Govt advises retailers that mobile number of the consumers should not be taken without their express consent at the time of sale of any goods or services and, providing the same should not be made a mandatory pre-condition for sale.
Government of India, has addressed a growing issue of retail stores mandating consumers to provide their mobile numbers before making a purchase. Govt emphasizes that this practice violates consumer rights and constitutes unfair trade practices under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019. Govt urges retailers, including prominent industry associations, to advise their members against such practices and emphasizes that the provision of mobile numbers should not be a mandatory requirement for sale.
Rohit Kumar Singh, IAS
Secretary
Government of India
Department of Consumer Affairs
D.O. No. J-24/34/2023-CPU Dated: 26th May, 2023
1. Shri Kumar Rajagopalan, CEO Retailers Association of India (RAI) 111/112, Ascot Centre, Near Hotel ITC Maratha, Sahar Road, Sahar, Andheri (E), Mumbai — 400099
2. Shri R Dinesh, President The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) The Mantosh Sondhi Centre 23, Institutional Area, Lodi Road, New Delhi – 110 003
3. Shri Subhrakant Panda, President The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) Federation House, Tansen Marg, New Delhi, 110001
4. Shri Ajay Singh, President The Associated Chambers of Commerce & Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) 4th Floor, YMCA Cultural Centre and Library Building, 01, Jai Singh Road, New Delhi — 110001
5. Shri Saket Dalmia, President HD Chamber of Commerce and Industry PHD House, 4/2 Siri Institutional Area August Kranti Marg, New Delhi 110016
6. Shri Praveen Khandelwal, Secretary General Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) Vyapar Bhawan, 925/1, Naiwalan, Karol Bagh, New Delhi — 110005. India.
It has been brought to our attention that a number of grievances are being registered on the National Consumer Helpline (NCH) about the fact that many retail stores are compelling consumers to submit their mobile number before purchasing a product. Further, in case of denial to provide the same, consumers were, in many cases, denied their rights under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 (Act’) by retailers either declining to sell the product or service and/or also rejecting any refund, exchange etc. A sample of such complaints is attached herewith as Annexure – I.
2. It may be mentioned that insisting on mobile number during the sale of a product as a pre-requisite mandatory condition, even when a consumer opts not to provide the same, is a violation of their rights and constitutes unfair trade practice under the Act.
3. “Consumer rights”, as defined under Section 2(9) of the Act includes the right to seek redressal against unfair trade practice or restrictive trade practices or unscrupulous exploitation of consumers. Further, sub-sections 46 and 47 of Section 2 of the Act define “unfair contract” and “unfair trade practices” respectively, which inter alia includes:-
(i) imposing on the consumer any unreasonable charge, obligation or condition which puts such consumer to disadvantage.
(ii) disclosing to other person any personal information given in confidence by the consumer unless such disclosure is made in accordance with the provisions of any law for the time being in force.
4. You would be aware that under Section 72-A of the Information Technology Act, 2000, disclosing personal information of a person including mobile number obtained at the time of a sale, without her/his consent or in breach of a lawful contract, to any other person, is a punishable offence.
5. By imposing a mandatory requirement to provide mobile number, consumers are often forced to share their personal information, against their will, after which consumers are often flooded with marketing and promotional messages from retailers, which they did not even opt for at the time of purchasing the product.
6. Restricting consumers to buy products or to return, exchange, and refund or resolving consumer grievance solely on the ground that the consumer has not shared her/his mobile number, constitutes unfair trade practice under the Act. In the absence of breach of any other terms and conditions of sale, mere non-sharing of phone number cannot be a ground to deprive consumers from exercising their rights under the Act.
7. The Department has taken a serious note of this situation. I urge upon you to suitably advise the retailers that mobile number of the consumers should not be taken without their express consent at the time of sale of any goods or services and, providing the same should not be made a mandatory pre-condition for sale. Your cooperation in this regard will be highly appreciated.
Yours sincerely,
(Rohit Kumar Singh)
Sample of Grievances Registered on National Consumer Helpline
Annexure – I
| Grievance Number | Grievance Registration Date | State | City | Grievance Details |
| 3442577 | 4/24/2022 23:38 | ODISHA | BHUBANESHWAR | My family and I bought clothes Unit 2 Market Building on April 23, 2022. When I got home, I saw that the dress I had bought for my daughter was a tight fit. The next day, on April 24, 2022, we went to again to exchange clothes. But the employees did not exchange the clothes. According to them, I did not give my mobile number at the time of the billing. It is mandatory to enter a mobile number when billing. The exchange cannot be made because I did not give the mobile number at the time of the billing. That’s why I met with the manager of the mall, but the manager said that he could not help us. According to mall rules, giving a mobile number is mandatory.
