How far has the "E-commerce Grievances?" Process Come Along?

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Well known Expert and Retail Management consultant Dr. Rupal Agarwal discussed various issues that needed improvement. “In the Ecommerce store systems, improvements can be made by developing better SOP’s or standard operating procedures. She observed that “ As more and more people use the online markets many consumers are experiencing problems in ecommerce transactions.

Dr. Rupal says that, “many complaints are related to delivery of defective or damaged goods. Many times goods were not delivered at all to the customer.” “Sometimes the delivery employee was not trained and he delivered damaged packages, or did not bring complete order etc. This left the consumer unhappy and helpless.” In the present scenario, Dr. Rupal observes that “online store delivery has to become standardized.”

Standardizations and regulatory bodies in ecommerce (ref: Economic times and Consumer Forum)

Many of the payment systems were not working and customers were told to contact managers themselves for payments. Until the customers had personally met the manager to solve the issues their goods were not delivered. It became a problem for the consumer to resolve these issues without any help from regulatory body. The customer support help lines in online retail store were jammed with phone calls due to lack of trained staff and sufficient help.

• The growth in the ecommerce market has been stupendous. It is expected to grow by 57% (Forrester Research) in 2026 in India. People are expected to invest $200 million in India by 2026 according to Economic Times. It is a huge task for India to control the growth in ecommerce and to protect the consumer rights. ‘It is important to educate the companies as well as individual consumers in order to safe guard the rights of the customers
• who use ecommerce for
• cash and card money transactions’.
• marketing of agricultural goods.
• products which are hazardous to life and property

These businesses have now come under the consumer protection regulations with the introduction of Consumer protection Bill in 2018 related to Ecommerce grievances. ( Ref: Consumer Guidance Society of India, CGSI )

The Consumer Protection Bill 2018 covers all Ecommerce

1. Many consumer forums check if the goods sold to them follow quality standards in packaging, impurity and advertising.

2. The consumer protection bill tries to protect consumers against unfair trade practices.

Fair Trade Practices

These rules and regulations are being written to improve the quality of people’s life and instill fair trade practices. Especially in ecommerce trading - goods and services are subject to competitive prices. Many customers feel they are being cheated on prices if they buy a gadget online and the same gadget is sold at a very high price to them as compared to the market price. (ref: Economic Times)

Many e-commerce companies have joined the National consumer protection Helpline as partners.

Proposals for foreign companies

There is a proposal to build a separate regulation unit for foreign ecommerce brands like Amazon, Flip Kart and Myntra.com. Many ecommerce companies are eager to partner with the regulators and help the consumers. The US-India Strategic Partnership forum has approached government for a say in Ecommerce.

INGRAM is a Consumer Helpline by Government of India Forum which will act as a central registry for registering grievances and contact the company or authority to resolve them.

CCPA a central consumer protection authority wants to set up a forum to be part of government policy on this issue. National Law School India in Bangalore is another forum that has registered 2494 complaints against ecommerce companies. It seems as though many bodies will be formulated by the end of this year to resolve Ecommerce issues and 2018.

PR source: https://www.prlog.org/12741021