total number of visitors who visited NCH’s website during March 2012 after searching in major search engines like Yahoo, MSN and Google, are 6,049 forming 74.09% of the total number of visitors who visited NCH’s website during March 2012.
4 Direct Traffic- 1,633 visitors forming 20.00% of total visitors visiting NCH’s website, already knew NCH’s website address and directly typed it’s website address in the web browser to visit the website.
5 Referring Sites- Refers to those visitors who came across NCH’s website address in other websites visited by them. As a result they chose to be directed to NCH’s website.
6 Total Consumer Login- The total number of consumers who visited NCH’s website and successfully completed free registration required for logging a complaint.
7 Total Complaints Received- Refers to the total number of visitors who successfully logged a complaint on NCH’s website.
1 Complaint Log 12 Interesting cases
2 Complaint Status 13 valued comments
3 User Login 14 Consumer Awareness
4 Home Page 15 Related Links
5 Consumer Tips 16 Sectors Covered
6 Contact NCH 17 Success Story
7 Brand Login 18 Disclaimer
8 Consumer Articles 19 Jagriti
9 User Profile 20 Consumer Responses
10 About NCH 21 Convegence connect with NCH
11 Statistical Details
Website Hits- March 2011 to March 2012
9323
8671
41522
27447
29312
29341
38753
47678
51823
48530
54163
58249
77144
0
10000
20000
30000
40000
50000
60000
70000
80000
90000
Mar,2011
April,2011
May,2
011
June,2
011
July,2
011
Aug,2
011
Sept.,2
011
Oct, 2
011
Nov 2
011
Dec 2
011
Jan 2
012
Feb 2
012
Mar 2012
Months
Website Hits
PERFORMANCE REPORT March 2012
20
Outbound Calls Report
Outbound dialing is a process in which NCH call center
counsellors make outbound calls to consumer on behalf of
NCH and discuss about the consumer’s query or complaint
for which he has sent us an SMS or has not been able to
contact us on our toll free no.-1800-11-4000.
The technological scenario of outbound dialing is
implemented by extending the capability of dialer software
for dialing consumer phone number using Auto dialer.
Multiple campaigns are designed to handle Inbound and
outbound operation simultaneously. The process involved in
this scenario is:
1) Campaign Creation – The administrator creates a
new campaign with campaign name and by specifying the
starting date and ending date of the campaign. After expiry
of end date counsellor will not be able to see the details of
the campaign in their login window.
2) Lead generation – The leads/phone number of the
consumer are retrieved from various means:
i. SMS received at NCH– 8800939717-
Due to the increase in number of consumers calling at
National Consumer Helpline, NCH offers SMS services to the
consumers who are not able to contact us via our toll free
no.-1800-11-4000. In such a case, consumers need to
provide their name, city and state details. The following day
incoming SMS reports are generated as excel file and fed in
the dialer database for outbound dialing.
ii. CLI/Phone number of the consumer in the
abandoned calls, not able to contact us-
NCH CRM is updated with another useful feature of capturing
Consumer Phone number CLI with date and time, duration
on IVR, Hold time etc. This is further filtered for all
CLI/Phone number of the abandoned calls of the consumers
not able to contact us. The excel file is then sorted out with
the fields required to be uploaded in the database. The
CLI/Phone numbers’ filtered excel file can be further fed into
the NCH outbound dialer for outbound calling using the
features of the Auto dialer in NCH Dialer Software.
3) Lead Management – The Dialer Lead Manager
further associates the leads with the particular campaign and
feeds the Auto dialer to dial phone number of the consumer
in a particular order.
4) Auto Dialer – The Auto Dialer dials all the phone
numbers uploaded in the dialer database in the form of leads
which are in active state and has a provision of rescheduling
the calls also at any time. As soon as the calls get connected
on the consumer’s end the dialer detects human voice and
transfers the call to the agents logged in with outbound
mode.
