National Consumer Helpline and e-Jagriti Complaint Filing

What are the National Consumer Helpline and e-Jagriti?

The National Consumer Helpline (NCH) and e-Jagriti are the two halves of India's consumer grievance system, both run by the Department of Consumer Affairs in the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution. They solve different problems and are used in sequence.

National Consumer Helpline, now branded NCH 2.0, is a pre-litigation service. You describe your grievance, NCH forwards it to the company, and a large number of companies; registered as "convergence partners"; respond and settle directly. It is fast and free, but NCH cannot compel anybody; it has no power to pass a binding order.

e-Jagriti is the judicial platform. It is where you file an actual case before a Consumer Commission under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, and where that case is heard, tracked and decided. Its orders are binding and enforceable. According to the e-Jagriti portal, the older eDaakhil, OCMS, CMS and Confonet applications were subsumed into e-Jagriti, and the unified platform has been live since 1 January 2025.

How to reach the National Consumer Helpline

• Toll-free 1915, available 8 AM to 8 PM
• WhatsApp +91 8800001915
• The web portal consumerhelpline.gov.in: Register Grievance, Track Your Grievance and Upload Documents
• The NCH mobile app
• The UMANG app

NCH 2.0 operates in 17 languages, works as an omni-channel service across those routes, and offers a call-back facility so that a consumer who cannot stay on the line is called back.

Who can complain, and who cannot?

You can complain if:

• You bought goods or availed a service for consideration and got defective goods, deficient service, an unfair trade practice, an overcharge above the printed price, or a refusal to honour a warranty or an insurance claim.
• You are a legal heir or representative of a consumer who has died.
• You are acting for a relative or friend who is the consumer, and you hold their written vakalatnama or authorisation letter.
• You are a registered consumer association, or one of several consumers with the same interest filing jointly.

You cannot use this route if:

• You bought the goods or service for resale or for a commercial purpose. A purchase made to run a business is not a consumer transaction, with the narrow exception of buying for self-employment to earn a livelihood.
• You received the goods or service free of charge. The Consumer Protection Act works on "consideration paid", which is exactly why the e-Jagriti fee slabs are keyed to the value of consideration.
• Your dispute is really a criminal matter, a property title dispute, a service matter of a government employee, or a tax demand. Those go to the police, a civil court, a tribunal or the tax authority, not to a Consumer Commission.
• You want NCH to order compensation. NCH mediates; only a Consumer Commission adjudicates.

What does it cost to file on e-Jagriti?

The filing fee depends on the value of goods or services paid as consideration and on which Commission has jurisdiction. These are the fees published on e-Jagriti:

District Commission

State Commission

National Commission

The slabs also tell you where to file. Consideration up to ₹50 lakh goes to the District Commission, above ₹50 lakh and up to ₹2 crore to the State Commission, and above ₹2 crore to the National Commission.

Two consequences of that table are worth stating plainly. First, the vast majority of ordinary consumer complaints. A ₹40,000 phone, a ₹2 lakh insurance claim, a ₹4 lakh car repair — cost nothing at all to file. Second, an advocate is not required. e-Jagriti says a consumer may present and fight their own complaint. Anyone charging you thousands of rupees to "file a consumer case online" is selling you a form-filling service you can do yourself for free, and neither NCH nor e-Jagriti has authorised agents. Never pay a caller who claims to be from the Consumer Helpline and demands money or an OTP to "release your refund"; that is a known fraud pattern.

How to file a consumer complaint: the full route

1. Complain to the company first, in writing, and keep the reply or the proof that there was no reply. Every later step is stronger with this on record.
2. Register a grievance with NCH. Call 1915 between 8 AM and 8 PM, message WhatsApp +91 8800001915, or use Register Grievance on consumerhelpline.gov.in, the NCH app or UMANG. Note the docket number.
3. Upload your supporting documents through the Upload Documents link on the NCH portal, and track progress under Track Your Grievance.
4. If NCH does not resolve it, move to e-jagriti.gov.in and complete the three-step onboarding the portal describes: Register, then fill your Profile, then create the Complaint.
5. Register on e-Jagriti with your mobile number and email, verify the OTP, and set a password.
6. Prepare the mandatory papers. The complaint itself, the memo of parties, the bill or receipt, and a notarized affidavit confirming that the facts stated are true and correct. e-Jagriti advises consumers to obtain the exact accepted formats from the Commission where they are filing.
7. Create the case on the portal, select the correct Commission based on the consideration value, enter the parties, upload the documents and pay the fee from the fee table. e-Jagriti also offers an offline payment option on the dashboard for Commissions that have not yet onboarded to the payment gateway.
8. Submit and save the Reference Number. It becomes your Case Number once the Commission accepts the filing.

How to check your case status and get the order

1. Open e-jagriti.gov.in and click the CASE HISTORY/STATUS tab.
2. Enter your Reference Number or Case Number to see the latest hearing dates and proceedings.
3. If you cannot trace the file at all, use the dedicated search facility on the home page for consumers, advocates and Commissions who have lost a reference number.
4. Download the judgment or order from the Case History/Status tab or the Judgment section. For a certified copy, apply to the Commission that heard the case, the portal copy is not certified.

Hearings run in hybrid mode at the National Commission and all State Commissions, so you may attend by video conference or in person. District Commissions set their own mode; check that Commission's causelist before the date.