However, at the time of the bill, the billing staff did not provide any information, and such a provision was not included in the bill. I want to exchange the clothes I bought. |
| 3491881 | 5/16/2022 10:59 | KERALA | TRIVANDRUM | They denied delivering the products at the billing counter when I denied giving them my mobile number. I denied it to save myself from their incessant unwanted SMSs. This is gross violation of my rights as a consumer that they deny products to me without mobile number. They told me that the billing system (software) is designed in such a way that the bill get processed only if mobile number is provided. Therefore, the problem has become systemic in their value chain and needs rectification. Else, I will have to move towards Consumer Court. |
| 3498713 | 5/18/2022 12:05 | UTTAR PRADESH | Lucknow | 1. On 9th May at 19: 50 I visited there store in Vrindavan Sector 11, Lucknow (PIN-226029). During payment I opted to pay via UPI. There billing rep asked me for my mobile number, which i politely denied and told him that I do not wish to share my personal number. My billing was denied citing that providing mobile number is mandatory for UPI Payment. Later I wrote to there customer care enquiringly whether this was the policy as a company to make phone providing phone number mandatory or this was fault of that particular store. The customer care asked me to provide billing details and mobile number. I told them that my complaint was that I was denied billing for not providing mobile number. After that they did not respond at all. 2. Its against the government directions which clearly states that there is no need to share personal details for making UPI Payment to any merchant. The store denied me billing for totally inappropriate reason. They are forcing customer to give mobile number which they can later use to give promotion calls and spams. There customer service is also not helping in any way. 3. it is requested that appropriate action be taken against them to stop this malpractice of forcibly taking customer mobile number or denying him service for not providing mobile number. |
| 3609152 | 6/26/2022 18:23 | UTTAR PRADESH | Nawabganj | The store refused to sell a torch worth Rs. 399 without my personal details like mobile number and email ID. According to them they say that they comply with IT rules. My right not to provide my personal details for their database was totally overlooked. Their explanation that they need to contact me in case of product deficiency does not hold any water as most of the items they are selling does not have danger elements, Please look into the matter and confirm if refusing to sell with personal details is covered under faulty sale practice. |
| 3792035 | 8/31/2022 0:08 | KARNATAKA | Bangalore | I had purchased items worth X525 from a bakery at 4:16pm on 30 Aug, 2021. The shopkeeper asked for mobile number inorder to get the bill. I wasn’t ready to share my mobile number. However even after insisting on bill I wasn’t provided one. Though giving mobile number is my sole discretion, but as a consumer getting a bill for the products purchased is my right. No consumer can be forced to provide their mobile number. Request you to take immediate action |
| 4037058 | 11/20/2022 22:51 | UTTAR PRADESH | Lucknow | On billing time the retail store staff members were making pressure to share mobile number. When i refused they to share my personal number they marked on my bill as “no exchange” even no exchange policy only applied on discounted items. |
| 4070266 | 12/2/2022 23:23 | JAMMU & KASHMIR |
Jammu | Today , I went for buying something at a store situated at above mentioned address. I took my stuff and went for billing and the sales boy asked for my mobile number which I refused to give as there is no such law or policy to share anyone’s phone number to shop. He billed my stuff and I paid the amount by swiping my card and i left . After checking the bill I found some over pricing to a particular item which I decided to return back and get my amount refunded . I reached the return counter completed all formalities but they again asked me to share my phone number with them which i denied . In return they denied to refund amd told me unless I will not share my phone number tbey will not refund infact they dont roll back the amount and told me that the amount will get credited to ur mobile number which can be used in future shppoing in the same store. I found this policy very illogical rather illicit. They have some hidden illegal policies by which they fraudulently taking money from innocent customers same they did it with my .Finally, they denied to refund the smount n I left the store . Keeping in view the above facts , I want my amount to be returned back or roll back the amount to my account. Moreover, I request that the store must be directed to put such information or refund policy on display and make it |
*Name of the person registering the grievance and the company has not been indicated to protect their identities.
A very great initiative, this was indeed happening.
I hope, all the people’s are aware of this.