The National Consumer Helpline (1915): how to use it and what it can do

Written and verified by the Grahak Mitra research team — an independent project documenting digital consumer self-help in India.

Last updated: 2026-07-11

The National Consumer Helpline (NCH) is a government service that takes up your consumer complaint and pushes it with the company on your behalf — you reach it by calling 1915, through the NCH app or the UMANG app, or on the consumerhelpline.gov.in portal (its complaint-handling system is called INGRAM). It works by facilitation and mediation: it logs your grievance, forwards it to the company, and follows up. It is not a court. That is the one thing to be clear about: the helpline does not sit in judgment on your case, it does not pass a binding order, and it cannot guarantee you a refund. What it can do is get your complaint in front of the company through an official channel and chase it — which resolves a great many disputes.

If your matter needs a binding decision — an order the company must obey — that is the job of a consumer commission, and you reach one by filing a formal complaint on e-Daakhil. The helpline and the commission are two different things: the first mediates, the second adjudicates. Read on for exactly what the NCH can and cannot do, and the channels you can use to reach it.

What the NCH can do — and what it cannot

This table is the honest scope of the helpline. Use it to set your expectations before you call: the NCH is a strong, free first step, but it is a facilitator, not a forum that hands down a verdict.

The channels — how to reach the NCH

There is one helpline and one portal behind all of these; use whichever suits you.

• Call 1915 — the National Consumer Helpline number. You speak to an agent who logs your grievance and can guide you.
• The NCH app, or the UMANG app — the government app for consumer complaints (the NCH service is also available through UMANG, the government's single app for many public services). You can register and track a complaint from your phone.
• The consumerhelpline.gov.in portal — the official website, where you can register a complaint online and follow it up. Its complaint-handling system is the INGRAM portal.

Whichever channel you use, it is the same service: have your order details, invoice, payment proof, and any earlier complaint reference from the company ready, so the grievance you register is complete and easy to push.

How a complaint through the helpline actually works

1. Register your grievance — by phone on 1915, or on the app or the portal. Describe plainly what you bought, what went wrong, and what you want (a refund, a replacement, or the service fixed).
2. The NCH takes it up with the company — it forwards your complaint through an official channel to the seller, brand, or platform, and follows up. Note your complaint reference.
3. The company responds, and the helpline mediates — many disputes settle here, because the complaint now comes through a government channel the company is expected to answer.
4. If it isn't resolved, escalate — the helpline mediates, it does not rule. If facilitation doesn't get you there, the next step is a formal complaint to a consumer commission through e-Daakhil, which can pass a binding order.

Honest about what the helpline is

The National Consumer Helpline is not a court, and calling it does not guarantee a refund. It is a facilitation and mediation service: it takes up your complaint and pushes it with the company through an official channel, and that alone resolves a large share of everyday disputes at no cost to you. But it does not adjudicate, and it cannot order anyone to pay you. When a matter needs a binding decision, that comes from a consumer commission — you reach one by filing on e-Daakhil, and it helps to first know what the Consumer Protection Act lets you seek. If you're weighing that formal route, it's worth knowing what a consumer-commission case actually costs in time and money.