Consumer complaints fell by 25%, says CGSI

There is nearly 24.85 per cent drop in the consumer complaints received by the Maharashtra Consumer Helpline, as compared to previous year. As per data provided by Consumer Guidance Society of India (CGSI) complaints came in over 30 categories of consumer issues. Complaints are given both through phone calls and email.

As per information, the helpline received a total of 17,012 complaints in the period of April 2017 to March 2018. From April 2018 to March 2019, the number of complaints dropped to 12,870. A majority of the complaints in both years were in the "others" category, followed by domestic appliances, e-commerce, telecom, banking, public distribution system and airlines. There were complaints related to Aadhaar Card and RTI.

The number of complaints fell from the previous years in almost all categories. In case of PDS it jumped from 375 in 2017-18 to 890 in 2018-19. Complaints in domestic appliances that saw most complaints in 2017-18 after fell by almost 60 per cent to 1,407.

There was no complaint for Aadhaar card in 2018-19 after six complaints in 207-18.The number of complaints for airways stood at 157, down from 202 as compared to previous year.

"There are different reasons for the number of complaints falling. There are other consumer firms that help citizens and the internal redressal mechanism has ensured that consumer complaints are tackled seriously," said Dr M S Kamath, honorary secretary of CGSI.