Consumer Complaint Redressal Procedure for Telecom Complaints

There are plenty of consumers in India who use cellular, telephone or internet services in India but are not fully aware of the customer complaint redressal procedure laid out by government of India cell - TRAI. Telecom Regulatory Authority of India(TRAI) is a government body just like IRDA to oversee telecom regulations in India for the benefit of consumers.

In the interest of consumers TRAI has laid down complaint redressal procedure that needs to be mandatorily followed by all the telecom companies in India like Airtel, Reliance, Tata Indicom etc. So if you don't follow this specified procedure for complaint redressal, most likely your complaint will not be heard or even replied to by your company. If you want to go to Consumer Court for such issues, make sure that you follow this procedure first.

There are many times we find that telecom consumers break their head on some complaint or the other and end up being very frustrated with their service provider company since the company did not heed to their complaints. In most of the cases the consumer hasn't followed the TRAI's legal procedure for redressal of the complaint. Also we should know that in large organizations like Airtel, Reliance or BSNL it is really difficult to allow customers to follow arbitrary complaint redressal procedures so you shouldn't simply call their office and let them know of your complaint. In this, the correct procedure will be to contact their all India customer care help line and get a docket number for your complaint.

Here we list the proper procedure to get your complaint resolved for telecom related issues.

1. First visit the company site and find the proper complaint procedure. Look for "Manual of Practice". You can see a sample Airtel's Manual of Practice here. Please don't use it and rather look for updated copy of it in the company site. In this sample manual you can find the proper complaints/grievances procedure as specified by Airtel.
2. Next step is to call all India customer care number and register your complaint. You must obtain a complaint or docket number. Also you'll be asked to wait for its resolution taking couple of days to 2 weeks of time. However as per TRAI regulation it should not take that much of time but give the company chance to do its best to resolve your complaint.
3. If you are not satisfied then send the complaint to Nodal Officer in your circle. This list is available in the company website. It should not take more than 10 days to redress your complaint.
4. If you are still not satisfied then go to Appellate Authority in your circle, the contact details of which are also mentioned in the company website.
5. If still you are not satisfied then nothing much you can do. Try registring your complaint in National Consumer Helpline. You also have an option to pursue your case further in your local Consumer Court.

Note: There is a time period as specified in "Manual of Practice" - that is, for example you can't go to Appellate Authority 1 year after filing your complaint to Nodal Officer. There is usually 3 month time limit for filing complaint next level. Keep copies of your complaints to Nodal officer and Appellate Authority.

Useful Links

• Grievance Redressal Procedure by TRAI
• Consumer FAQ by TRAI