New Delhi, October 17 (IANS). According to the Centre, the National Consumer Helpline (NCH) has established itself as an important platform to protect consumer rights and ensure fair business practices. NCH facilitates cooperation between consumers, companies and authorities by timely redressal of complaints. Also, NCH leverages technology to enable individuals to get justice without lengthy legal processes.
As per official data, leveraging technology has significantly increased the reach and efficiency of the helpline. The number of calls has increased more than ten times.
The number of calls has increased from 12,553 in December 2015 to 1,55,138 in December 2024. At the same time, the average number of monthly complaint registrations has increased from 37,062 in 2017 to 1,70,585 in 2025.
Similarly, the number of convergence partners is expected to increase from 263 companies in 2017 to 1,142 companies by September 2025. This has strengthened the support system for timely redressal of complaints.
Under the Convergence initiative, companies partner with the National Consumer Helpline on a voluntary and free of cost basis to ensure speedy resolution of customer complaints. Complaints are sent immediately and companies are expected to respond within 30 days.
According to the information given by the government, with the introduction of digital mediums, about 65 percent of consumer complaints on the helpline are filed online and through digital means. Complaint registration through WhatsApp has seen an increase from 3 percent in March 2023 to 20 percent in March 2025.
The National Consumer Helpline resolved 7,256 consumer complaints across 27 different sectors in July 2025 and facilitated total refunds of Rs 2.72 crore.
Total refunds of Rs 62 lakh were provided with settlement of 1079 consumer complaints in April 2025. Similarly, the e-commerce sector had the highest number of complaints related to refunds for July 2025. Of these, 3,594 cases resulted in refunds of Rs 1.34 crore.
According to the Centre, 3,981 calls related to GST issues were recorded on the National Consumer Helpline since the implementation of the Next Gen GST reforms 2025 till October 2, 2025. Of these, 31 percent were questions and 69 percent were formal complaints, which were considered for further action.
Of the total complaints, 1,992 complaints have been forwarded to CBIC for further action, while 761 complaints have been forwarded to the respective convergence partner companies for immediate resolution.
–IANS
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