Government consumer helpline facilitates Rs 45 crore refunds in eight months

New Delhi: The Department of Consumer Affairs stated that the National Consumer Helpline (NCH) facilitated refunds worth Rs 45 crore over the last eight months, helping to resolve refund claims across 31 sectors.

The Department stated that the refunds were enabled between April 25 and December 26, 2025, covering 67,265 consumer grievances at the pre-litigation stage, thereby reducing the load on consumer commissions under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.

The e-commerce sector accounted for the bulk of the cases, with 39,965 grievances and refunds totalling Rs 32 crore, the Department said.

Travel and tourism followed with 4,050 grievances and refunds of Rs 3.5 crore.

The Department’s data also showed agency services saw refunds of about Rs 1.35 crore, electronic products about Rs 1.17 crore, and airlines about Rs 0.96 crore.

The Department cited multiple consumer cases where NCH intervention helped secure refunds, including an e-commerce complaint involving repeated pickup cancellations for defective furniture, a delayed broadband refund, and a flight ticket cancellation refund pending despite advance notice.

It said a key driver behind the higher refund facilitation was the expansion of convergence partners, which improved coordination and speed of grievance resolution.

NCH can be accessed in 17 languages via toll-free number 1915, and consumers can also register grievances through INGRAM and channels such as WhatsApp, SMS, email, the NCH app, the web portal, and UMANG, the Department said.