5) Outbound calls window in NCH CRM Software
– The Outbound calls window pops up in the agent’s screen
of NCH CRM software. Agents then initiate a dialogue with
the consumer and record necessary consumer details while
taking the call. The docket number gets generated for each
and every call by the agents and sent as acknowledgement
to the consumer via Email and SMS by the agent from CRM
software.
SMS & Outbound Calls
* Abandoned calls are of consumers who have tried to connect to us for at least 45 seconds, and have not
been able to get through.
** A not contactable uploaded Lead is rescheduled 4 to 6 times
- Complaints received on NCH website of non-convergence companies are also uploaded.
Particulars March 2012
No. of SMS Received 1610
Unique Count of SMS as received 1355
Abandoned Calls/Website Non convergance Complaint * 570
Lead Uploaded Next Day ** 1925
Contacted 1142
Not Contacted 901
Dockets made 1024
Lead Attempts(Atleast 2 times in a day) 5490
PERFORMANCE REPORT March 2012
21
The Government of Kerala had requested National
Consumer Helpline for a training session to equip the
State Consumer Helpline staff on various facets of
running the helpline – knowledge of the consumer
protection act, answers to frequently occurring
problems in each sector and industry related
consumer goods and services. National Consumer
Helpline has taken the initiative to provide real time
training to counsellors by rendering five days on the
spot in-depth training workshop from March 26th to
30th 2012.
The training was done by adopting an interactive
approach using pre & post advice; sector wise three
tier grievance redressal mechanism; discussions;
PowerPoint presentations; group work activities;
group discussions etc. The counselors were trained on
all sectors – special focused training was taken for the
top five sectors for which complaints are received. An
in-depth training and knowledge of different aspects
of the Consumer protection act was also given.
The three-tier complaints resolution was explained
thoroughly and the regulatory framework available in
some of the sectors such as Telecom, Banking,
Insurance, LPG, and Electricity were explicitly
explained to the counselors. The counselors took
down relevant notes.
Ms. Deepika Sur and Mr. Sanjeev Talwar called on the
Director of Department of Food and Consumer
protection Ms. M. S. Jaya (IAS) on 30th March 2012
in her office in, Food & Civil Supplies office,
Thiruvanantapuram. They also met Mr. Sahadevan,
Controller of Weight & measures, legal metrology and
Ms. Rehmat Bibi, superintendent, civil supplies
department separately. A feed back on the current
status of the helpline was discussed.
Connect @ NCH – Training to State helpline
NCH Visit to Kerala State Consumer Helpline
NCH Team with members of Kerala State Helpline Members of Kerala State Helpline undergoing training
PERFORMANCE REPORT March 2012
22
A consumer awareness program was organized at ‘EMPI
Business School, CSKM Education Complex, Satbari
Chattarpur, New Delhi on Wednesday, 17th of March 2012
for spreading the message of consumer protection. EMPI-
CSKM academic community – a mini-town, with 3000 plus
habitants (students, faculty and staff) - are connected by a
pucca 20 feet arterial road branching off from the main
Chattarpur – Bhati-mines Road. EMPI-CSKM Campus is part
of fast growing suburb housing beautiful Farm Houses of
South Delhi which prides itself of pollution free ambience.
A presentation was given on consumer awareness that was
attended by around seventy students and Faculty/Staff
members including Mr. Glrish Kathurla Professor cum
Associate Director and Ms Anjana Mahapatra, Sr. Program
Manager, EMPI Business School. NCH team had brief
discussion about NCH and its functions. They were
impressed with the noble task done by NCH in the field of
consumer education.
Topics Covered in the Program
The topics covered included a brief Introduction about
National Consumer Helpline- Its d Functions and the Three
Tier Approach. The focus was to make them aware of
consumer rights and responsibilities and Consumer
Protection Act as they are the ones who will have to meet
the demands of the corporate sector, government agencies
and consumer associations.
Response
The students and faculty members showed a lot of interest
and involvement and there was active participation and
interaction at the session. The discussions included specific
problems faced by the students/staffs and questions on how
redresses could be obtained on specific grievances.
