[Resolved]  Indane LPG Gas — Long delay and malpractice in LPG gas supply

Address:

Hooghly, West Bengal

Dear Sir,

Sub : Complaint against Indane LPG Dealer in Hooghly.
Ref : Consumer No. 2836

Much against my wish, I have to strongly register this formal complaint against Mallick Brothers at Dr. Prasad Das Mallick Sarani, Hooghly (phone nos.[protected] &[protected] for long delay in delivery coupled with malpractice. There is always some unusually long waiting in getting gas supply from this Dealer compared to other Dealers. Probably their coverage area may have become more than their capacity for which it is now high time for INDANE to consider appointment of a second dealer in our area. While we are accustomed with a waiting of 10/15 days from date of booking to get delivery of our gas every month, this month’s waiting has surpassed all time record.

Last I booked my gas on 12th January, 2011 and I was told that it would take about 20 days which means the gas should have been supplied to me around end of January, 2011. Since there was no supply until then, I started checking almost daily from 3rd February, 2011 the status of delivery of my gas over phone to which they had been telling me that it would be delivered shortly. I took patience and thought that my gas would be supplied definitely on 6th February, 2011 as next two days were holidays for the dealer – 6th was their weekly closure and 7th was closed for Saraswati Puja.

Since I did not get my supply even on 6th, I got impatient and phoned them exactly at 10:30 a.m. today (9/2/2011) and wanted to know the status of my gas supply. To my utter surprise, I was told that the delivery boy came to my house on 6th February, 2011 (Sunday) but reportedly could not see anybody at my house and hence delivered the gas elsewhere. This statement of the dealer made me furious as 6th Feb was Sunday and apart from my wife, I was also present in the house the whole day. Moreover, my daughter also came down from her in-laws house and she was also with us on 6th the whole day in the house. Therefore, the statement given by the delivery boy to the office was an utter falsehood just to whitewash his wrong-doing of selling my gas to someone else at a high premium. The dealer’s office staff was very adamant over phone and was unwilling to listen to my statement in order to only defend the statement given by the delivery boy as 100% true. This is not the first time and similar malpractice happened in the past also when I made verbal complaint then with the dealer but it seems it is a non-starter. However, we cannot sustain this kind of injustice any longer and hence this complaint. I am sure a number of other consumers may have similar experience and indignation against this dealer but may just be digesting the injustice without making a hue and cry like me.


Since I have not got the gas even after lapse of full 27 days (from 12/1/2011 to 9/2/2011) and since my gas was delivered to other consumer without my knowledge, it is the normal practice that I need to book my gas afresh and again wait another 27 days or so to come my turn. This being not practicable, I immediately sent my wife this morning to the dealer’s office to make a physical presence to make the complaint when she saw a huge crowd of dissatisfied consumers waiting outside the dealer’s office. When my wife started raising her voice to establish that the delivery boy was out and out wrong, the office staff called her inside and appeased her with an assurance that my gas would be supplied in a day or two. However, until and unless it is physically delivered, I am keeping my fingers crossed.

It may not be out of place to mention here that a large number of hotels, restaurants and caterers are flourishing in Hooghly-Chinsurah area, falling within the jurisdiction of this dealer’ supply area and it seems they are not affected, in any way, like us due to severe scarcity of LPG gas. I simply wonder how they are regularly getting their supply whose consumption may be 10 times more than domestic requirements like us. If they are also getting their supply of LPG gas in proper sequence and genuine waiting like us, I am sure their shutters would have been closed long back.

I hope you would take up seriously with the above-named dealer and ensure that such harassment and irregularities do not recur in future. INDANE should also immediately consider a 2nd agency in Hooghly area.

Thanking you,

Yours truly
Shyamal Kumar Dey
Old Kapasdanga
Post & Dist : Hooghly
Pin Code : 712 103