File a consumer complaint online: yourself, or with help
A dispute over goods or a service you paid for, with a seller, a bank, an airline, a telecom company, a builder or any other business, can usually go to the Consumer Commission, filed online on e-Jagriti from your own account. Here is how to do it yourself, and what BimaHaq can prepare if you want help.
Reviewed by the BimaHaq Insurance Grievance Desk — BimaHaq's in-house insurance-grievance team — specialists in IRDAI grievance redressal, the Insurance Ombudsman process, and policyholder rights in India. · Last reviewed 2026-10-26
Short answer: if you paid, or agreed to pay, a business for goods or a service, and not for resale or a commercial purpose, you can usually file a consumer complaint online, on e-Jagriti, from your own account, and present it yourself. The Commission’s procedure regulations let you appear in person, and say the Commission “shall not insist upon the parties to engage advocates”. File within two years of the cause of action. There is no filing fee where the value you paid is up to ₹5 lakh. A legal notice first is optional: the Consumer Protection Act 2019 does not require one. You can do all of it yourself with the free guide, or have BimaHaq prepare the complaint and the filing set and guide you while you file, for a fixed fee quoted for your matter.
Five ways to go about it
1. Do it yourself, without paying BimaHaq
Work out the right Commission, file on e-Jagriti from your own account and appear yourself. The Commission’s own filing fee is nil where the value you paid is up to ₹5 lakh, and set by slab above that. The short version is below, and the free step-by-step guide has the detail.
2. Have BimaHaq prepare it, then file it yourself
Consumer Court Case Assistance: your complaint and filing set prepared in the order e-Jagriti asks for them, and guidance at each step while you file. A custom quote, fixed before you commit.
3. Send a legal notice first
Optional. An independent advocate on BimaHaq’s panel drafts and signs it under their own name, for a fixed fee shown before you pay.
4. Be introduced to an advocate
In Pune, Nagpur, Bhopal or the Delhi NCR, if you want an advocate to appear at the hearing and one is available for your Commission. You engage and pay the advocate directly.
5. After the order: execution
If the business does not comply with the Commission’s order, BimaHaq can prepare the execution application, and you file it from your own account.
Is my dispute a consumer dispute?
You are a “consumer” under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 if you bought goods or hired a service for a price, and not for resale or for a commercial purpose. Goods you bought and use only to earn your own living by self-employment are not bought for a commercial purpose, and buying online counts the same as buying in a shop (section 2(7)).
The Act defines “service” widely. Its list names banking, financing, insurance, transport, telecom, the supply of electricity or other energy, boarding or lodging, housing construction and entertainment, and the list is not closed. A service given free of charge, or under a contract of personal service, is not covered (section 2(42)).
If you paid for it and it went wrong, it may be a consumer dispute. For example:
- A phone or appliance bought online that arrived damaged, and the seller will not replace it or refund you.
- A bank charge you never agreed to, which the bank refuses to reverse.
- A broadband or mobile connection you paid for that was never provided.
- A cancelled flight whose fare the airline has not refunded.
- A flat the builder has not handed over by the promised date.
- A hotel booking that was not honoured.
- A new car or two-wheeler with a defect the dealer will not fix.
- An insurance claim that was rejected or delayed (read the note on insurance above first).
Some sectors have their own complaint channels as well. This page does not cover them, so check whether one applies to your dispute before you choose a route. Before filing, you can also try the National Consumer Helpline (call 1915), the government’s free pre-litigation channel; the free e-Jagriti guide explains how it works.
Which Commission, where, and by when
The Commission is chosen by the value of the goods or services you paid for, not by the compensation you claim, under the Consumer Protection (Jurisdiction of the District Commission, the State Commission and the National Commission) Rules, 2021:
- District Commission: where the value paid is up to ₹50 lakh.
- State Commission: where the value paid is above ₹50 lakh and up to ₹2 crore.
- National Commission: where the value paid is above ₹2 crore.
The Supreme Court dismissed a constitutional challenge to this consideration-paid basis on 29 April 2025 (W.P.(C) No. 282 of 2021, 2025 INSC 593).
Where you can file
You can file at the District Commission where you live or personally work for gain. You can also file where the business, or a branch of it, is, or where the cause of action arose in whole or in part (section 34(2)).
The two-year limit
File within two years of the date the cause of action arose (section 69(1)). If you are late, the Commission can still admit the complaint, but only if it is satisfied there was sufficient cause and records its reasons for condoning the delay (section 69(2)). So a late complaint goes in with an application to condone the delay, setting out the cause.