Major sectors covered in the session were: -
1. Telecom (Complaints related to DND, Customer Care,
Network issue & retail policy when connection doesn’t work)
2. Banking (complaints related to Savings Account, Loan
Account, Debit & Credit Cards)
3. Insurance (complaints related to Delay in Policy,
Delay/Refusal of claim, How to access the grievance
redressal mechanism of IRDA).
4. Food and Weights & Measures (Complaints related to
Charging more then MRP, How to check the purity of packed
food.
5. Products (Complaints related to Defective product,
Difference between Guarantee & warranty, when consumer
can demand for the replacement/refund of defective
product).
Mr. Glrish Kathurla Professor cum Associate Director
exhorted the students/faculties to build upon this
introductory knowledge prompted by the presentation and
imbibe and spread the consumer welfare message all around
and make consumers aware of their rights and
responsibilities. To conclude the session, Mr. Glrish Kathurla
Professor cum Associate Director thanked NCH for their
effort in propagating consumer welfare movement and also
made some suggestions on how their students could be
encouraged to imbibe these values for the benefit of the
society.
jAGRITI - An NCH initiative towards making an informed consumer
Consumer Awareness Program at EMPI Business School, New Delhi
Mr. Glrish Kathurla Professor cum Associate Director and EMPI Program Coordinators with NCH team
members
Students and faculty member listen to the program with keen interest.
PERFORMANCE REPORT March 2012
23
National Consumer Helpline organized a consumer
awareness program in Jagannath Institute of Management
Studies, Kalkaji, New Delhi on Wednesday the 28th of March
2012 for spreading the message of consumer protection. A
presentation was given on consumer awareness that was
attended by around seventy students and Faculty/Staff
members including Mr. S. K. Batra, Deen Academy, JIMS
Kalkaji. NCH team had a brief discussion about NCH and its
functions. This program sensitized people about the real
value of the product and services and the best use of their
rights.
Topics Covered in the Program
The main objective of this program is to propagate the
consumer empowerment movement in young minds. The
program included a brief Introduction about National
Consumer Helpline- Its functions and the Three Tier
Approach. The focus was to make them aware of consumer
rights and responsibilities and Consumer Protection Act as
they are the ones who will have to meet the demands of the
corporate sector, government agencies and consumer
associations.
Response
The students and faculty members showed a lot of interest
and involvement and there was active participation and
interaction at the session. The discussions included specific
problems faced by the students/staffs and questions on how
redresses could be obtained on specific grievances.
Major sectors covered in the session were: -
1. Telecom (Complaints related to Value Added Services,
slow speed of broadband connection, indifferent behaviour of
customer care)
2. Banking (complaints related to Savings Account, Loan
Account, Debit & Credit Cards)
3. Insurance (complaints related to Delay in Policy,
Delay/Refusal of claim, How to access the grievance
redressal mechanism of IRDA).
4. Food and Weights & Measures (Complaints related to
Charging more then MRP, How to check the purity of packed
food.)
5. Misleading Advertisements - How one can complaint
against the fake products available in the market and also
the aggressive marketing of products.
Students and Faculty member welcomed NCH team and
encouraged the students/faculties to build upon this
introductory knowledge prompted by the presentation and
imbibe and spread the consumer welfare message all around
and make consumers aware of their rights and
responsibilities. To conclude the session, Mr. S.K. Batra,
Deen Academy thanked NCH for their effort in propagating
consumer welfare movement and told that such enriching
programs encourages critical thinking, which helps them to
function more efficiently in the market place
Consumer Awareness Program at Jagannath Institute of Management Studies, New Delhi
The NCH team addresses the students andfFaculty members of JIMS
Students and faculty members interact with NCH team on various consumer issues.
