Everyone was congratulating Mansi in the office. The new laptop that Mansi ordered was delivered to her in the office today. Mansi was happy and gave a small treat to all colleagues. Mansi wanted to open the laptop packing at home because she wished that the laptop should be inaugurated by papa.
Mansi has purchased the laptop online and got a very good offer on it. A branded laptop, which was priced at Rs. 42000 / -, after all discounts it cost her 27000.
When she came home and opened the packing in the evening, it turned out that the laptop was not of the brand she had ordered, but of a brand whose name Mansi had never heard of. Mansi got upset and quickly goes to the link from where the order was placed. It was surprising that no contact detail of the company were given on that website.
Mansi remembered that the contact details of the sender may be found on the delivery slip. The name of the sender on the slip was something else, which did not seem to match in any way with this website. When Mansi approached the senders address, it was told that, they only deliver at the local level, they receive orders from the head office. Mansi was given the head office number.
When she called on the head office number, it was told that, this is sales department’s number, call on customer care, a new number was given to her. Customer care replied that they will check out the matter and you can call after three days. When she called after three days, she was asked to talk to the senior. Senior also replied the same way, we will check the matter and you call after eight days.
Now Mansi understood that the mistake has been made and now there is no solution for it, so she decided to work with the laptop that has come. On running the laptop, it was found that the operating system was not installed in it. Mansi had to spend extra 2700 to get the operating system installed.
Yes friends, this is not only about Mansi, many such examples will also be around you. So should we shop online shopping?
This is not a solution. If we are aware of what are the basic precautions of online shopping and if any wrong product comes then what is the process to resolve it. What are the legal provisions, then we can avoid such frauds.
Nowadays the trend of online shopping is increasing in cities due to convenience,. And especially in the festival season it increases more.
In this growing trend, cases of fraud with customers are also increasing at the same pace. Most of the cases reported in the consumer forum are related to online shopping, where either they are about fraudulent products or unsatisfactory service.
Most of the complaints are about return, refund or late delivery. To deal with all such complaints, the government has passed the Consumer Protection (e commerce) Rules 2020.
From the consumer’s prospective, the law that governs e-commerce are,
- Consumer Protection Act 2019
- Consumer Protection (e commerce) rules 2020
- Information Technology Act 2000
- Indian Contract Act 1872
- The law specifically related to the goods or services being offered
If you buy any item or service online for ‘Self Use’ then according to Consumer Protection (e commerce) Rules 2020 you are a consumer and you are entitled to get protection under this rule. The meaning of Self Use here is that if you buy goods / services for resale, then you are not covered in this rule.
According to the rules, it is compulsory for e commerce sellers to do many things, some of which have a direct effect on customer. As an aware customer, you need to check whether all these rules have been followed.
First, we will know, what is the structure of online business that has been recognized by the Rules.
There is an Inventory E commerce seller – who is the owner of goods / services and is also selling through his own website or app, like
The second is Seller on Marketplace – this is the seller who sells his goods / services on a common platform, such as Amazon, Flipkart etc.
Common platform means an online platform where sellers sell their goods / services. It has been called Marketplace. They are in the role of a mediator but they also have been made legally liable. Their website or app will be called Platform.
The rules related to all these have been enacted in the Consumer Protection (e commerce) Rules 2020.
It is mandatory for every e-commerce vendor to display following information clearly on website.
- Full name of the company / business
- Complete address of main / registered office
- Contact detail of Customer Care / Grievance officer – Name, number
- If any Import goods are sold, the detail of the importer.
- Clear policy regarding Return / Refund / Exchange / Guarantee / Warranty.
- Clear knowledge of shipment / delivery.
- Payment methods and available modes
- Privacy Policy containing clear information regarding data security.
- If some services are taken from third party, such as payment process, shipping partner then their complete information.
It is mandatory for every e-commerce entity to provide Grievance Redressal. A Grievances officer is to be appointed and his full contact detail name, phone number, email, postal address are to be displayed on website.
If you have any complaint with regard to the product / service purchased, then first you follow the procedure of (refund / return) available on the website of the seller / marketplace. If you do not get the response there, call on to their customer care and ask for help. If you do not get satisfactory answers here, write to the Grievance Officer.
If your voice is not heard, then surely you should file a case in the Consumer Protection Forum.
Friends, we can also take some precautions at our level.
- If you are shopping for the first time on a website, then choose the option of cash on delivery.
- Before entering your personal information and especially before payment, check the security level of the website.
- Research about the company and product. You can see reviews on the website or on another platform.
- All the information mentioned above, is available on the e-commerce website or not.
- Whether the entire detail of the product is given completely – quantity, price, description etc.
- Whether you are satisfied with the refund / return / exchange policy.
- Whether there is delivery facility available at your address.
- Order cancellation facility is available or not. Are there any charges for cancellation.
- If the product is not right for you, don’t use it and keep the packing box intact.
- Keeping an extra safety, whenever you open the parcel, make its video. If it happens that something else came out in the parcel instead of the product you have ordered, then this video would be with you as a proof.
If you need any help in this regard, there are many NGOs working on consumer protection, you can also find some of them around you, contact them. If you want, you can also share your problem with us.
Thankyou.