What it costs to file
The Commission’s filing fee turns on the same value paid. It is set by rule 7 of the Consumer Protection (Consumer Disputes Redressal Commissions) Rules, 2020, as amended (Table substituted 17 August 2023):
| Value of the goods or services paid | Filing fee |
|---|---|
| Up to ₹5 lakh | Nil |
| Above ₹5 lakh, up to ₹10 lakh | ₹200 |
| Above ₹10 lakh, up to ₹20 lakh | ₹400 |
| Above ₹20 lakh, up to ₹50 lakh | ₹1,000 |
| Above ₹50 lakh, up to ₹1 crore | ₹2,000 |
| Above ₹1 crore, up to ₹2 crore | ₹2,500 |
| Above ₹2 crore, up to ₹4 crore | ₹3,000 |
| Above ₹4 crore, up to ₹6 crore | ₹4,000 |
| Above ₹6 crore, up to ₹8 crore | ₹5,000 |
| Above ₹8 crore, up to ₹10 crore | ₹6,000 |
| Above ₹10 crore | ₹7,500 |
You pay it online through the portal. A District or State Commission credits it to the State’s Consumer Welfare Fund, or to the State Government where no such fund exists, and the National Commission credits it to the Central Government’s Consumer Welfare Fund (rule 7(2)). It is separate from any fee you pay BimaHaq.
Filing on e-Jagriti, and appearing yourself
e-Jagriti is the government’s online portal for consumer complaints. It launched on 1 January 2025 and brought together the earlier systems, including e-Daakhil. The Act allows a complaint to be filed electronically (section 35).
- 1.Register on e-Jagriti with your own mobile number and email address. Both are verified by OTP, and you upload an ID proof.
- 2.Choose File New Case, then Consumer Complaint, and enter the case details, among them the amount paid, the amount claimed and the date of the cause of action, and the details of both parties.
- 3.Upload the documents the portal asks for. Its help documentation lists, among others, an index, a synopsis, a memo of parties and a notarised affidavit, along with the documents that prove your claim.
- 4.Check everything on the preview page, then press Final Submit. The portal warns that you cannot edit the form after you submit; when you confirm, it gives you a reference number and submits the case to the Commission.
- 5.If a filing fee is due for your slab, pay it online against that reference number, from Payment history on your dashboard, and keep the receipt. Track the case from your own account.
These steps follow NIC’s e-Jagriti help documentation of March 2025; the screens may have changed since. Whatever the screens, every complaint must state the particulars of the dispute and the relief claimed, with copies of the documents that prove it (regulation 7(4) of the Consumer Protection (Consumer Commission Procedure) Regulations, 2020).
You can appear yourself
“The complainant and the opposite party can appear in person or through agent or through counsel.”
“The Consumer Commission shall not insist upon the parties to engage advocates.”
After you file
The Commission’s Registrar scrutinises the complaint. If there is a defect, it is recorded and you are asked to remove it within fifteen days (regulation 9). The Commission decides the complaint on affidavits and documents, and the Act asks it to try to decide within three months of the business receiving notice, or five months where goods need testing (section 38(7)). That is a target, not a promise.
Have BimaHaq prepare it, then file it yourself
Consumer Court Case Assistance is BimaHaq’s package for a consumer dispute with any business, wherever you are in India. BimaHaq prepares your complaint and filing set and guides you through filing it from your own e-Jagriti account. You file it, and you appear yourself or through an advocate you engage directly.
What a quote typically includes
- A read of every paper you send, with a written view of the remedy available to you before the Consumer Commission.
- Before any drafting, a check of which Commission is the right one (by the value you paid, and where you live or work) and whether you are inside the two-year limit or need an application to condone the delay.
- Your complaint, the affidavit for notarisation, the index, synopsis, memo of parties, a dated chronology and every annexure, titled and put in the order e-Jagriti asks for.
- The part of the complaint that explains why what happened is a defect in the goods or a deficiency in the service, written by BimaHaq staff and reviewed by a person before you receive the draft.
- The filing fee due for your slab, so you know the figure before you file.
- While you register, file and pay the fee from your own e-Jagriti account, guidance at each step; afterwards, a check of the acknowledgement.
- If the Registrar raises a defect at scrutiny, corrected pages ready for you to upload again within the time allowed.
- One revision round on the draft, after you have read it.
What it does not include
- Filing in your name, or appearing for you before the Commission: you appear in person, or through an advocate you engage directly.
- The advocate’s own fee. The advocate bills you for it and tells you what it is before you engage them.
- Third-party costs, such as the Commission’s filing fee and notarisation.