PERFORMANCE REPORT March 2012
24
The SEC Classification (also called the Socio-
Economic Classification) is a classification of
households used by surveyors, market researchers,
media and marketing companies in India to categorize
consumer behavior. Originally developed by IMRB
International as a way of understanding market
segments, and consumer behavior it was
standardized and adopted by the Market Research
Society of India in the mid-1980s as a measure of
socio-economic class and is now commonly used as a
market segmentation. The SEC classification helps the
marketers to identify segments that have high
consuming potential. The high potential types: A1,
A2, the medium ones and the bottom of pyramid
ones.
The Media Research Users’ Council (MRUC) and the
Market Research Society of India (MRSI) unveiled a
new Socio-Economic Classification (SEC) system in
May 2011, under which all Indian households are
classified. The system classifies Indian households by
using two parameters—Educational
Qualifications of the chief wage owner in the
household; and the Number of Assets Owned
(out of a pre-specified list of 11 assets). Based
on these two parameters, each household is classified
in one of 12 SEC groups—A1, A2, A3, B1, B2, C1, C2,
D1, D2, E1, E2 and E3. These 12 groups are
applicable to both urban and rural India. With
the growth of the economy and of small towns and
rural, it has become imperative to look at a single
SEC classification system for both urban and rural
India.
The top-most new SEC class A1 comprises of 0.5% of
all Indian households. Nearly 2% of urban households
and less than 0.1% of rural households belong to the
new SEC A1. More than half of all SEC A1 households
reside in the top six Indian cities—Delhi, Mumbai,
Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad. At the
other end of the spectrum, the bottom-most new SEC
class E3 comprises of 10% of all Indian households.
Only 2% of urban households and 13% of rural
households belong to new SEC E3. Nearly 93% of all
SEC E3 households are in rural India.
Socio-Economic Profile of Callers – Study at NCH
SEC Classification of Indian Consumers
Source: http://www.mrsi.in/
PERFORMANCE REPORT March 2012
25
SEC Classification at NCH
National Consumer Helpline employed the SEC
Classification to classify the callers into different
strata. The classification gives an insight on the
profile of the people calling at NCH to redress their
grievances. In order to classify the callers,
information was obtained during the calls received. A
short questionnaire (the same used by MRSI and
MRUC) was asked and the details of callers, who gave
their details voluntarily, were recorded. The details
were used to obtain the SEC class to which each caller
belonged.
* Based on income levels in 2008.
* Source: MRSI
A summary report on the initial sample is as
follows:-
Analysis: -
The SEC classification was done for 1916 callers in the
month of March 2012. As can be seen from the chart
below, most of the callers fell in the upper strata of
the classification. The callers belonging to the top 5
strata, i.e., A1, A2, A3, B1 and B2 comprise of almost
73% of all 1916 callers. Rest of the callers (27%)
belongs to the economic sections with Average
Monthly Household Incomes equal or lower than
Rs.3986. This indicates that the people approaching
NCH are mostly from the well-off sections of the
society. NCH publicity needs better penetration
across all strata of the socio-economic fabric of the
country and especially, the reach needs to be
improved in the rural areas. Though tele-density in
the country is as high as 80%, still people across all
sections are not calling us at NCH. Hence, awareness
needs to be improved about the toll-free number.
* Sample size – 1916 respondents.
SEC
Classification
No of Callers Average Monthly
Household Income
(in Rs.)
A1 276 16849
A2 408 9122
A3 325 6663
B1 211 5747
B2 186 4798
C1 142 3986
C2 95 3413
D1 126 2987
D2 81 2391
E1 42 1955
E2 21 1607
E3 3 1348
Total 1916
*
SEC CLassification of Callers for March 2012
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
450
A1 A2 A3 B1 B2 C1 C2 D1 D2 E1 E2 E3
Socio Economic CLassification
No. of Callers
PERFORMANCE REPORT March 2012
26
(In December 2005 Europe Economics was
commissioned by DG SANCO to analyse the issue of
consumer detriment. Their final report was published
as a titled, “An analysis of the issue of consumer
detriment and the most appropriate
methodologies to estimate it”. The definition of
Consumer Detriment used by NCH has been derived
from this paper. )
Definitions of the European Commission:
“Consumer Detriment”
The DG SANCO report suggests two definitions of
consumer detriment:
(a) “A concept of consumer detriment, which
focuses on negative outcomes for consumers, relative
to some benchmark such as expectations or
reasonable expectations...personal detriment to
reflect the fact that it relates to the personal
experience of those consumers for whom something
goes wrong, rather than to consumers in aggregate.
