A customer ordered food through an online delivery app but received the wrong items in reduced quantities. Despite repeated requests, the company did not respond. With the intervention of the National Consumer Helpline (NCH), the refund was successfully facilitated. The consumer expressed gratitude, saying: “Thanks for serving justice to me as a customer. You restored my faith in the system. Thanks a lot to the NCH forum for helping with the resolution. My belief in consumer rights has strengthened through such efforts.”
The Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution shared this experience on Tuesday, reporting that in the past nine months, the NCH facilitated refunds totaling Rs 52 crore across 31 sectors by addressing 79,521 consumer grievances related to refund claims between 25 April 2025 and 31 January 2026. E-commerce sector accounted for the highest number of grievances, with 47,743 complaints and refunds exceeding Rs 36 crore. The Travel & Tourism sector followed, with refunds of more than Rs 4 crore, followed by agency services, electronic products, and insurance services.
According to officials, “Refund grievances in the e-commerce sector were reported from across the country, spanning metropolitan cities as well as remote regions, underscoring the extensive reach and accessibility of the National Consumer Helpline as a pan-India consumer grievance platform.” The refunds were secured at the pre-litigation stage, enabling consumers to obtain timely relief without approaching Consumer Commissions, they said.
E-commerce is emerging as India’s leading sector due to rapid smartphone proliferation, the world’s second-largest internet user base, and widespread adoption of UPI for digital payments. The projection is that India is expected to become the world’s second-largest online consumer market, with 500–600 million shoppers, largely driven by these factors.