Consumer complaints related to passports are widespread, and handling the same requires going through relevant documentation and verification process. You need the best guidance and solution provider if you want to solve any query related to passport handling. Read this blog to know more.

Making a passport to travel abroad is not easy, and handling consumer complaints related to passports is literally a tedious task.  you must go through various kinds of documentation. If you are a citizen of India, there are certain rules, and if you are an NRI, the rules vary accordingly. While applying for a passport, or even after you have applied, if there is an issue, you can go to the consumer complaint section of the website and cite the details for a speedy redress to the passport office complaints. However, when there is a consumer complaint steps about a passport, it should be valid. Otherwise, the consumer forum shall not listen to the plea. 

For instance, in one of the news reports published on 20th September 2018, in The Hindu newspaper, there was a consumer redressal case where the consumer forum nullified the complainant’s application. It was a case of seeking compensation from the passport office. As the passport was rejected even after paying the fee, the complainant asked for compensation from the regional passport office. The consumer forum gave this declaration that the expenditure that the lady had to make was used for the security papers and printing of the stationary etc. The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission had already declared that if there is an unjustified delay in the services of the passport office, then the consumer can complain, and the whole decision of the passport office is final in this respect. In this applicant’s case, as the officers said, the woman had not paid her original documents for processing the passport application. 

It should be noted in this direction, that the Passport Act has major provisions for refusal/impounding/ revocation and appeal procedures that can help any customer. 

The Process of Consumer Complaint Is Easy and Hassle-Free

The best part is that, for the consumer complaint forum, you do not have to spend any money, and the online portal gives you all kinds of guidance you need. As a citizen of India, it is essential to know your needs. The citizen-friendly passport services cell is always active for the people, and everything from filling the passport form to getting a passport, there are numerous ways the Seva Kendra can help you. The portal dedicated to the common citizens is a kind of relief to them. Here’s how to register complaint in passport seva kendra:

One can go through the Passport Sewa Portal and check all information related to the documents about the filing up of and the processing of the passport application. If there is any problem with the applicant’s document or verification, then all the basic formalities must be completed to fulfil the eligibility criterion for obtaining the passport. 

Apart from this, the National Call Centre provides round-the-clock assistance for solving all types of passports-related queries. One can also contact the passport office directly; Passport Seva Kendra can provide the ultimate solution via mail or call. 

Grievance and the Issues Related to Tatkal and Other Types of Verification

In case there is any grievance or unforeseen issue to be reported, one needs to fill in all the details like the application file number, name of the applicant, date of birth, etc. From time to time, any type of grievance can also be uploaded with the help of an e-mail, or one can also call them to get updates from Passport Sewa Portal. In this connection, the regional passport offices give the best services that are needed. The passport officials do not ask you for more or are not supposed to take any kind of bribe. There is a certain amount that you might pay the police when you go for police verification.

There can be certain issues related to the procurement of a Tatkal passport, police verification about the Tatkal passport etc. In case of an emergency, the Tatkal passport is required; it is generally done within a concise period. There can also be consumer complaints list about receiving a damaged passport if the passport gets stolen/ lost. 

• Consumer complaints can also arise if the passport gets lost in another country and the complainant returns to India. 
• In the case of a lost or stolen passport, there is the requirement of date of birth, how the passport was stolen, the location from where it was stolen, the passport number, original FIR copy done in the police station etc. 
• The role of the regional passport officer is significant in this regard, as all grievances and complaints can reach out to the regional passport officer, who can take the initiative to find out the processes of solving customer complaints. 

How Is It Different From Consumer Complaints in Other Industries? 

Under the significant features of passport issuance, debates have already been there if the case of passport issuance can be said to be a consumer service act. The legal notice under Consumer Protection Act 2019 applies to goods, services, and unfair trade practices, including the private, the public and the cooperative sector. The tiers of judicial machinery are involved in consumer protection procedures. Apart from that, The Consumer Protection Act also provides statutory recognition of any consumer’s existing rights. 

As opposed to the other consumer cases, the passport-related ones are different. Although there can be one common cause of the Right to Information Act under which the consumer legal notice can ask for any information if they want, there have been many court cases where the verdict has tried to analyse whether all the complainants can be said to be the consumer and whether the passport office is the service provider. 

Conclusion

If you go through the passport Seva Kendra website: https://www.passportindia.gov.in/AppOnlineProject/welcomeLink, part of the government of India, and still do not understand anything about the passport related complaints process, you can simply check out the help Vakilsearch provides. It is one of the most effective public platforms where all your query about passport processing, deliverance and any query related to the processing can be answered. It is one of the most popular and largest customer-centric platforms that provide flexibility and quickness of service to the customers. You can talk to the support team of Vakilsearch if you want to know more about consumer complaints related to passports.