Short answer: India does not have one complaints desk, it has about a dozen, and sending your problem to the wrong one costs you weeks. The rule of thumb: money taken by fraud → 1930 and cybercrime.gov.in; a bad product or service → the company’s grievance officer, then 1915, then e-Daakhil; a regulated sector → that sector’s own ombudsman — bank to RBI, insurance to IRDAI, telecom to TRAI, securities to SEBI. The table below routes the twenty situations people actually search for.
General consumer information, not legal advice. Numbers and portals are the official public ones; always reach a portal by typing its address rather than through a search advert.
The routing table
| Your problem | Go to | What it can do |
|---|---|---|
| Money debited by fraud, UPI or card, account taken over | 1930 helpline, then cybercrime.gov.in | Attempt to freeze funds at the receiving bank; register a cyber-crime complaint |
| Product defective, not delivered, not as described | Seller's grievance officer → 1915 (National Consumer Helpline) → edaakhil.nic.in | Mediation, then a binding order for refund, replacement and compensation |
| Misleading advertisement, false discount, dark pattern | CCPA via the National Consumer Helpline / consumeraffairs channels | Class-wide action: recall, refund, penalty, discontinuation of the advert |
| Bank or NBFC grievance unresolved for 30 days | RBI Integrated Ombudsman at cms.rbi.org.in | Free adjudication of the grievance against the regulated entity |
| Digital wallet or prepaid instrument dispute | The issuer first, then the RBI Ombudsman | Same scheme covers PPI issuers |
| Insurance claim rejected or delayed | Insurer's grievance cell → IRDAI Bima Bharosa → Insurance Ombudsman | Award against the insurer, binding on it |
| Broker, mutual fund, listed company, IPO refund | SEBI SCORES, and SEBI's SMART ODR portal for arbitration | Directed redressal, escalation to online dispute resolution |
| Mobile, broadband or DTH service and billing | Operator's consumer care → appellate authority of that operator → TRAI / DoT | Enforcement of the telecom consumer protection regulations |
| Unwanted commercial calls and SMS | Your operator's DND service and the TRAI DND app | Registration of preference, action against the sender |
| Electricity supply, billing, meter | Discom's consumer grievance redressal forum → state Electricity Ombudsman | Order against the distribution company |
| Unsafe or adulterated food, wrong labelling | FSSAI Food Safety Connect app / portal | Inspection and action against the food business operator |
| Medicine quality, adverse drug reaction | CDSCO, and the Pharmacovigilance Programme for reactions | Regulatory action on the product or the licence |
| Real estate project delay, false floor plan | Your state's RERA authority | Refund with interest, possession, penalty on the promoter |
| Airline denied boarding, cancellation, baggage | Airline nodal officer → AirSewa (DGCA) | Escalation and regulatory follow-up |
| Train service, refund, cleanliness | RailMadad | Ticketed grievance with a tracking number |
| Post or courier loss | India Post grievance portal, or the courier's own process then a consumer commission | Compensation under the operator's terms or by order |
| Your personal data misused by a company | The company's Data Protection Officer or grievance officer, then the Data Protection Board | Direction to the data fiduciary; penalties under the DPDP Act, 2023 |
| Unlawful or harmful content, impersonation on a platform | The intermediary's Grievance Officer, then the Grievance Appellate Committee at gac.gov.in | Takedown or reversal of the platform's decision |
| A government department or public-sector service | CPGRAMS at pgportal.gov.in | Routed grievance with a registration number |
| Harassment by a loan-recovery agent or an illegal lending app | The lender, the RBI Ombudsman, and 1930/local police where there are threats | Regulatory action and criminal complaint |
The three national numbers worth memorising
- 1930 — cyber financial fraud. Use it in the first hour, before anything else, when money has left your account without your consent. Its whole purpose is to get a freeze request to the receiving bank before the funds move on.
- 1915 — National Consumer Helpline. A mediation and advice service for ordinary consumer grievances. It cannot order anyone to pay you, but it takes the matter up with the company through its convergence partners and resolves a great many complaints without a case being filed.
- 112 — the all-India emergency number, for anything involving immediate danger.
Why the order matters more than the choice
Almost every route above has a precondition. The RBI Ombudsman will not look at your complaint unless you first complained to the bank and either got no reply for thirty days or got one you rejected. The Grievance Appellate Committee only hears appeals against a platform’s grievance-officer decision. A consumer commission expects to see that you asked the seller first. Skipping the first rung does not accelerate anything — it gets your complaint returned with a direction to do the step you skipped.
So the pattern is always the same:
- Complain to the company in writing, in a channel that produces a reference number.
- Escalate internally to the named grievance officer or nodal officer. Under the Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020 an e-commerce entity must display that person’s name and contact details, acknowledge a complaint within 48 hours, and redress it within one month.
- Go to the sector regulator or the helpline once the internal window has expired.
- File formally — consumer commission, ombudsman award, or in the case of fraud, a criminal complaint.
Keep one plain-text file with a dated line for each step. When you eventually file, that file is your case.
Where people go wrong
- Complaining on social media only. It sometimes works, and it produces no record you can rely on later. Do it in addition, never instead.
- Searching for a helpline number and calling the first advert. Fake “customer care” numbers are a well-established scam. Type the official domain yourself.
- Filing the same grievance in four places at once. Parallel filings get closed as duplicates and confuse the record. Escalate in sequence.
- Expecting a helpline to award compensation. Only a commission or an ombudsman can make an enforceable order.
- Paying anyone to file for you. Every portal in this article is free to use, and e-Daakhil charges nothing at all for claims up to ₹5 lakh.
- Talking to the “recovery agency” that phones after a fraud. That is a second scam that targets people already on complaint lists. No agency calls you to ask for a fee or an OTP.
Frequently asked questions
Where do I complain about an online shopping problem in India?
Start with the seller or marketplace in writing and get a ticket number, then escalate to its grievance officer, who must acknowledge within 48 hours and resolve within one month. If that fails, register with the National Consumer Helpline on 1915, and if you want an enforceable order, file at edaakhil.nic.in.
What is the difference between 1930 and 1915?
1930 is the cyber-crime financial fraud helpline — for money taken from your account without authorisation, where speed determines whether the funds can be frozen. 1915 is the National Consumer Helpline, for ordinary consumer grievances such as a defective product or an unpaid refund. Use 1930 for fraud, 1915 for disputes.
How do I complain about my bank in India?
Complain to the bank first and keep the reference number. If you get no reply within thirty days, or a reply you are not satisfied with, file free of charge with the RBI Integrated Ombudsman at cms.rbi.org.in, within one year. The scheme covers banks, NBFCs and prepaid payment instrument issuers.
Who regulates misleading advertisements in India?
The Central Consumer Protection Authority, established under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019. It can order the discontinuation of a misleading advertisement, direct a recall or refund, and impose penalties on the advertiser and, in certain cases, the endorser. Consumer complaints reach it through the national helpline and consumer-affairs channels.
Can I complain about a company's app or website taking my data?
Yes. Under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 you approach the organisation’s own grievance mechanism first — every data fiduciary must publish one — and if that fails, the Data Protection Board. Separately, unlawful content and account issues on an intermediary go to its Grievance Officer and then to the Grievance Appellate Committee.
Do I have to pay anyone to file a consumer complaint?
No. The National Consumer Helpline is free, the RBI and insurance ombudsman schemes are free, and e-Daakhil charges no fee at all for claims up to ₹5 lakh. Any site or caller demanding a fee to “register your case” with a government forum is selling you something you can do yourself in under an hour.
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