Petrol prices to be hiked again

Its about to happen again, oil firms are about to raise prices of petrol , possibly after May 10 when the state polls end.

Their could be an increase of about 3 Rs on petrol, which could be announced on 15th of May. The hint of an imminent price revision came from Ranbir Singh Butola, chairman of Indian Oil Corporation, which controls 55% of the market. "We would do it (increase rate) at the earliest possible," he said.

Government always raises the petrol price when it goes up in international market, but when falls , They do not reduce the price accordingly. Common man is already facing brunt inflation and this will only add to their woes.

Bank with fastest complaint resolution

Nowadays almost every one has a bank account and, most of us use their services on a daily basis. At times their are issues and problems for which you need to contact the bank for a solution. But have you ever thought how customer friendly is your bank?

Does it treat you royally or does it give you a royal ignore? You would get a fair idea when you approach it for availing a product or service, but a bigger yardstick is how it treats you, when you confront it with your grievances.

A new report by Outlook Money takes a look at the preception of customers. Of all the banks only 15 were shortlisted for the study.

Of the shortlisted banks, two were from the private sector (Axis Bank and HDFC Bank) while the rest were from the public sector (Allahabad Bank, Bank of Baroda, Bank of India, Canara Bank, Central Bank of India, Corporation Bank, Indian Bank, Oriental Bank of Commerce, Punjab National Bank, State Bank of India, Syndicate Bank, UCO Bank and Union Bank of India).

All the banks have layed down a detailed complaint resolution system. However, having a system in place is one thing and ensuring that the system is effective is another.

Central Bank of India emerged at the top in terms of speedy complaint resolution followed closely by HDFC Bank. Corporation Bank and Axis Bank were placed third and fourth. You can read the complete report here.

Things needed to file a complaint

Whenever you buy any product, make sure that you collect a proper receipt with all details duly filled in. Also collect the warranty card and get it stamped by the dealer.

If there's a problem with the product, complain and note down the name of the person you spoke to and the time at which you did that. If there is no response, file a written complaint and take an acknowledgement for it.

In short, keep a record of every transaction, every complaint. If at any time, you need to lodge a complaint about the product before the consumer court, these will come in handy.

These will help, to make sure that you have a strong case to back your allegations when you file a complaint. Or else, you may well lose your case.

In the absence of proof of purchase, it is difficult to lodge a complaint before the consumer court.

Better service to bank customers

Bank customers may soon expect better services and fast-track redressal of their grievances as Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is likely to consider a fresh set of rules to improve the banks' customer service practices.

Almost a year after RBI put in motion a process to improve bank's customer service practices, a high-profile panel set up by the central bank in this regard is likely to submit its recommendations later this month.

The proposed recommendations may include penalties on banks for lapses on both implementation and maintenance of model customer service standards, they said.

The panel is also said to be in favour of giving more teeth to the Banking Ombudsman through necessary legal measures. The Banking Ombudsman Scheme was established by RBI in 1995 to provide speedy solutions to the grievances faced by bank customers.

Besides, the RBI might also be asked to consider putting more responsibility on the banks' key executives in terms of adopting better customer service standards and putting in place necessary checks against any lapses.

There has been a sharp increase in the number of customer complaints at various banks.

The Banking Ombudsman received as many as 79,266 complaints in the year 2009-10, the latest period for which data is available. This marked an increase of about 15% from 69,117 complaints received in 2008-09.

There are 15 offices of Banking Ombudsman spread across the country and RBI had initiated this step to provide an expeditious forum to bank customers for resolution of their complaints relating to deficiency in banking services.

A database of cellphone bill defaulters

Customers who default on their payment to cellphone companies will find it increasingly difficult to cheat other companies in the near future.

The Credit Information Bureau (India) Limited (Cibil) is in talks with leading telecom companies to create a database of cellphone customers in the country on lines similar to that of a financial institution.

This will mean that every default on cellphone bills and the credit history of a customer would be available for mobile operators at the click of a mouse. Cibil is carrying out a pilot run in Mumbai in association with one of the main service providers.

Tata Docomo offers free incoming

Tata Docomo launched a an exclusive ‘Roam Free’ offer for its post payed customers. Under the offer, customers can enjoy incoming roaming absolutely free anywhere across the country on Tata Docomo network.

By availing the unique offer customers don’t have to worry about incoming roaming charges, while outgoing roaming will be charged at 1paise per second. What more! All this comes at absolutely no extra cost to Docomo customers.

Salient features of the plan are:

• It introduces roam free plans only on PostPay.
• Plans Offer free incoming across the country on Tata Docomo’s national network.
• Outgoing calls are also billed per second while roaming.

Existing customers can avail the offer, by just sending SMS to 121 to start using this benefit on the new Roam Free plans with greater than 299 rental.

RBI mail address hijacked by phishers

In what is being described as an online shock for the Reserve Bank of India, cyber fraudsters masquerading as officials of the country's apex bank have started sending fraud emails to unsuspecting citizens seeking their banking details.

The fraud came to light after several people reported having received a mail from the address update@rbi.org.in with the subject 'Important notice to all bank customers in India'. "Dear Account Holder, the Reserve Bank of India has introduced a new security update against online phishing in India. Download the attachment, select the bank you operate and update your account against online

RBI has issued an advisory warning against responding to any such mails. Those who have revealed their account numbers in response to the mail should immediately alert their respective bank.

Delhi filed highest number of consumer complaints

If one goes by the number of cases filed in consumer courts in Bihar and West Bengal, these two states are at the bottom of the chart when it comes to consumer rights in the country.

According to data compiled by National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, till December 2010, these states were way behind other states with similar size and population in the number of consumer cases filed.

Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab, Karnataka, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh rank high in consumer awareness.

On the other hand, the commission said UP, Maharashtra, Haryana, Orissa, Punjab, Gujarat and Bihar account for almost 80 per cent of the total pendency of old cases. “

The seven sister states in the north-east have a very low registration of consumer cases. The lowest among them is Sikkim, with only 297 cases filed since the consumer courts were set up.

Among the Union territories, Delhi has the highest number of consumer complaints, followed by Chandigarh. This is the reason that Chandigarh has two district Consumer Disputes Redressal Forums.

Despite its tiny size, Chandigarh has received 42,245 cases in its district forums since inception, and 11,091 cases in its Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission. The disposal rate of complaints is above 90 per cent in both Delhi and Chandigarh.

Nokia the top manufacturer in India

Mobile ad network, InMobi, has revealed that the Indian mobile ad market grew by 1.5 billion ad impressions (27 per cent) between October 2010 and January 2011.

The finding is part of InMobi’s January 2011 Mobile Insights Report - India Market.

With 59 per cent market share, Nokia continues to be the top manufacturer in India, followed by Samsung with 24 per cent impression share. These two competitors account for 83 per cent of total impressions served in the Indian mobile market--and are followed by Sony Ericsson, LG and Micromax.