JOIN USOil company officials aver that the alleged collusion has defeated the very purpose of a programme aimed at helping LPG customers.
“We want customers to know that now bookings can be done 24x7 through IVRS. However, some dealers have not been encouraging customers to go for booking. We have had complaints about non-delivery of cylinders after booking was done through IVRS. We have also been alerting dealers about such complaints,” an official told Deccan Herald. As of now, only two new Hindustan Petroluem (HP) dealers in the City insist on booking refills through IVRS, which was introduced nearly five years ago. “In fact, we have put two ‘hand-holding’ persons (to insist on booking through IVRS) to popularise the system. Most of them even do not inform customers that such a facility exists,” a senior HP official disclosed.
Only 3 per cent of over 5 lakh HP customers order cylinders through IVRS in Bangalore. Why are the dealers and delivery boys not promoting the system? It is simple as it cuts into illegal earnings. What they do is quite simple. When there is huge demand, they would book the cylinder without the knowledge of the customer and deliver it to someone else, may be hotels, thus making quick money. In the IVRS system, they would be wary of doing it as they cannot anticipate the booking date of the customer. If the booking has already been made, the customer would question the dealer. That is what makes them (dealers) discourage the system,” the official pointed out.
The HP official said once the booking is done, data is transferred to the dealer, and the bill is automatically generated.
Following are the IVRS numbers: IOC:1800-2333-555; HP: 12665 and Bharat Gas: 12664 .
DH News Service