Cheated e-commerce customers demand speedy refund

Customers cheated by e-commerce companies have demanded that the Ministry of Commerce and the parties concerned speed up the refund procedure which is currently progressing at "a snail's pace".

The Bangladesh E-commerce Customers Association, an organisation consisting of defrauded customers from various e-commerce platforms, formed a human chain in Shahbagh on Friday with 17-point demand.

The demands include automation and digitisation of escrow systems; formulating proper policies for payment gateways; making courier service companies accountable and enforcing fines through proper policies; expeditious refunding of customers outside of Qcom's gateway; forming market monitoring cells and conducting awareness campaigns for consumers, etc.

Steps should be taken for quick automation of refunds to all customers in escrow accounts from the gateways of those e-commerce companies that have not responded to the public notice call, said Md Belal Hossain Jubayer, the president of the association.

He said that the owners of the 39 e-commerce companies that have not yet contacted the ministry should be arrested and their movable and immovable properties should be confiscated for returning the money to customers.

The customers demanded that the owners of e-commerce organisations who are absconding outside the country should be brought back to the country through Interpol and face justice.

Meanwhile, Alesha Mart Customer Association and Alesha Mart Protest and Movement Group held a press conference at Dhaka Reporters Unity demanding payment of arrears to the customers cheated and victimised by the platform.

At the press conference, Abdullah Al Mamun, president of the association, said Alesha Mart started a campaign in May-June last year where they promised to deliver bikes within 45 days with a 35% discount.

In that campaign, 46,000 bikes were ordered within one month. In August, another campaign called "bank deposit" with a 33% discount was launched. As many as 7,000 customers ordered motorcycles worth Tk300 crore through the two campaigns.

Ashraful Alam, a customer of Alesha Mart, said that out of Tk300 crore, only Tk42 crore on the gateway has been paid to the customers. Most of the remaining checks have expired or are about to expire but Alesha Mart's chairman has not taken any action till now regarding check replacement and refund of the principal amount. Even all their offices, and call centres are closed for a long time.

In the press conference, Alesha Mart customers made seven demands to the Ministry of Commerce and other authorities concerned, including asking for the refund of their principal money immediately, banning the travel of Aleshmart chairman and his family members abroad.