I read the post of Alok Khemka on my Facebook Feed by RODINHOODS Page. And It made me think on the big topic of maturity of E-Commerce Industry. It’s a growing Industry used by millions of youth today BUT have they reached a state of maturity where there is level of trust which should exist in business transactions like this however small or big they might be.
Now Businessman know how to handle other businessman. Every business keeps aside money to deal with legal issues but here we are talking about common man who is ordering stuff from 99 Rs to stuff worth Lakhs of Rs on Internet. If there is a fraud for a stuff bought worth 999 Rs would you take the pains of legal option / consumer complaint. I know a lot of people who just live with heartache and crib about it. True Story !!
Basically there is a larger issue of how to deal with E Commerce Companies in India in case of a wrong doing / fraud. There are companies like FLIPKART which are supposedly Big and I have heard most times they act on issues (though not without a jolt from customer’s side) but have launched a thing called “Wallet”. So if a customer Orders something and the order were to be cancelled because of Flipkart’s product unavailability Flipkart refunds the money in the form of Flipkart Wallet which is like Flipkart’s prepaid balance(So I don’t get my money back but I get money in Flipkart Wallet and I can use that money to buy any other thing from Flipkart. This promises them a sale) and I go like WTF – This is like some fraud or so I think.
In normal circumstance the customer care would tell you that they refund the money if the Order is cancelled by Flipkart but give the money back in Wallet if the Order is cancelled by Customer. So it makes sense but it’s a big fat LIE. Totally Untrue as per my own experience. If people have some other experience please do let me know.
Basically this is like – Hey Let’s put every damn thing in the world / under the sun on your website, when someone buys it tell them it’s not available and then refund the money in the form of Wallet. Don’t know when the customer will purchase again and mooch Interest of that money. Nice Scam I say !!
On the same lines, we all very well know of the problems which 99Labels is going through. Very well documented by Alok Kejriwal on the website. Now the website is still running and a lot of people are still buying. And please no one should say you are buying things on your own risk. That will bring the whole E-Commerce “house of cards” crumbling down.
So I know people(including me) who have purchased stuff from 99 Labels and then I cancelled the Order(because they kept delaying the delivery) and again the same thing. No Refunds. Lot of Dilly Dallying and Mooching of money from the customer and because the money is lying in their bank and there is the Interest which is forthcoming as well. Easy Money and Easy Malai(Cream). We all know Interest is more Interesting than the Capital.
(My Case : Order No. 99476683 / Dated 12th March – Just so if anyone from 99Labels needs to verify)
My Point is I had the resources (not the time, but I made up time because it’s an important issue and no one likes to get cheated). So I went for legal option and I will file a case with Police / with Consumer Court. In talks with Credit Card Company. Will use all resources in my hand to teach these people a lesson and get my money back including all the harassment. AND I will. I know It. But how many people will have time and resources to fight on small petty matters?
In my case even the money was huge around 15000. Even if the money would have been 2000-3000 I would have let it go. And that’s the sad part. I think a lot of people will let things go or just keep mailing and calling customer service and get fed up of Online Buying. This will eventually in the longer run HIT the Industry.
I think there are not enough mechanisms to deal with E-Fraud. And with an immature industry where fraud players like Timtara and other’s like 99Labels and many more are there things can only go worse. I think the dire need to make a central agency to deal with E- Frauds. What’s everyone’s thought on this?
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UPDATE (JUNE 13, 2013):
Ok so to put things on Record I have received my credit in my Bank. The Refund is done. But it’s been a harrowing journey of 3 months with almost a 100 Emails. I still feel E-Commerce needs a lot of maturity and there is a trust deficit gap which needs to be bridged. People should be able to buy anything without worrying about Delivery / Money Refunds etc.
Hopefully with time the Industry would grow and things would turn around.
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