The label also captures the idea that some aspects of
this type of detriment (e.g. the extent of any negative
psychological impact) will depend on the psychology
of the person concerned.
(b) An economics-based concept of consumer
detriment, which focuses on the loss consumer
welfare due to market failure or regulatory failure…
structural detriment, to reflect the fact that it
arises from a structural problem arising from a
market failure or a regulation…this type of detriment
arises from a structural feature which potentially
applies across an entire market or sector is that its
impact is likely to be felt by the generality of
consumers purchasing the relevant goods or
services.”
Which type of consumer detriment should be
analysed?
Personal detriment is particularly relevant when
assessing consumer protection rules, since these seek
to provide individual consumers with protection
against negative outcomes. For instance, NCH
councellors should consider impacts on personal
detriment when assessing policies which deal with
matters such as the following:
(a) Scams and fraud;
(b) Misleading advertising;
(c) Unfair marketing practices;
(d) Unfair contract terms;
(e) Sales of unsafe products;
(f) Sellers providing inadequate redress in response
to complaints.
Structural detriment is relevant to all policies which
have an impact on consumers, given that it relates to
the overall impact on consumers in aggregate. This
includes consumer protection rules, and hence for
some policies NCH councellors may need to assess
impacts on both personal and structural detriment.
Analysing personal consumer detriment:
Personal detriment can comprise both financial and
non-financial detriment (see table), therefore both
a quantitative and qualitative assessment is possible.
NCH councellors should aim at translating the
quantifiable impacts in monetary terms. In some
cases when consumers suffer problems, they will
obtain redress from their supplier (e.g. a replacement
product, refund or compensation). This may partly or
wholly offset the detriment that they have suffered.
The redress has to be considered during the
assessment of personal detriment. This enables
identification both of the problems which consumers
suffered in the first place, and the extent to which
they were able to obtain redress under the existing
legal framework.
CONSUMER DETRIMENT- A Pilot Study
PERFORMANCE REPORT March 2012
27
Consumer Detriment at National Consumer
Helpline: -
As National Consumer Helpline deals with Consumer
Complaints on a daily basis, Consumer Detriment is a
closely related concept to our organisation. The
consumers who approach us are mostly aggrieved
consumers who have experienced detriment and
therefore, using the data derived from the callers, we
can estimate the detriment experienced by them.
*Rounded off to the nearest non-decimal value.
Consumer Detriment Value – March 2012
For the month of March 2012, consumer detriment
was estimated for 641 dockets. As compared to
February 2012 consumer detriment of Rs. 4094012
was computed for 302 dockets. Only fresh dockets
generated during the period were considered for
calculating consumer detriment. The following table
summaries the results: -
S. No Sector Details
Full value of the product will be taken if the problem arises within two months of its purchase
1 Product The AMC value will be considered in case of non servicing of product
If ATM does not dispense the money, debited amount will be considered
2 Banking Non clearance of cheque in specific time frame will be considered as consumer detriment
3 E- Commerce Non delivery of product booked will be considered
4 MRP The incremental amount MRP will be considered
Where order made under this Act, is not complied with the District Forum or the State Commission or the National Commission, as the case may be.
5 Legal If order has been passed by consumer and has not yet been received the amount then it will be considered.
6 Medical
Negligence
After the second opinion from a doctor having expertise in the same field, .If the opinion indicates a case of negligence, then expenditure on previous treatment can be called direct loss to the consumer
Following are the broad parameters, which we decided on, before the pilot study: -
1. We have considered only the direct measurable financial loss as customer detriment, in the following
section-
S.No Sector/Category No. of Dockets Total Detriment Value
(Rs.)
Average Detriment Value
(Rs.)
