Businesses lead the economy to prosperity by creating new products or services in the country. In the same way, due to irregularities and immorality, consumers get cheated by buying faulty services or products. There are some specific policies for companies, sellers and service providers. The National Consumer Rights Act of Bangladesh monitors whether the consumers get the right products and services. As Bangladeshi citizens, the consumers will be able to lodge a complaint as per the law if they fall victim to any fraudulence. Let’s get to know the procedure for filing a complaint under Bangladesh’s National Consumer Rights Act if you get any faulty product and service.
The Procedure for Complaints under the National Consumer Rights Act
Assembling appropriate evidence
Before filing a complaint, the complainant has to gather accurate evidence in support of the complaint. Receipt of purchasing goods or services must be given as an attachment to the complaint letter. In addition to this, a picture of the product and the store can also be given.
Complaint form fill up
First, the complainant needs to download the complaint form from the National Consumer Complaints Center box on the website of the National Consumer Rights Protection Department. Then he/she has to print the form and write the name of the district in the blank space of the recipient part.
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After that, it is time to write the details of the complaint in the correct way. Complete information of the complainant along with the name of the parents should be mentioned. In this part, it is advisable to give the mobile number of the complainant.
Finally, the complainant needs to include the full name and address of the accused person or organization in the form. Now the previously collected product purchase receipt needs to be added to this form.
Where to complain about getting cheated buying a faulty product or service
The complainant has to go directly to the TCB (Trading Corporation of Bangladesh) building at Kawran Bazar with the completed form with attachments. Complaints are lodged in the office of the Assistant Director on the eighth floor. Complaints can also be lodged to the district magistrate. These submitted complaint forms are later forwarded to the Head of the Department.
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Fees
It should be noted that no fee is required for filing a complaint under National Consumer Rights Act of Bangladesh when you get cheated purchasing any defective product and service.
Complaint Settlement
After filing the complaint, a case number will be given by the department. Then a letter will be sent to the complainant's address for a hearing within a month. Subsequently, the accused is fined and the punishment was meted out after verifying the allegations. 25 percent of the accrued fine is paid to the complainant.
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How to complain online about getting cheated to buy a product
Preparing documents for attachment
Necessary evidence including the signature of the complainant and receipt of purchase of the product or service should be scanned or photographed and stored on the computer.
Registering on the ‘My Gov’ website
For online complaints, the complainant needs to navigate to the National Consumer Rights Complaints Service page of the MyGov website. It is required to register with the name and mobile number or email ID of the complainant. Once the registration is complete, the complainant can easily log in to his/her newly created account.
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Online form fill up for complaints
Clicking on the new application from the menu displayed on the left side of the complainant's profile page, the system will show the web page of the national consumer complaint form. Here the complainant has to type his/her name, address, occupation, and parent's name. Now the most important thing is to describe the complaint. After that, the name and address of the accused organization are needed to enter.
Uploading attachments and filing the complaint
Now the picture of the signature previously saved on the computer needs to be attached by clicking on the small button next to the complainant's name. The last part is to upload other proofs including pictures of product purchase receipts. Through clicking on the ‘Submit’ button below, the complaint submission process will be completed.
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Terms of complaints
The complaint must be submitted to the Director-General of the National Consumer Rights Protection Directorate or the officer in charge within thirty days of the occurrence of the relevant cause. Otherwise, the allegation will be dismissed. If the complainant is an officer of the department, he/she will not get 25 percent of the fine collected from the accused person or organization.
Other means of filing the complaints
Consumers can complain by fax, email, or even phone if they are being harassed when buying a product or service. The contact numbers are 0255013218 and 01777753668. They can be emailed at [email protected]. Complaints can also be lodged by calling the Consumer Hotline 16121.
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Bottom line
Complaints under the National Consumer Rights Act of Bangladesh are indicative of the practice of democracy by every citizen. Unscrupulous businesses try to impose defective products on them by abusing the basic needs of the people. This often leads to harassment with the purchased product instead of spending the extra money. This is not only a violation of the basic rights of the people but also hampering their money and time. Proper and proactive implementation of the already defined Act can protect the people from this hassle.