TRAI's new Do Not Call law

From next month TRAI will be making the mobile operators responsible for allowing unwanted calls and text messages that have been drowning mobile-phone users. TRAI will also levy heavy fines on telecom companies that allow calls to be made to people on Do Not Call list.

The biggest change to current law will hold carriers responsible when telemarketers contact people on the Do Not Call registry. Under the new law carriers will face a fine of $2,200 for the first offense; $11,000 for the second offense; and $22,000 for each subsequent offense. The new rules were announced Dec. 1, yet enforcement has been delayed while officials and the industry worked out a key provision that lets subscribers know when a call or text message is from a telemarketer.

Under the provision, telemarketers' phone numbers must start by the numbers "140" on caller-ID screens and commercial text messages must have standard headers that will identify them.

Backlog of consumer cases rises

There are three and a half lakh cases pending to be resolved in various consumer courts in the country at the end of April this year. Uttar Pradesh (UP) followed by Maharashtra and Rajasthan had the highest number of cases pending in their respective states.

The backlog of cases has been rising by about two percent every year since 2005 even as the number of consumer applications filed for redressal has grown from 23.5 lakh until December 2005 to 35 lakh until April 2011, representing a near 50 percent increase.

The growth in consumer complaints shows growing consumer awareness about their rights as much as it raises doubts over the efficacy of India being billed as the prime destination for global consumer brands.

A ZRG study of the official data at the Consumer Affairs Ministry shows that UP topped the list of pending cases with about one lakh consumer complaints pending to be heard.

Best and worst states in respect of pending cases in consumer courts are:

Five Best States in 2011

Lakshadweep – 7
Sikkim – 16
Daman & Diu – 23
Andaman & Nicobar Island – 33
Arunachal Pradesh – 40

Five Worst States in 2011

Uttar Pradesh - 110774
Maharashtra – 35338
Rajasthan – 27557
Haryana – 27425
Gujarat – 23341

SBI employee dupes customers

A complaint was lodged by SBI and at least 127 customers against a SBI employee in Bhavnagar district's Talaja branch on Sunday with cheating, forgery, breach of trust .

The complaints said Mahedrasinh R Sarvaiya employed with SBI, duped them of 97 lakh for past many years. He would collect life savings from them but never deposited in their bank accounts.

The amount will probably go up as more people will come forward.

Moral of the story is never trust anyone with your money. Manage your money yourself, don't be dependent on anyone and everyone to do the daily chores of your bank.

Petrol price raised, but more to come

Petrol prices were hiked as already posted on Consumer World on 26th April. But it wasn't just another raise of 2-3 RS instead it was a whopping 5 Rs/l, the steepest ever hike. The oil companies are looking too increase the price even more!!

Petrol prices should have been raised by about 10 rupees a litre but we have increased them only by 5 rupees in public interest, said R.K. Singh, head of BPCL

This is the seventh time in 11 months that petrol prices have gone up and are set to upset household budgets, already reeling under the burden of higher food costs and loan installments.

And as if this was not enough, you may have to deal with Rs 4 hike in the price of diesel and cooking gas cylinders could cost Rs 25-50 more. The ministerial panel on fuels is expected to take a call on raising these prices next week.

RBI rule for failed ATM transactions

Today most of us have atleast one bank account and an ATM card with it. ATM (Automated Teller Machines) has made our life a lot easier than it was before. Now there’s no need to stand in long queues, at your bank to withdraw cash, as it can be done easily with ATM machine.

Just visit any ATM machine in your vicinity pop in your card and withdraw required cash. But occasionally it does happen that you receive no cash from the machine, yet the amount is debited from your account.

In that case banks are required to reimburse to the customers, the amount wrongfully debited on account of failed ATM transactions within a maximum period of 12 days, from the date of receipt of customer complaint. Otherwise, the bank is liable to pay a penalty.

For any failure to re-credit the customer’s account within 12 working days from the date of receipt of the complaint, the bank shall pay compensation of Rs.100/- per day, to the aggrieved customer.

Hundreds of such cases happen daily, but very few people are aware about this RBI rule and most banks happily ignore it. Next time if you face this situation, don’t let the bank get away without paying it dues.

Users data lost after fire, Govt gets tough

The central security agencies have taken serious note of nearly 1.2 crore SIM cards belonging to Idea Cellular being lost in a fire, terming it as a "security lapse", and worked out fresh guidelines for telecom operators for maintaining records.

In a report, the central security agencies said inquires into the fire incident at Jyoti Warehouse in Ahmedabad, where nearly two crore Consumer Application Forms (CAFs) of Idea Cellular were stored.

The warehouse had CAFs from 1996 onwards when it caught fire in February this year, but only 80 lakh forms had been scanned.

"The incident not only highlights the fact that important data has been completely lost, but also underscores the slow rate at which the digitisation of subscriber data was being carried out," the report said.

Telecom service providers have now been asked to ensure quick and time bound scanning of all CAFs, proper duplication of records with a mirror image in the archives, the stores where the CAF have been kept should have fire proof arrangements and secure from other hazards.