Question : Non-Delivery and Late Delivery of Money Orders

(a) whether the complaints of non-delivery and late delivery of money orders to the recipients have increased in the country;

(b) if so, the details thereof during each of the last three years and the current year, State/UT-wise;

(c) whether the Government has conducted any enquiry in this regard;

(d) if so, the details and the outcome thereof along with the number of officials found guilty in such cases and action taken/ being taken against them so far;

(e) the mechanism put in place by the Government to facilitate efficient handling and curb such complaints in the country; and

(f) the other steps taken by the Government to make the Money Order System a good competitor to the other mode of electronic money transfers in the country?

THE MINISTER OF STATE (IC) OF THE MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS &
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS
(SHRI MANOJ SINHA)

(a) & (b) The number of complaints of late delivery of Money Orders to the recipients has shown an increase when considered over the last three years & the current year. However, there was a decline in the number of complaints of non-delivery of Money Orders between 2016-17 & 2017-18, but increase in the current year.

The details of such complaints received i.e. non-delivery and late delivery of Money Orders to the recipients, during each of the last three years and the current year, State/UT wise are as per Annexure – I.

(c) & (d) Yes Madam. The Government has conducted enquiries in this regard. In many such cases, delay in payment of Money Orders was due to operational and technical reasons. In other instances, human error was seen to be the cause of delay. A total of 68 officials were found guilty in such cases and disciplinary action has been taken against them by the concerned Authorities.

(e) & (f) The Department has a well laid out procedure for handling such complaints. The following channels are available to the customers to lodge their grievances on non-delivery and late delivery of Money Orders:-

(i) Through phones, by lodging their complaints at India Post Call Centre (IPCC).
(ii) Through Postinfo App, by introducing trackability of such complaints on the mobile App of the Department i.e. Postinfo App. Till date this App has been downloaded by 1.9 million users.
(iii) On Social Media i.e. Twitter (@indiapostoffice) and Facebook.
(iv) On online portal, i.e., Centralized Public Grievance Redress & Monitoring System (CPGRAMS).
(v) On online Computerized Customer Care Centres (CCCC). 20,041 CCCCs are in place across the country for online exchange of information amongst all units for speedy redressal of such complaints.

The following steps have been taken by the Department to curb such complaints and make the Money Order system a good competitor to the other mode of electronic money transfers in the country:-
(i) A complete online delivery system has been rolled out as part of Core System Integration (CSI) implementation, which enables faster transmission of Money Orders and greater visibility of the delivery process.
(ii) End to end tracking of Money Orders by customers on the Departmental portal i.e. www.indiapost.gov.in. Value Added Services like SMS alerts at different stages in the electronic money order (eMO) delivery process is provided to Money Order customers.
(iii) The tracking of Money Orders is now also available in the Interactive Voice Response System (IVRS) in India Post Call Centre (IPCC).
(iv) Devices have been provided to Branch Postmasters in rural areas under Digital Advancement of Rural Post Office (DARPAN) Project, which will enable the rural customers to receive payment of Money Orders via electronic mode.