NRAI raised the issue of non-sharing of customer information by e-commerce FBOs with restaurants, which affects their ability to better serve consumer needs.
Highlight
- Swiggy, Zomato were asked to submit proposals to improve consumer grievance redressal mechanism
- The government gave them 15 days to submit their plans
- Over 3,631 complaints registered for Swiggy, 2,828 for Zomato on National Consumer Helpline: Center
Amid rising customer complaints, online food business operators like Swiggy and Zomato were on Monday asked by the government to submit proposals within 15 days to improve their consumer grievance redressal mechanism, while directing them to disclose the breakdown of charges. Gave.
The direction was given during a meeting chaired by Consumer Affairs Secretary Rohit Kumar Singh to discuss relevant issues affecting consumers in the sector with leading e-commerce food business operators.
Online food business operators including Swiggy and Zomato as well as NRAI (National Restaurant Association of India) participated in the meeting.
According to an official statement, “The Department of Consumer Affairs has directed the major e-commerce food business operators (FBOs) to submit the proposal within 15 days to improve the existing framework as well as the consumer grievance redressal mechanism.”
The department reported that during the last 12 months, “over 3,631 complaints have been filed for Swiggy on the National Consumer Helpline (1915) and 2,828 for Zomato”.
A Swiggy spokesperson welcomed the steps taken by the government and acknowledged that food manufacturers and restaurants will have to work together to comprehensively address the various aspects of the complaints raised.
The Department of Consumer Affairs directed the e-commerce FBOs to “transparently show the consumers about all the charges included in the order amount like delivery charges, packaging charges, taxes, surge pricing etc.”
These platforms were also instructed to transparently show individual consumer reviews and refrain from showing only aggregations of reviews.
The consumer complaints raised on the National Consumer Helpline were discussed during the meeting.
These complaints include “discrepancies in the correctness of the quantum of delivery and packing charges and the reasonableness of such charges, discrepancies between the price and quantity of food items displayed on the Platform and the delivery times offered by the restaurant when actually placing an order.” The time of delivery and the time at which the order is actually placed, and lacks any mechanism to differentiate genuine reviews from fake reviews,” the statement said.
NRAI raised the issue of non-sharing of customer information by e-commerce FBOs with restaurants, which affects their ability to better serve consumer needs.
In addition, delivery charges are determined and levied by the latter. Also, a commission of around 20 percent is charged by the online FBO on each order.
“It was emphasized that the right of choice for the consumer should be respected and e-commerce FBOs were advised to allow consumers to share their contact information with restaurants,” the statement said. Give, if consumers so desire.”
When contacted for comments, a Swiggy spokesperson welcomed the government’s initiative.
The spokesperson said, “We are encouraged by the discussions among key stakeholders in the food ecosystem. As participants, we agreed that food manufacturers and restaurants should work together to holistically address various aspects of complaints. Will happen.”
On sharing the data, a Swiggy spokesperson said, “In keeping with user privacy, Swiggy does not share customers’ names and contact information. All other information related to food orders and insights on demand and selection is shared with restaurant partners.” is shared with.”
Additional Secretary Nidhi Khare and Joint Secretary, Consumer Affairs Department Anupam Mishra were also present in the meeting.
According to the official statement, the e-commerce FBO observed in the meeting that the prices of food items are decided by the restaurants and they have a grievance redressal mechanism which has scope for improvement considering the number and nature of complaints lodged. consumer.
During the meeting, the stakeholders recognized the need to closely address consumer complaints and develop a robust grievance redressal framework.
He assured that the concerns raised in the meeting would be duly addressed and the proposed better and transparent framework would be shared with the department in 15 days, the statement said.
There were 803 complaints (22 per cent of the total 3,631) related to deficiency in services on the Swiggy platform. Non/delay in product delivery accounted for 17 percent of total complaints, defective/damaged product delivery accounted for 13 percent.
Delivery of the wrong product and non-refund of the amount paid, each accounted for 11 per cent of the total complaints.
Similarly, on the Zomato platform, deficiency in services contributed to 25 per cent of the total complaints followed by defective/damaged product delivery (18 per cent), delayed/delayed product delivery (11 per cent), non-refundable amount done (11 per cent) and wrong product delivery (11 per cent).
The department has taken several steps in the last few months to protect the interest of the consumers. It has asked restaurants not to charge service charges and will soon bring in a legal framework on the issue.
Consumer protection regulator CCPA on May 20 said it has issued notices to cab aggregators Ola and Uber for unfair trade practices and violation of consumer rights. The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has given 15 days to the two companies to respond to the notices.
The department will soon hold a meeting with edtech firms such as Byju’s and Unacademy amid complaints these platforms had put additional study pressure on schools.
Read also: Meal delivery in 10 minutes! Zomato announces world’s first ‘fastest’ doorstep ordering