- Any appeal, review or execution of the order, which would be quoted on its own if needed.
- Any promise about the result, the order or the time the Commission takes.
What you receive
- Your complaint set as a PDF, ready to file and in e-Jagriti’s order.
- A summary of your case and the remedy you seek on one page, in plain English.
- A walkthrough for filing on e-Jagriti, and a checklist for the hearing day.
Every quote for this package carries this sentence
BimaHaq will not be representing you before the Consumer Commission and will not be filing on e-Jagriti in your name: the complaint is filed from your own e-Jagriti account, and the Commission's procedure regulations let you appear in person. If you want an advocate to appear, you engage one directly and pay them directly — never through BimaHaq. What BimaHaq does is prepare your filing material in the order the Commission asks for it, consult with you on it, and guide you through each step.
How the fee works
- The fee is a fixed amount in rupees, agreed before you commit — never a percentage of your recovery.
- It is quoted for your matter, and your quote sets out what is included, what is not, and what you will receive, before you pay.
- The Commission’s filing fee is separate: you pay it to the Commission on e-Jagriti yourself.
- You can also file on e-Jagriti without paying BimaHaq anything.
Want an advocate at the hearing?
You do not need one: the Commission cannot insist that you engage an advocate (regulation 26(4)). If you want one anyway, BimaHaq can introduce an empanelled advocate in Pune, Nagpur, Bhopal or the Delhi NCR, where one is available for your Commission. Introductions are currently available only in those four places; the preparation and filing guidance above are available wherever you are in India.
- You engage and pay the advocate directly, never through BimaHaq.
- BimaHaq takes no referral fee and no share of the advocate’s fee.
- No advocate pays BimaHaq to join the panel or to be assigned work.
- BimaHaq does not rate or rank advocates, and this page names none.
- Whether an introduction is part of your package is written into your quote.
Want a legal notice sent first?
A legal notice is optional. The Consumer Protection Act 2019 does not require one before you file a consumer complaint, and the two-year limit for filing keeps running while you wait for a reply.
The two years run from the date the cause of action arose (section 69), and nothing in the Act pauses them for a notice. A notice puts your demand on record. It decides nothing, and it carries no binding force.
Some other laws do make a notice a condition, for other kinds of case: for example, two months’ written notice before a civil suit against the Government, or against a public officer for an act purporting to be done in their official capacity (section 80, Code of Civil Procedure), and a written demand within 30 days in a cheque-bounce case (section 138, Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881). Those are separate from a consumer complaint.
If you want the business’s stand on record before you file, BimaHaq provides a legal notice for a fixed fee, to any business you have a dispute with.
Legal Notice by an Advocate
₹2,999
GST is not charged (we are not GST-registered) and will apply only if and when we register.
Who signs it
An independent advocate on BimaHaq’s panel drafts and signs your notice under their own name, on their own letterhead. BimaHaq’s name and branding do not appear on it. The advocate acts for you and is professionally accountable for the notice and for the legal advice in it. The advocate is assigned from the panel after you pay.
How it works
After you pay, you share your papers (up to 10 documents or 30 pages). Drafting is completed within 5 working days of advocate assignment. You review the draft, with one correction round included, before it is signed, digitally where available. The signed notice is then dispatched by email and Speed Post with tracking, and the executed copy and dispatch record appear in your account.
What the fee covers
- Drafting and signature by an independent empanelled advocate.
- Your review of the draft, with one correction round, before it is signed.
- Dispatch by email and Speed Post with tracking.
- The signed copy and dispatch record in your account.
What it does not cover
- Filing your consumer complaint. That is a separate service, and you file it from your own e-Jagriti account.
- Appearing for you at any hearing.
- A review of the business’s reply.
- Any promise about how the business will respond.
A fixed professional fee — never a share of your claim, and no outcome is promised. BimaHaq does not rate or rank advocates, and no advocate pays BimaHaq to join the panel or to be assigned work.
BimaHaq is an insurance claims review, claim audit, grievance-drafting, and online dispute resolution (ODR) platform, and it also prepares consumer complaints against any business for you to file. We are an independent platform — not an insurance company, broker, or IRDAI-licensed agent — and we do not sell insurance. BimaHaq is not a law firm, does not itself practise law, and does not represent anyone before Consumer Commissions. On the advocate legal-notice tiers, an independent advocate empanelled with BimaHaq is engaged through us to author and sign your notice under their own name and on their own letterhead: that advocate acts for you and is professionally accountable for the notice and for the legal advice in it. Our fee is a fixed professional fee — never a share of your claim — and no outcome is guaranteed. All AI-assisted material is advisory only and human-reviewed; your advocate remains the author of your notice.