Common reasons a consumer complaint stalls

• No notarized affidavit, or an affidavit that is signed but not notarised. This is the single most common defect at filing stage.
• Wrong Commission chosen, because the consideration value was entered as the compensation claimed rather than the amount actually paid.
• Incomplete memo of parties, an opposite party's registered office address missing, so notice cannot be served.
• No proof of consideration, such as a lost invoice, which makes both the fee slab and the jurisdiction impossible to establish.
• Delay. Consumer complaints are subject to a limitation period, and a complaint filed late needs a separate application for condonation of delay explaining the delay.
• Filing on behalf of another person without authorisation, a vakalatnama or authorisation letter must be on record.

Where to get help

• National Consumer Helpline: 1915, 8 AM to 8 PM, 17 languages; WhatsApp +91 8800001915; consumerhelpline.gov.in
• e-Jagriti helpdesk: 011-2430-5702, 011-2430-5703, 011-2430-5728, 011-2430-5752, 011-2430-5766; email helpdesk-ejagriti[at]nic[dot]in
• National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission: Upbhokta Nyay Bhawan, 'F' Block, GPO Complex, INA, New Delhi-110023; 011-24608801, 011-24608802; email ncdrc[at]nic[dot]in
• District and State Commission addresses: listed on the Contact Us page at e-jagriti.gov.in/contact-us, which covers the National Commission, all State Commissions and District Commissions.

Both services are run directly by the Government of India. Registering a grievance with NCH is free, and filing on e-Jagriti is free for claims up to ₹5,00,000. Use only 1915, consumerhelpline.gov.in and e-jagriti.gov.in, and treat any other number or website offering to file your consumer case for a fee as a private intermediary you do not need.

Who is eligible

Use this checklist before you call 1915 or open e-Jagriti.

You qualify to file if you can tick all of these:

• You paid money, or agreed to pay money, for the goods or service. Consideration must have actually been paid or promised; a free sample or a freebie does not qualify.
• The problem is one of: a defective product, a deficient service, an unfair or restrictive trade practice, being charged more than the price displayed or agreed, or a warranty or insurance claim the seller or insurer is refusing to honour.
• You are one of the following persons in relation to that purchase: the buyer themselves, the legal heir of a buyer who has since died, a person holding a written vakalatnama or authorisation letter from the buyer, a registered consumer association, or a group of consumers with the same grievance filing together.
• You have a bill, receipt, policy document or other proof that consideration was paid, since this fixes both the fee slab and which Commission has jurisdiction.

You do not qualify, or need a different forum, if:

• The purchase was for resale or to run a business (the only exception is buying equipment or goods for self-employment to earn your own livelihood).
• The goods or service were given to you free of cost, with nothing paid or promised in exchange.
• The matter is a crime (go to the police), a property title dispute (go to a civil court), a government employee's service dispute (go to the relevant tribunal), or a tax demand (go to the tax authority).
• You are expecting NCH itself to order a refund or compensation. NCH can only persuade the company to settle; it cannot pass a binding order. A binding order can only come from a Consumer Commission through e-Jagriti.
• You are filing for someone else without their vakalatnama or authorisation letter on record, since a Commission will not accept a complaint filed by an unauthorised third party.

There is no minimum claim value and no requirement to hire a lawyer at either stage: e-Jagriti explicitly allows a consumer to represent themselves.

How to apply

Stage 1: National Consumer Helpline (phone, WhatsApp or online; always free)

1. Gather your proof first: the invoice or receipt, any warranty card or policy document, and copies of whatever correspondence you already had with the company.
2. Reach NCH through whichever channel suits you: call 1915 (8 AM to 8 PM), message WhatsApp +91 8800001915, use Register Grievance on consumerhelpline.gov.in, or file through the NCH app or UMANG app. All four routes reach the same system.
3. Describe the grievance in your own words and state clearly what resolution you want (refund, replacement, repair, or the specific amount of compensation).
4. Write down the docket number you are given immediately; you will need it for every follow-up call and for the Track Your Grievance lookup.
5. If asked, upload your invoice and any supporting documents through the Upload Documents option on the same portal.
6. Give the convergence partner company reasonable time to respond and settle. If it does not resolve, move to Stage 2.

Stage 2: e-Jagriti (online only; fee depends on claim value)

7. Before you start, work out the consideration value you actually paid (not the compensation you are claiming), since this decides both the filing fee and whether your case goes to the District, State or National Commission.
8. Assemble the mandatory paperwork offline first: the written complaint, a memo of parties with full addresses, your bill or receipt, and a notarized affidavit swearing the facts are true. The affidavit has to be notarised before you upload it; it cannot be completed inside the portal.
9. Go to e-jagriti.gov.in and complete Register, then fill in your Profile, then start a Complaint, in that order.
10. Register with your mobile number and email, verify the OTP sent to you, and set a password for the account.
11. Enter the party details, upload the complaint, memo of parties, bill and affidavit as scanned documents, and pay the filing fee online through the portal's payment gateway. If the Commission you are filing before has not yet been onboarded to online payment, use the offline payment option shown on the dashboard instead.
12. Submit the complaint and save the Reference Number that is generated. Keep this stored somewhere safe; it becomes your Case Number once the Commission registers the filing, and you will need it for every status check afterward.

If you get stuck on the e-Jagriti portal itself, the e-Jagriti helpdesk numbers (011-2430-5702, 5703, 5728, 5752, 5766) and email helpdesk-ejagriti[at]nic[dot]in handle portal and procedural queries; they do not decide your case.