Amid a deluge of complaints against some beleaguered e-commerce companies, the e-Commerce Association of Bangladesh (e-CAB) and Access to Information Programme (a2i) have stepped up to build a digital system that will automatically receive and settle customer grievances.

The system, called the Central Complaint Management System (CCMP), will be an app or website that will connect customers to various e-commerce platforms, the commerce ministry, e-CAB and Directorate of National Consumer Rights Protection (DNCRP).

Under this initiative, complaints that cannot be immediately addressed by the concerned e-commerce platform will be automatically sent to relevant government agencies.

With access to the relevant data, customers will also be able to see each company's settlement rate, ensuring that buyers are more informed in this regard before making a purchase.

"A link to the CCMP will be available on the website of every e-commerce company," said Rezwanul Haque Jami, principal at Ekshop, an integrated assisted rural e-commerce platform of the a2i and the ICT Division.

Besides, there will be a Uniform Resource Locator (URL), or web address, that enables customers to make complaints directly, he added.

Ekshop is developing the platform, which is the brainchild of e-CAB, according to Jami.

Once a complaint is made, the CCMP will send a notification to the company.

"The notification will tell the company that a complaint has been made against it,and customers will also be informed when his complaint has been successfully received," he said.

Then, the company will be given a seven-day period to resolve it. If the company claims that the complaint has been resolved, the platform will verify it from the customer.

Once the customer gives a positive nod, the platform will update it as a settled complaint.

However, if the complaint is not resolved, the platform will be notified and after a certain period, the complaint will be flagged and a warning of breaching of the rules will be generated.

Then, the CCMP will launch a complaint to the DNCRP with the consent of the consumer.

"About 80 per cent of this system has already been developed and it is set to launch in January next year," Jami said, adding that beta testing has started and will continue for the next three months.

The CCMP will help combat the current challenges in the e-commerce sector, including strengting DNCRP, cater to compliants in a centralised way, and speed up the process of compliant resolution, said Muhammad Abdul Wahed Tomal, general secretary of e-CAB.

"Since it will be transparent -- visible to everyone -- the e-commerce companies will also be vigilant to settle complaints quickly. Many complaints will be mitigated before being submitted to the DNCRP," he added.

By analysing data with artificial intelligence, this system will be able to identify the companies against which there are many complaints, understand their business model, and pursue quick and effective action.

Who will operate it?

Although the a2i has already proposed the commerce ministry to operate the system, the ministry is reluctant to do so.

"We have already received a proposal, but we do not have enough resources to handle  the task," said Hafizur Rahman, additional secretary to the commerce ministry.

Besides, the task of complaint management is generally overseen by the DNCRP.

A commerce ministry official said the ministry was told that it will take Tk 30 lakh to establish the system while it remains unclear who will bear the cost.

Jami of Ekshop said he is also not sure which government agencies would bear the expenses of this initiative.

"I think it will be regulated by the DNCRP, which is the directorate of the commerce ministry," he added.

"It's a very new concept and I haven't heard about it before," said AKM Fahim Mashroor, chief executive officer of Bdjobs and AjkerDeal.

Since there will be a link to the platform on every e-commerce site, a detailed discussion with e-commerce firms should be organised before officially launching it to avoid any chance of misuse, he added.