National Consumer Helpline Refunds Rs 7.14 Crore To Consumers In Two Months

New Delhi: The National Consumer Helpline (NCH) has facilitated refunds of Rs 7.14 crore to consumers in the past two months, reflecting the efficacy and responsiveness of the helpline, driven by expansion of convergence partners and strong stakeholder engagement, Ministry of Consumer Affairs said.

This significant redressal was achieved across 30 sectors, effectively addressing 15,426 consumer grievances related to refund claims.

According to the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, the NCH plays a crucial pre-litigation role in resolving consumer grievances swiftly and amicably, reducing the burden on Consumer Commissions under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.

Notably, the e-commerce sector accounted for the highest volume of grievances, registering 8919 grievances, and correspondingly, the highest refund facilitation amounting to Rs 3.69 crore. This was followed by the Travel and Tourism sector, which saw refunds of Rs 81 lakh, the ministry said.

"Grievances related to e-commerce refunds came from across the country, with the highest (1242) from Uttar Pradesh and even smaller regions like Sikkim and Dadra & Nagar Haveli registering complaints, reflecting NCH's effectiveness as a truly nationwide consumer redressal platform," the ministry added.

"The facilitation of Rs 7.14 crore in refunds between April 25 and June 30 this year reflects the efficacy and responsiveness of the helpline, driven by the expansion of convergence partners and strong stakeholder engagement. This highlights NCH's vital role in ensuring timely, hassle-free grievance redressal and reinforces its importance as a trusted, pre-litigation platform promoting consumer welfare and marketplace transparency," the ministry pointed out.

This increase in the number of grievances and dockets registered at NCH also indicates the growing outreach of the platform, specially through digital modes such as calls, the web portal, WhatsApp, the NCH App, UMANG, CPGRAMS, SMS, Email, AI enabled chatbot as reflected in the comparative data from June 1, 2023 to May 31, 2024 and June 1, 2024 to May 31, 2025.

The NCH has emerged as a single point of access for consumers across the country to seek grievance redressal at the pre-litigation stage. Consumers can register their grievances in 17 languages through a toll-free number 1915. Grievances can also be submitted through the Integrated Grievance Redressal Mechanism (INGRAM), an Omni-channel, IT-enabled central portal. Multiple channels are available for this purpose, including WhatsApp, SMS, email, the NCH app, the web portal (consumerhelpline.gov.in), and the UMANG App offering flexibility and convenience to consumers, the ministry informed.

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