Don’t share mobile numbers with retailers, Consumer Affairs Ministry new advisory
Due to increased reports of phone and text message scams, the Consumer Affairs Ministry issued an advisory on Tuesday asking retailers not to insist on buyers’ personal contact information for delivering certain products, stated Consumer Affairs Secretary Rohit Kumar Singh.
The warning came after several customers claimed that merchants refuse to deliver services unless they reveal their contact information.
“Sellers say they can’t generate the bill until personal contact information is provided,” Singh told the media. According to the Consumer Protection Act, this is an unfair and restrictive trade practice, and there is no rationale for gathering the information.”
Singh stated that there was also a privacy concern and that an advisory was made to the retail industry and industrial chambers, including the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and the Confederation of Indian Industrial (CII), in customers’ interest.
Singh said that in India, providing phone numbers to retailers isn’t required to have things delivered or produce a charge. However, he continued, consumers are frequently embarrassed when shops require mobile numbers to complete a transaction and do not provide a way out.
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