New Delhi, March 25 (IANS) The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has flagged the practice of hotels and restaurants demanding or collecting additional charges — ‘LPG charges’, ‘gas surcharge’ and ‘fuel cost recovery’ — in consumer bills, terming it an unfair trade practice, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution said on Wednesday.The authority said such charges are being imposed by default to bypass existing norms on service charges, and issued an advisory di…
Latest National Consumer Helpline News & Updates
New Delhi, Feb 17 (IANS) The National Consumer Helpline (NCH) has facilitated refunds amounting to Rs 52 crore across 31 sectors by addressing 79,521 consumer grievances related to refund claims during the last nine months (from April 2025 to January 31, 2026). The refunds were secured at the pre-litigation stage, enabling consumers to obtain timely relief without approaching Consumer Commissions, according to a statement issued by the Department of Consumer Affairs on Tuesday. The e-commerce se…
New Delhi, Jan 31 (IANS) e-Jagriti, National Consumer Helpline, BIS standards, and Legal Metrology were some of the flagship reforms and high-impact initiatives undertaken in 2025 to boost consumer protection, said the government on Saturday.The Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution noted that “2025 marked a defining phase for the Department of Consumer Affairs as consumer protection in India moved decisively towards speed, accessibility and trust”.In a bid to boost co…
New Delhi, Jan 13 (IANS) The digital consumer grievance redressal systems can greatly improve access to consumer justice in rural and geographically dispersed districts of Bihar, Jharkhand and Odisha, Nidhi Khare, Secretary, Department of Consumer Affairs, said on Tuesday.In her keynote address at the ‘Regional Workshop on Consumer Protection for Eastern States’ in Patna, Khare highlighted the major reforms undertaken by the Department of Consumer Affairs to modernise the consumer grievance redr…
New Delhi, Jan 10 (IANS) The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has taken action against 27 restaurants across India for violating consumer rights by mandatorily levying service charges on food bills, the government said on Saturday.During investigations, the consumer watchdog found that several restaurants were adding a 10 per cent service charge by default.Among them were Cafe Blue Bottle in Patna and China Gate Restaurant Private Limited, which operates Bora Bora in Mumbai.The autho…
New Delhi, Dec 30 (IANS) The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on China Gate Restaurant Private Limited, which operates the Bora Bora restaurant chain in Mumbai, for illegally levying mandatory service charges on customers.In an order dated December 29, the Central Consumer Protection Authority said the restaurant was adding a 10 per cent service charge by default to customers’ bills and was also charging GST on that amount.This was done despite clear…
New Delhi, Dec 27 (IANS) The National Consumer Helpline (NCH) has facilitated refunds amounting to Rs 45 crore during the eight-month period from April 25-December 26 2025, addressing 67,265 consumer grievances related to refund claims across 31 sectors, it was announced on Saturday.The e-commerce sector recorded the highest number of grievances and refunds, with 39,965 grievances resulting in refunds of Rs 32 crore.This was followed by the travel and tourism sector, which registered 4,050 griev…
New Delhi, Dec 24 (IANS) The National Consumer Helpline has emerged as a strong and effective platform for resolving consumer complaints even before they reach courts, helping people get refunds worth Rs 42.6 crore across 30 sectors between April and December 2025, Union Consumer Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said on Wednesday.Addressing the National Consumer Day 2025 celebrations at Bharat Mandapam here, Joshi said the helpline resolved over 63,800 refund-related grievances during the period, …
New Delhi, Dec 23 (IANS) On the eve of National Consumer Day 2025, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution said on Tuesday that its consumer redressal portal e-Jagriti has improved case resolution with over 1.35 lakh complaint filings, more than 1.31 lakh case disposals, and over 2.81 lakh users.Till mid-November, at least 1,400 Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) were among the users of the portal, launched on January 1, 2025, said an official statement.The Ministry said a total …
New Delhi, Dec 23 (IANS) The number of calls received by the National Consumer Helpline (NCH) has grown nearly tenfold, from 12,553 calls in December 2015 to 1,55,138 calls in December 2024, the official data showed on Tuesday on the occasion of ‘National Consumer Day 2025’.Similarly, the average number of complaints registered per month has surged from 37,062 in 2017 to 1,11,951 in 2024. It now resolves over 12 lakh complaints annually, with many being addressed within 21 days, supported by…