What Indian Consumers Should Know About Resolving Disputes Online

A payment fails on a Sunday evening. The money leaves the account, the merchant’s screen says the transaction did not go through, and the customer care line opens on Monday. Most people in India have had some version of this happen. Fewer know that there is a defined process behind what follows, with timelines the other side is obliged to meet.

That process sits under the broad heading of online dispute resolution. For consumers, it shows up in two main places: the rules the Reserve Bank of India set for digital payments, and the consumer commission system that now runs largely online. Some banks and payment firms handle these complaints in house. Others hand the volume to an online dispute resolution company that keeps a panel of trained mediators and arbitrators on call.

Failed Digital Payments

On 6 August 2020, the RBI issued a framework requiring payment system operators to put ODR systems in place for disputes arising from digital transactions. It took effect from 1 January 2021. The framework began with a narrow but very common category: failed transactions, meaning payments that did not complete for reasons that were not the customer’s fault. A dropped connection, an ATM out of cash, a session that timed out.

What does the framework actually give you? A few concrete things. Payment operators must offer more than one way to raise a dispute, including web forms, mobile apps, IVR, call centres and SMS. Every complaint gets a unique reference number so its status can be tracked. Third-party UPI apps have to build dispute filing into the app itself rather than pointing users elsewhere. Existing reversal timelines and the compensation of one hundred rupees for each day of delay continue to apply. And if the matter is still unresolved after a month, it can be escalated to the banking ombudsman.

The practical lesson is simple. Raise the dispute inside the app or on the operator’s channel, note the reference number, and keep it.

Consumer Complaints, Filed Online

The second route is the consumer commission system. The NCDRC launched the e-Daakhil portal on 7 September 2020 for online filing of consumer complaints. On 1 January 2025 it was folded into E-Jagriti, a single platform that also absorbed the older case management applications and now covers all states and union territories. Complaints under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 can be filed and fees paid without going to the commission in person.

This matters most for people outside the metros. Filing a complaint used to mean a day of travel, a lawyer’s fee and a wait. A lot of small grievances simply died at that calculation.

Getting Your Paperwork Right

Whichever route applies, the preparation is the same and it is not complicated.

Keep the transaction reference or order number. Save screenshots of the error, the debit message and any chat with support. Note the dates on which you raised the issue and what you were told. Write your complaint as a plain sequence of events, with what you are asking for stated clearly at the end. Vague demands slow everything down.

Know the Limits

Not every disagreement fits this system. Disputes needing witness testimony, forensic evidence or an interpretation of law are still court matters. ODR also depends on the other side participating, and a party that ignores notices can push a mediation to a dead end, though in arbitration the process can proceed regardless.

There is also the plain question of access. A video session assumes a working connection, a device and enough comfort with the format to speak up. That is not yet true for everyone, and pretending otherwise does the idea no favours.

Still, for the ordinary Indian consumer with a stuck refund or a disputed charge, the odds are better than they were five years ago. The channels exist and the timelines are written down. Most of us just have not read them yet.

About The Author

Aditya Aryan is a lawyer and mediator. He is currently building marketing at Sama, India’s leading online dispute resolution company.