If the business ignores the Commission’s order
A Commission’s order is enforced as if it were a decree of a civil court, under Order XXI of the Code of Civil Procedure (section 71). Failing to comply with it is punishable with imprisonment of one month to three years, or a fine of ₹25,000 to ₹1 lakh, or both (section 72(1)). A copy of the final order is given to the parties free of cost (regulation 21(1)).
Consumer Commission Order Execution Assistance is BimaHaq’s package for this stage. A quote typically includes:
- A read of the order and its compliance period against what the business has, and has not, done since, with a written view of the steps the Act gives the Commission for non-compliance.
- Your execution application, its affidavit for notarisation, the index, memo of parties, a copy of the order and every annexure, prepared in the order e-Jagriti asks for.
- Guidance at each step while you file it from your own e-Jagriti account, then a check of the acknowledgement.
- If you want an advocate at the hearing, an introduction in Pune, Nagpur, Bhopal or the Delhi NCR, where one is available for your Commission, to an empanelled advocate you engage and pay directly.
- One revision round on the draft, after you have read it.
As with the complaint, you file the application from your own e-Jagriti account and may appear in person. Notarisation and other third-party charges are not included, and nobody can promise the outcome or how long the Commission takes.
You, BimaHaq, the advocate and the Commission
| Who | What they do | What they do not do |
|---|---|---|
| You | Choose your route. Register on e-Jagriti with your own mobile number and email, check the papers and press Final Submit yourself. Then pay any filing fee due to the Commission on the portal. Appear at the hearing yourself, or engage an advocate directly. | You never need to give BimaHaq your e-Jagriti password, and BimaHaq never asks for it. |
| BimaHaq | Prepares your complaint and filing set, works out the filing fee for your slab, guides you through each step on e-Jagriti, and prepares corrected pages if the registry notes a defect. For a legal notice, it collects your papers, assigns an advocate from its panel, and gives you the draft to review before it is signed. | BimaHaq does not file in your name, does not appear or argue at a hearing, does not act as your agent before the Commission, and does not take a share of what you recover. |
| The advocate | On a consumer complaint, only if you want one: an advocate you engage and pay directly appears at the hearing. On a legal notice: an independent advocate from BimaHaq’s panel drafts and signs it under their own name, on their own letterhead, and is professionally accountable for it. | No advocate pays BimaHaq to join the panel or to be assigned work. |
| The Commission | Scrutinises the complaint and asks for any defect to be removed within fifteen days, rules on whether to admit it, hears it on affidavits and documents, and passes the order. A copy of the final order is free. | The Commission does not insist that you engage an advocate (regulation 26(4)). |
What BimaHaq does not do
- BimaHaq does not file your complaint, does not log in to e-Jagriti, and does not hold your e-Jagriti password. You file from your own account.
- BimaHaq does not appear, argue or represent you before any Commission, and it is not your agent there. A Commission may allow an authorised agent, but not one who does this as a profession, unless that agent is an advocate (regulation 16(7)).
- BimaHaq is not a law firm and does not itself practise law. On a legal notice, the legal advice in it is the advocate’s.
- BimaHaq does not charge a success fee or take a percentage of anything you recover.
- BimaHaq does not promise an outcome, an amount or a timeline. No outcome is guaranteed.
- BimaHaq does not rate or rank advocates or name them on its public pages, and no advocate pays BimaHaq to join the panel or to be assigned work.
- BimaHaq does not take a referral fee or a share of an advocate’s fee when it introduces one.
- BimaHaq does not collect the Commission’s filing fee. You pay it to the Commission on e-Jagriti.
Frequently asked
Can I file a consumer complaint online without a lawyer?
Yes. You can file it on e-Jagriti from your own account and appear yourself. Regulation 3(4) of the Consumer Protection (Consumer Commission Procedure) Regulations, 2020 says the complainant and the opposite party can appear in person, through an agent or through counsel, and regulation 26(4) says the Commission shall not insist upon the parties to engage advocates.
Do I have to send a legal notice before filing a consumer complaint?
No. The Consumer Protection Act 2019 does not require a legal notice before you file a consumer complaint, and the two-year limit for filing keeps running while you wait for a reply. Some other laws do require a notice for other kinds of case, such as section 80 of the Code of Civil Procedure before a civil suit against the Government, and section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act in a cheque-bounce case.
Which Consumer Commission do I file with?