1 Weights & Measures 36 5334 148
2 Legal 14 1307338 93381
3 Electricity 3 41220 13740
4 Products 161 1608796 9993
5 LPG 4 11895 2974
6 Postal 2 2025 1013
7 Railways 1 515 515
8 Telecom 236 56656 240
9 Real Estate 21 14317772 681799
10 Banking 68 635401 9344
11 E-Commerce 79 462770 5858
12 Insurance 4 49818 12455
13 Medical Negligence 1 140000 140000
14 Travel & Tours 2 65000 32500
Total 632 18704540
PERFORMANCE REPORT March 2012
28
In pre launch booking of real estate if builder fails to bring up the project & is not refunding the booking amount to the consumer then it is consider as direct loss to the consumer
7 Real Estate If builder is not giving the possession of the Flat /plot or not refunding the booking amount to the consumer then it is calculated as direct loss to the consumer
8 Food For Sale of packed food products after expiry date / use by date, 100% cash memo / bill value is taken as detriment
9 Drugs For Sale of expired drugs, 100% cash memo / bill value is considered as detriment.
10 Cosmetics For Sale of cosmetics after use before date, 100% cash memo / bill value is taken as detriment
Forcing to buy Accessories with new connection, excess amount to be taken as consumer detriment
11 LPG Where Consumer applies for a new LPG connection and has paid the amount but does not get the connection even after one month, the paid amount is considered as detriment
For Non- receipt / abnormal delay in receipt of money order, the amount of MO is considered as consumer detriment
For non delivery or delay in receiving Speed Post letter, the SP charges can be taken as consumer detriment
Non receipt or delay in delivery of Parcels, If parcel is insured, the value of parcel will be taken as consumer detriment
Tampering or pilferage of parcels. If insured parcel, value of the insured amount can be considered.
12 Postal
In case of MIS scheme, if interest is not credited, the amount of interest as confirmed by consumer can be treated as consumer detriment.
13 Railways In case of parcels not reached or reached with pilferage, the value of damaged is taken as consumer detriment
14 Tour & Travels
Tour Package cancelled by the operator /traveler but amount not refunded. The amount paid is considered as consumer detriment
For loss with respect to VAS and unfair deductions is considered as consumer detriment
For Non Refund / Partial Refund of Security, the amount not received will be taken as detriment.
If there is Delay in Activation of Subscribed Service, the amount debited/ paid is considered as consumer detriment
If connection is disconnected despite making payment, the amount paid is considered as consumer detriment
In case of inflated Bills / Overcharging, the overcharged value is taken as consumer detriment
15 Telecom
For prepaid connection getting disconnected, if the balance available lapses owing to disconnection, the lapsed balance amount is considered as consumer detriment
16 Insurance If consumer opts to surrender the policy within free look period but does not get his money back then the paid amount is considered as consumer detriment
For Consumer applying for a new electricity connection pays the amount but does not get the connection, the paid amount is considered ad consumer detriment
17 Electricity Where consumer pays the bill but the amount is still shown as due/ not paid, the amount paid is considered as consumer detriment
PERFORMANCE REPORT March 2012
29
Case 1
Sector: Electricity
Complaint no: 363578
Consumer’s Name: Shri Sambhu Rajat
Complaint against: Bihar State Electricity Board
His complaint is that there is no electricity connection in his house as well as in the neighboring area. He is a BPL
card holder, and Bihar Govt. has declared a scheme that BPL card holders can apply for an (Bihar State Electricity
Board) electricity connection. In 2001 consumer had applied for an electricity connection which has not been
provided by the electricity board. Infact, even an electricity pole has not been installed in his area. Moreover, he
received an electricity bill of Rs.13000/- on 13/3/2012 from the Electricity wide Bill No- 7834. The consumer’s
concern is simple and straight, which is why should he pay the bill when he does not have an electricity connection
provided by the board.
