Question : Protection of Online Consumer Rights

(a) whether it has come to the notice of the Government that online marketing agencies are adopting various methods to deny the right of consumers, if so, the details thereof;
(b) whether it has come to the notice of the Government that the online marketing agencies are not providing the receipt for the goods returned, if so, the details of action taken by the Government to provide proper receipt for return of articles;
(c) whether it has come to the notice of the Government that the online marketing agencies are not refunding the amount or delaying the refund of the amount paid in case of return of the goods purchased;
(d) if so, the action taken by the Government to ensure the refund of the amount within a short period of maximum 5 days; and
(e) whether the Government proposes to control, regulate and monitor the online marketing system including e-commerce with specific terms and conditions to protect the rights of consumers, if so, the details of the initiatives taken thereon?

THE MINISTER OF STATE
CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION
(SHRI C. R. CHAUDHARY)

(a) to (d) : It has come to the notice of the Government through the complaints lodged by the consumers in the National Consumer Helpline being run by the Department of Consumer Affairs that the consumers have grievances relating to e-commerce transactions in the areas of non-delivery of product, delivery of defective products, paid amount not refunded, delivery of wrong product, etc. The complaints of the consumers are transferred through the Integrated Grievance Redress Mechanism software to the companies concerned for redressal. In cases where consumers are not satisfied with the redressal, they are advised to approach the Consumer Forum of appropriate jurisdiction for redressal of their grievances.

(e) : The Government introduced the Consumer Protection Bill, 2018 in the Lok Sabha on 05.01.2018. The Bill provides for making of rules by the Central Government to regulate e-commerce and direct selling.
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