It depends on the value of the goods or services you paid for, not on the compensation you claim. Up to ₹50 lakh, the District Commission; above ₹50 lakh and up to ₹2 crore, the State Commission; above ₹2 crore, the National Commission. You can file at the District Commission where you live or personally work for gain, where the business or a branch of it is, or where the cause of action arose.
How long do I have to file a consumer complaint?
Two years from the date the cause of action arose (section 69(1) of the Consumer Protection Act 2019). A late complaint can be admitted only if the Commission is satisfied there was sufficient cause for the delay and records its reasons for condoning it (section 69(2)).
How much is the fee to file a consumer complaint?
Nothing where the value you paid is up to ₹5 lakh. Above that the fee rises in slabs: ₹200 where the value is above ₹5 lakh and up to ₹10 lakh, and so on up to ₹7,500 where it is above ₹10 crore, under rule 7 of the Consumer Protection (Consumer Disputes Redressal Commissions) Rules, 2020, as amended on 17 August 2023. You pay it online on e-Jagriti.
Will BimaHaq file the complaint or appear for me?
No. You file the complaint from your own e-Jagriti account, and you appear in person or through an advocate you engage and pay directly. BimaHaq prepares the filing material in the order the Commission asks for it and guides you through each step. It never asks for your e-Jagriti password.
Who signs a legal notice sent through BimaHaq?
An independent advocate on BimaHaq's panel drafts and signs it under their own name, on their own letterhead, and is professionally accountable for it. You review the draft, with one correction round included, before it is signed. BimaHaq does not sign notices, and it does not rate or rank advocates.
What can I do if the business does not obey the Commission's order?
Apply to the Commission for execution. Under section 71 of the Consumer Protection Act 2019 the order is enforced as if it were a decree of a civil court, and under section 72(1) failing to comply is punishable with imprisonment of one month to three years, or a fine of ₹25,000 to ₹1 lakh, or both. BimaHaq's Consumer Commission Order Execution Assistance can prepare the execution application, which you file from your own e-Jagriti account.
What this page relies on
Read at source on 26 October 2026. Follow the links and read them yourself.
- Consumer Protection Act, 2019 (No. 35 of 2019)
Gazette of India, 9 August 2019. In force from 20 July 2020: section 2 (except clauses (4), (13), (14), (16) and (40)) and sections 28 to 73 (except section 58(1)(a)(iv)), by S.O. 2351(E), 15 July 2020. Consumer: section 2(7). Defect (in goods): section 2(10). Deficiency (in a service): section 2(11). Service: section 2(42). Where to file: section 34(2). Filing, including electronically: section 35. Decision period: section 38(7). Limitation and condonation: section 69. Enforcement and penalty: sections 71 and 72(1).
- Consumer Protection (Jurisdiction of the District Commission, the State Commission and the National Commission) Rules, 2021
G.S.R. 912(E), 30 December 2021. Rules 3, 4 and 5: the value of the goods or services paid as consideration decides the Commission.
- Consumer Protection (Consumer Disputes Redressal Commissions) Rules, 2020, rule 7
G.S.R. 448(E), 15 July 2020. The fee Table in rule 7(2) as substituted by G.S.R. 606(E), 17 August 2023. Payment through electronic mode: rule 7(1). Where the Commission credits the fee: rule 7(2).
- Consumer Protection (Consumer Commission Procedure) Regulations, 2020
NCDRC, 24 July 2020. Appearing in person, through an agent or through counsel: regulation 3(4). Contents of a complaint: regulation 7(4). Scrutiny: regulation 9. Authorised agents: regulation 16(7). Free copy of the final order: regulation 21(1). Advocates not insisted upon: regulation 26(4).
- Supreme Court of India, W.P.(C) No. 282 of 2021, 29 April 2025
2025 INSC 593. Dismissed the constitutional challenge to sections 34, 47 and 58, which set each Commission by the value of the consideration paid.
- e-Jagriti (Department of Consumer Affairs, PIB backgrounder, December 2025)
e-Jagriti launched on 1 January 2025 and brought together the earlier systems, including e-Daakhil. The filing steps on this page follow NIC's e-Jagriti help documentation of March 2025; the screens may have changed since.
- Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, section 80
Section 80(1): two months' written notice before a suit against the Government, or against a public officer for an act purporting to be done in their official capacity. Section 80(2): a suit for urgent or immediate relief may be brought without the notice, with the court's leave. A civil suit, not a consumer complaint.
- Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, section 138
Proviso (b): a written demand within thirty days of receiving the bank's information that the cheque was returned unpaid. A separate track from a consumer complaint.
This page is general information about filing a consumer complaint in India, not legal advice. Fees, limits and portal steps can change, so check them against the official sources linked above before you rely on them.