Why the case is Interesting: This complaint highlights 3 issues in consumer harassment namely-
1. An electricity bill is received in the consumer’s name without his having an electricity connection.
2. Service provider cannot send an advance bill. If someone has received the same, from any authority then he can
make a complaint with the concerned Department or Sub Divisional Magistrate of his area.
3. Consumer can move to the Dist. Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum or Civil Court to get the compensation
against such harassment.
Case 2
Sector: Misleading Ads
Complaint no: 359987
Consumer’s Name: Shri Vipin Pathak
Complaint against: PepsiCo
PepsiCo was running a commercial which said ‘Katrina Ka Number Crown Ke Under’. The commercial asks customers
to look under the crown to find a number which is supposed to be Katrina Kaif, the movie star’s phone number.
Instead of the star’s number, the phone number given in the advertisement was of a NOIDA-based professional,
Mr. Vipin Pathak. His phone kept ringing non-stop causing unnecessary harassment.
Why the case is Interesting:
• He was receiving undesirable calls for no fault of his.
• He enquired from service provider, Airtel, who responded that they are not aware.
• On telephonic complaint, consumer could not get proper answer from PepsiCo.
NCH Suggestions:
• Advised the complainant to complain to the manufacturing company- PepsiCo Inc.
• He can also complain to the Advertising Standard Council of India.
On complaining to PepsiCo Inc., PepsiCo Inc. accepted the mistake and gave him a new prepaid cell phone number
along with company gifts.
Interesting Stories @ NCH
PERFORMANCE REPORT March 2012
30
*
INFOSOURCE REPORT
** The Infosource Report is based on the total number of dockets made from calls handled i.e.
10,791
S.NO. NEWSPAPER CALLS- IN NOS. S.NO. ELECTRONIC MEDIA CALLS- IN NOS.
1 Other newspapers 1063 1 Other television channels 3535
2 Amar Ujala Newspaper 38 2 Doordarshan 976
3 Dainik Jagran 14 3 Sony Channel 16
4 Bhaskar 12 4 Sahara India 9
5 Divya Bhaskar 8 5 India TV 6
6 Divya Himachal 7 6 Lok Sabha Channel 3
7 DNA Newspaper 7 7 IBN Channel 1
8 Employment News 6 8 India Today 1
9 Gujarat Samachar 3 9 NDTV 1
10 Herald 3 10 S1 - News Channel 1
11 Hindustan 3 11 Zee Channel 1
12 Hindustan Times 3 12 Zee News 1
13 Indian Express 3 Total 4551
14 Jagbaarish 2 AUDIO MEDIA CALLS- IN NOS.
15 Lokmat 2 1 DU FM 90.4 1
16 Maharashtra Times 2 2 FM Gold 11
17 Navbharat Times 2 3 FM Rainbow 6
18 Nayi Duniya 2 4 Radio City-91 FM 2
19 Punjab Kesari 2 5 Radio Programme 3
20 Rajasthan Patrika 1 6 Red FM - 93.5 7
21 Sakal Newspaper 1 Radio 160
22 Samvad 1 Total 190
23 Statesman 1 ` OUTDOOR CALLS- IN NOS.
24 Telegraph 1 1 Hoardings 77
25 Times of India (Kolkata) 1 2 Electricity Bill 29
26 Yashobhumii 1 3 Post Card 12
27 Dainik Nav joyti 1 4 Postal 8
28 Taraun Bharat 1 5 Metro Hoardings 7
29 Times of India 1 6 Bus Hoardings - BEST 5
Total 1192 7 Pamphlets 2
NGO PARTNERS 8 Posters 2
1 Ministry - Facilitation Counter 16 9 Consumer Forum 1
Total 16 Total 143
INTERNET CALLS- IN NOS. OTHERS CALLS- IN NOS.
