Online Order Refund Not Received? How to File a Consumer Complaint on e-Daakhil and Get Your Money Back

A refund that does not arrive is the most common consumer complaint in the country, and the one most people give up on. The amounts are small, the seller is a chat window, and the idea of a court seems absurd for ₹2,300. It should not. The Consumer Protection Act, 2019 and the rules under it were written for exactly this case: the platform must have a named person who answers you, the government helpline will chase the company for you, and if neither works the consumer commission takes complaints online, from your home, without a fee for most claims and without a lawyer. Here is the sequence, in the order that gets results.

Step 1: The platform's grievance officer

The Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020 require every marketplace and every seller that sells online to display the name, contact details and designation of a grievance officer, to acknowledge a complaint within 48 hours and to resolve it within one month. Use the app's return or refund flow first, because that creates a ticket number; then write to the grievance officer by email, quoting the order number, the amount, the date of cancellation or return and the ticket. Say what you want — the refund to the original payment method — and give a date. Keep the email. Most refund disputes end here, because the officer's response time is monitored by the platform's compliance team.

Step 2: The National Consumer Helpline

If the platform does not respond or refuses, register the grievance with the National Consumer Helpline — by calling 1915, through the app, or on consumerhelpline.gov.in. The helpline forwards the complaint to the company, most large platforms being "convergence partners" that have agreed to respond within a set period, and tracks the reply. It cannot order a refund, but a grievance with a helpline docket number is taken more seriously than an email, and the record is useful later.

Step 3: A written notice

Before filing, send a final demand to the seller and the platform by email, and by registered post if you have a postal address: the facts in four lines, the amount, a reference to the E-Commerce Rules and the Act, and fifteen days to pay. A notice is not legally required for a consumer complaint, but it often produces the refund, and if it does not it shows the commission that you gave the company every chance.

Step 4: File on e-Daakhil

Question	Answer
Where	edaakhil.nic.in — the online filing portal for all District, State and National Consumer Commissions
Which commission	District Commission for claims up to ₹50 lakh; State Commission from ₹50 lakh to ₹2 crore; National Commission above ₹2 crore
Which district	Where you live or work, under Section 34(2)(d), or where the seller has its office — your choice
Fee	Nil up to ₹5 lakh; ₹200 up to ₹10 lakh; ₹400 up to ₹20 lakh; ₹1,000 up to ₹50 lakh in the District Commission, paid online
Time limit	Two years from the date the cause of action arose — the date the refund was refused or fell due
Lawyer	Not required; you may appear in person or by video, or authorise a family member or friend

Register with your mobile number and e-mail, choose "File a new case" and the commission, and fill in the complaint form: your details, the opposite parties (name the seller and the platform both, with the addresses from their websites), the facts in date order, and the relief sought — refund of the amount with interest from the date it fell due, compensation for the harassment, and costs. Upload the order confirmation, the payment record from your bank or UPI app, the return or cancellation confirmation, the correspondence with the grievance officer, the helpline docket and the notice, as PDFs. Sign the affidavit of verification, which the portal generates, and submit. You will receive a case number, and the commission will scrutinise the filing and list it for admission, usually within a few weeks.

Step 5: The hearing and after

The commission issues notice to the opposite parties, who have thirty days to reply. Many platforms settle at this stage. If the matter proceeds, you may be offered mediation under Section 37, which is quick and costs nothing; if it fails, the commission hears both sides, usually in two or three short hearings, and passes an order. Hearings can be attended by video in most commissions. An order in your favour directs the refund, interest, compensation and costs within a stated period; if the company does not comply, an execution application under Section 71 enforces it as a decree, and wilful non-compliance is an offence under Section 72.

Card and UPI payments: the parallel route

• Failed transactions. Where money was debited but the order did not go through, the Reserve Bank's rules require the amount to be reversed within a day or, for most payment types, within five days, failing which the bank or payment operator owes you ₹100 a day in compensation. Complain to your bank, then to the Banking Ombudsman.
• Chargeback. For card payments where goods were not delivered or a refund was promised and not paid, ask the card issuer to raise a chargeback; the window is typically 90 to 120 days from the transaction.
• UPI disputes. Raise the dispute in the UPI app against the transaction; it goes to the beneficiary's bank through the NPCI system.

These routes can run alongside the consumer complaint; a refund received through them ends the complaint.

What to keep from the start

• Screenshots of the product page, the price and the return policy at the time of order.
• The order and payment confirmations, and the bank or UPI record of the debit.
• Delivery and return records, including the courier's pickup confirmation.
• Every chat transcript and email, with dates; download chat histories, which platforms can delete.
• Photographs or video of a damaged or wrong item at the time of opening.

This guide covers the general law; procedures vary slightly between commissions and the portal is updated from time to time. For a large claim, or where the seller is outside India, consider consulting a consumer lawyer or the district legal services authority, which provides free legal aid to eligible complainants.

This guide is for general information only and does not constitute legal advice. Readers should consult a qualified lawyer about their own circumstances.