<p> Did distributors compel you to buy gas stove and kitchen accessories at the time of booking a new LPG connection? If yes, you are not alone. The Food and Civil Supplies department and the three State-run oil marketing companies – IOC, HPCL and BPCL – have been receiving hundreds of complaints in their respective offices and websites in this regard. However, the issue has never been resolved.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Karthik Prabhu, who landed a job in an IT firm in the City recently, wanted a new gas connection for his rented house in Halasuru.<br /><br /> When he approached a gas distributing agency - KK Indane Enterprises located in Cambridge Layout, Halasuru - last week, the agency ‘compelled’ him to buy a stove to book a new gas connection. Refusing to give in, Prabhu returned home, as he already had an ISI-marked stove, looking for other options.<br /><br />He said the official website of Indian Oil Company (IOC) had an option to book a new gas connection without buying a gas stove.<br /><br /> “I filled in the form online and went to the local distributor to make payment. To my dismay, the staff asked me to buy kitchen appliances worth Rs 2,000, instead of the stove,” Prabhu said. <br /><br />“We have nearly 30 applicants who opted for new gas connection without the option of gas stove and other accessories. We are short of staff and it takes at least a month to inspect your house. If you pay Rs 5,000, you will get a new connection in two days,” Prabhu was told by the agency staff.<br /><br />Debjani Banerjee posted a complaint on the official website of Bharat Gas that though the website showed the option of booking new connection without the stove, the distributor claims it is made compulsory by BPCL, the company that supplies Bharat Gas.<br /><br />Another complainant from Rajajinagar said he was forced to buy pressure cooker, while booking the second cylinder. Jane D’Souza, a resident of Indiranagar, said, “It is like the cable operator forcing me to buy the television from his shop to provide cable connection.”<br />‘Not compulsory’ <br /><br />According to the Indane website, it is not compulsory to buy the hot plate from distributors. <br /><br />“A customer can buy a BIS-approved stove from any source of his choice. In case you have an ISI-mark hot plate available with you, the distributor shall check it at your premises against a nominal payment. The distributor has to complete such an inspection within seven days from the date of such a payment by the customer,” the website states.<br />In 2012, the Competition Appellate Tribunal had instructed oil companies not to force customers seeking LPG connections to buy gas stoves from their own channel partners. Representatives of Indian Oil - the company that supplies Indane cylinders, said that such complaints have reduced now.<br /><br />Officer promises action<br /><br />Dr G Kalpana, principal secretary, Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs department, told Deccan Herald that the department would take action against the erring agencies, based on specific complaints. <br /><br />The distributors cannot compel consumers to buy what they do not want, she said.<br /><br /><br /></p>
<p> Did distributors compel you to buy gas stove and kitchen accessories at the time of booking a new LPG connection? If yes, you are not alone. The Food and Civil Supplies department and the three State-run oil marketing companies – IOC, HPCL and BPCL – have been receiving hundreds of complaints in their respective offices and websites in this regard. However, the issue has never been resolved.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Karthik Prabhu, who landed a job in an IT firm in the City recently, wanted a new gas connection for his rented house in Halasuru.<br /><br /> When he approached a gas distributing agency - KK Indane Enterprises located in Cambridge Layout, Halasuru - last week, the agency ‘compelled’ him to buy a stove to book a new gas connection. Refusing to give in, Prabhu returned home, as he already had an ISI-marked stove, looking for other options.<br /><br />He said the official website of Indian Oil Company (IOC) had an option to book a new gas connection without buying a gas stove.<br /><br /> “I filled in the form online and went to the local distributor to make payment. To my dismay, the staff asked me to buy kitchen appliances worth Rs 2,000, instead of the stove,” Prabhu said. <br /><br />“We have nearly 30 applicants who opted for new gas connection without the option of gas stove and other accessories. We are short of staff and it takes at least a month to inspect your house. If you pay Rs 5,000, you will get a new connection in two days,” Prabhu was told by the agency staff.<br /><br />Debjani Banerjee posted a complaint on the official website of Bharat Gas that though the website showed the option of booking new connection without the stove, the distributor claims it is made compulsory by BPCL, the company that supplies Bharat Gas.<br /><br />Another complainant from Rajajinagar said he was forced to buy pressure cooker, while booking the second cylinder. Jane D’Souza, a resident of Indiranagar, said, “It is like the cable operator forcing me to buy the television from his shop to provide cable connection.”<br />‘Not compulsory’ <br /><br />According to the Indane website, it is not compulsory to buy the hot plate from distributors. <br /><br />“A customer can buy a BIS-approved stove from any source of his choice. In case you have an ISI-mark hot plate available with you, the distributor shall check it at your premises against a nominal payment. The distributor has to complete such an inspection within seven days from the date of such a payment by the customer,” the website states.<br />In 2012, the Competition Appellate Tribunal had instructed oil companies not to force customers seeking LPG connections to buy gas stoves from their own channel partners. Representatives of Indian Oil - the company that supplies Indane cylinders, said that such complaints have reduced now.<br /><br />Officer promises action<br /><br />Dr G Kalpana, principal secretary, Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs department, told Deccan Herald that the department would take action against the erring agencies, based on specific complaints. <br /><br />The distributors cannot compel consumers to buy what they do not want, she said.<br /><br /><br /></p>