1 Internet 1464 1 OTHERS 673
2 Google 41 2 SMS Campaign 300
3 NCH Website 3 3 LPG Gas Receipt 128
Total 1508 4 Railway Ticket 47
EVENTS CALLS- IN NOS. 5 Institution Visit 1
1 Krishi Expo 1 6 NCH Annual Report 1
2 Trade Fair 1 Total 1150
3 Property Expo 1 WORD OF MOUTH CALLS- IN NOS.
4 Video on Wheels 3 1 NCH User 716
Total 6 2 Friends 657
MAGAZINE CALLS- IN NOS. 3 Just Dial 511
1 Magazine 43 4 Relatives 58
2 Media Relation Mag 1 5 Personal Visit 7
3 NCERT Book 8 6 Police 100 Number 6
4 Times Magazine 1 7 Telephone Exchange 6
5 Yojana Magazine 8 8 Jago Re Helpline 5
Total 61 9 Kissan Call Center 5
10 NGO 2
11 SMS through Airtel 1
Total 1974
Total 10791
Infosource Report for the Month of March– 2012
PERFORMANCE REPORT March 2012
31
* Other television channels exclude Doordarshan, NDTV, Aaj Tak, Sahara India etc.
** Other Newspapers exclude mainline daily newspapers pan India. For example, Times of India, Hindustan
Times, Indian Express etc.
- It is important to note that there has been no publication of advertisements in the daily national newspapers since August 2011
concerning publicizing of toll free number of National consumer Helpline except on World Consumer Day.
S.No. Infosource Calls %Age
1 Other television channels 3535 32.76
2 Internet 1464 13.57
3 Other newspapers 1063 9.85
4 Doordarshan 976 9.04
5 NCH User 716 6.64
Total 7754 71.86
Top 5 Infosource of the NCH Toll Free Number
*
**
S.No. Infosource Calls %Age
1 Electronic Media 4551 42.17
2 Newspaper 1192 11.05
3 Word of Mouth 1974 18.29
4 Internet 1508 13.97
5 Audio Media 190 1.76
6 Outdoor 143 1.33
7 Magazine 61 0.57
8 NGO Partners 16 0.15
9 Events 6 0.06
10 Others 1150 10.66
Total 10791 100.00
Over 30% Calls are in Response to Electronic Media in March 2012
PERFORMANCE REPORT
March 2012
32
32
Infosource Report for the Month of March, 2012
Others10.66%
Events0.06%
NGO Partners 0.15%
Magazine0.57%Outdoor
1.33%
Audio Media 1.76%
Word of Mouth18.29%
Internet13.97%
Newspaper11.05%
Electronic Media
42.17%
Electronic Media
Newspaper
Word of Mouth
Internet
Audio Media
Outdoor
Magazine
NGO Partners
Events
Others
Geographical Distribution of Complaints with Doordarshan as Infosource for March 2012
Uttar Pradesh16.91%
Delhi14.86%
Jammu & Kashmir
1.33%
Chhattisgarh1.02%
Odisha
2.36%
Karnataka
1.54%
Punjab3.07%
Bihar4.82%
Madhya Pradesh
4.20%
West Bengal
4.92%
Uttarakhand1.84%
Jharkhand
1.43%
Kerala
1.02%
Himachal Pradesh
1.33%
Other states
1.54%
Maharashtra
13.11%Rajasthan10.04%
Haryana9.02%
Gujarat5.64%
Uttar Pradesh
Delhi
Maharashtra
Rajasthan
Haryana
Gujarat
West Bengal
Bihar
Madhya Pradesh
Punjab
Odisha
Uttarakhand
Karnataka
Jharkhand
Himachal Pradesh
Jammu & Kashmir
Chhattisgarh
Kerala
Other states
PERFORMANCE REPORT
March 2012
33
33
Department of Consumer Affairs Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Distribution
Gate no.6, Krishi Bhawan, New Delhi- 110001
In the Month of March 2012, 19 people visited the facilitation cum information counter of the Ministry of Consumer Affairs. We received 96 calls at the center and National Consumer Helpline provided the desired information. We also provided the information to those people who were directed to us from the reception for different types of information and queries. . Number of Visitor for Ministry Of Consumer Affairs 19
Number of General information for M/o C.A. 130
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Number of Visitors Visited the Counter 149