For Better Grievance Redress, Safe Investment Options and Fair Compensation- Monylife Message

 Message From Monelife / Sucheta Dalal

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Let's Fight Harder This Year For Better Grievance Redress, Safe Investment Options and Fair Compensation

Dear Moneylifers,

Wish you all a very happy, healthy and safe New Year. As we begin another year, let's resolve to work together to fight for freedom from frauds and scams, and better grievance redress and fair compensation. It is a long journey and we need to keep inching forward every year.

Let's start this year by responding to the market regulator's call for feedback on improving SCORES, the online grievance redress system of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), which has delivered sub-par results so far. The good news is that the regulator is asking for our views, so let us make the effort to consolidate our experiences and provide feedback.

Improving Grievance Redress for Investors

As a member of Moneylife Foundation you know that the past three years have seen a series of large broker defaults at the National Stock Exchange causing ordinary people to lose several thousand crore rupees. You can read more about the issue here. But this is only a part of the problem. There are charlatans offering dubious get-rich-quick schemes, brokers luring people into speculative trades on the promise of guaranteed returns and companies that squander public funds. What happens when you file a complaint? Does the problem get resolved? If not, what are the problems and pain points that you encountered?

SEBI has worked on a new grievance redress mechanism and wants public feedback on a recently published consultation paper titled "strengthening the Investor Grievance Redressal Mechanism in the Indian Securities Market". You can read it here: https://www.sebi.gov.in/sebiweb/home/ HomeAction.do?doListing=yes&sid=4&ssid=38&smid=35

You must read this paper and share your views with the regulator. However, if you would prefer to make a few short points or narrate your personal experience with the current system, do write to us at foundation@moneylife.in, so that we can consolidate feedback and submit it.

Counseling Sessions & Upcoming Programmes

Our recently resumed in-person counseling sessions are going strong each week, with retired Central Information Commissioner, Shailesh Gandhi providing guidance on all right to information related matters on Wednesdays, Mr Shirish Shanbhag guiding on property and cooperative housing society issues on Thursdays and Mr Abhay Datar assisting with banking, insurance and consumer related matters on Fridays.

If you have a specific concern or issue related to right to information, co-operative housing societies, insurance, mediclaim or consumer related complaints, do call our office - (022) 2444 1058 or (022) 2444 1059 for an appointment if you are in Mumbai. Otherwise use our Free Helplines for guidance.

This month, we are planning to have a few programmes and webinars which would be of interest to you. Do register to become a member (https://www.mlfoundation.in/register.html) and be on our mailing lists, so that you are informed about the schedule in advance!

Consumer Awareness & Financial Literacy

As members of Moneylife Foundation, you have access to various content in the form webinars, recorded videos and articles on matters of consumer awareness and financial literacy that we have published on our websites and YouTube channels. All of our published content is available for free, with no restrictions whatsoever. If you've not taken the time to educate yourself, please do so and spread the word about our work to your friends, colleagues and family so that many others can benefit.

As consumers you need to be vigilant when shopping or transacting online. Deals that seem too good to be true, are most likely scams designed to lure unsuspecting consumers. Thousands of people become victims of holiday scams every year. Scammers can rob you of hard-earned money, personal information, and at the very least, a festive mood. It is important you remain vigilant and aware in an increasingly online world that becomes unsafe for consumers in new ways everyday. Moneylife Foundation has actively made efforts on several fronts in this regard.

We continue to educate our members on the latest frauds, scams and attractive yet fraudulent schemes through series of articles on Moneylife. Our Youtube Channel has a vast repository of videos from past seminars and workshops, as well as short videos on topics of financial literacy which are a great resource to those willing to spend some time learning. Our online helplines are always open for counselling from a panel of experts on issues on banking, insurance, housing and property related matters, consumer and other issues.

Do take the time to read our articles, watch the videos and also share them with others, so that many more can take advantage of the knowledge and remain safe. Please also do encourage your friends, family members and colleagues to become members of Moneylife Foundation.

Take extra precaution when using banking apps, websites or e-commerce sites while shopping, as they have been instances of fake apps and fraudulent websites masquerading as authorised ones. Read this article to know what you should do when you are cheated while shopping online and follow this how-to guide when you want to file a consumer complaint.

Recently we have made efforts to present our financial literacy videos in languages other than Hindi and English. You can now learn to use credit cards safely, stay away from online frauds, learn about the fallacy of gold loans and more in Marathi, Gujarati, Punjabi and Tamil, all on our YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/moneylifetv).

Do subscribe to our YouTube Channel for regular updates and notifications when a new video is released, and also encourage your friends and family to do so as well. After all, the more number of people that watch and learn from these short videos, the more financially literate we can all be.

We are also happy to send them to you in the language of your choice on WhatsApp and Telegram if you share your numbers at Moneylife Foundation's WhatsApp number (+91 7045156415). This is also a good opportunity for you to join our WhatsApp broadcast list as well as our telegram channel. Join to stay in the loop about Moneylife Foundation's activities.

Do send us your feedback on these and if you have benefitted from our work, please do not forget to pass it forward by introducing our videos, free helplines and membership benefit to others. Do register for a free membership and also encourage your friends and family to join as well.

File your RTI Applications with Expert Guidance

RTI Advice App पर विस्तृत गाइड से विशिष्ट उपयोग के मामलों के लिए आरटीआई आवेदन दाखिल करने का तरीका जानें। हिंदी और मराठी भाषाओं में उपलब्ध।

Many of you are already aware of our 'RTI Advice' app, which was launched for both android and iOS devices a year ago. The app helps you get expert advice on your RTI queries in any language or format (text, audio or video) and access to over 900 queries that are already asked and answered by our 14 highly regarded RTI experts.

Don't worry about how to navigate the app—we now have user guides for you in English, Hindi and Marathi! Download the app or access the guides from our website here.

Programmes Conducted

This month, we were glad to host retired Central Information Commissioner, Mr Shailesh Gandhi for a refresher webinar on the important aspects of the Right to Information Act and to learn how to file effective RTI applications and appeals. If you missed watching it live, you can still see the video recording on our YouTube channel here.

Moneylife TV & Helplines

Catch up with our financial literacy work through Moneylife TV and Moneylife News Bites.

Get guidance and counselling through our Legal Helpline or Credit Helpline.

Also, Moneylife Foundation is now on Telegram and Instagram, so do follow us on these channels to stay updated on our activities and events.

Sucheta Dalal

Founder-Trustee, Moneylife Foundation

Trustees: TS Krishnamurthy, Walter Vieira, Sucheta Dalal, Debashis Basu.   Moneylife Foundation is registered with the Charity Commissioner of Mumbai, is an Affiliate member of OECD's International Network on Financial Education, is a Supporter Member of Consumers International, Development Partner of Advocates for International Development (A4ID), and is a winner of the 10th MR Pai Memorial Award.     Donations are eligible for tax benefits under Sec 80G of the Income Tax 1961 (50% tax exemption) and MLF is registered under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010. 80(G) Reg No: DIT(E)/MC/80G/685/2010-11 dated 7.2.11 effective 8.+9.2010 | FCRA Registration No: 08378138