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Subject: Family Resource Management × Author: Dixit, Ritika × End date: 2018 × Start date: 2018 × Type: Thesis × Thesis Type: Ph.D ×
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Consumers’ grievances in service sector and role of district consumer forums in their redressal- Punjab scenario
    (Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2018) Dixit, Ritika; Surjinderjit Kaur
    The present study entitled “Consumers’ grievances in service sector and role of district consumer forums in their redressal – Punjab scenario” was conducted to know the consumer grievances regarding selected services rendered by public and private sectors in Punjab, to analyse the nature of exploitation of consumers while seeking redressal of their grievances, to understand the nature of complaints filed in the consumer forum, prepare guidelines for effective utilization of consumer services and proper functioning of consumer forums. The study was conducted in 3 District Consumer Dispute Redressal Forums of Punjab by selecting 5 top ranking services in terms of number of complaints registered during the year 2013-15. These were insurance, banking, housing, electricity and health. The ultimate respondents were the complainants of the deficient services and officials of selected District Consumer Dispute Redressal Forums. The data were collected through interview schedules and case studies of complainants. The results of the study revealed that majority of grievances of respondents were in insurance service sector and most of their complaints were against private insurance service sector. Maximum number of complaints were registered in Ludhiana District Consumer Dispute Redressal Forum, followed by Amritsar and Jalandhar District Consumer Dispute Redressal Forums. The results regarding trend of complaints for different service sectors for the year (2013-15), reveal that the number of complaints for banking and electricity sectors decreased with time, whereas the number of complaints was almost the same for the insurance sector. However, slight increase in number of complaints was observed in health and housing sector. All the respondents adopted the method of approaching higher officials of the company and consumer dispute redressal forum. While seeking redressal, above ninety per cent respondents (93.9%) faced the problem of high and unaffordable fee of advocates. Majority of the respondents (92.6%) hired advocates for speedy settlement of their case. It is further observed that in Insurance, Health and Housing sectors, claimed amounts were substantial and more formalities / documents, hearings were required so the cases related to these sectors took longer time to settle. Nearly sixty per cent of respondents (58.4%) were not satisfied with the forum judgment. A large part of the respondents i.e. 47.0 per cent were of the opinion that the District Consumer Dispute Redressal Forums were somewhat efficient, followed by 31.5 per cent who were neutral regarding the working of District Consumer Dispute Redressal Forums whereas 22.0 per cent rated functioning of District Consumer Dispute Redressal Forums as very efficient. The results clearly indicate that majority of the respondents were dissatisfied with the redressal agency. It may be due to delay and difficulty during the hearing of cases. Less than 10 per cent of respondents were aware about the guidelines for effective utilization of service. Majority of respondents i.e. 80.5 per cent suggested the initiation of mediation process for improving the functioning of District Consumer Dispute Redressal Forums.