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To protect Consumers rendered vulnerable in the wake of rapidly-developing digital technology.

SoftSettle Support

Traditional  dispute  resolution  mechanisms  create  challenges  and  difficulties  for  an  aggrieved  consumer  to  enforce  the  guaranteed  consumer  rights.   For  the  case  to  be  taken  up  for  consideration  in  the  consumer  forum  or  civil  court,  the  claimant/consumer should have to establish the case where there are various factors the adjudicative authorities will look at  which  includes:  personal  identity  of  the  respondent;  possibility  of  bringing  the  respondent/second  party  into  the  adversarial  process;  proof  of  evidence  related  to  the  claim;  etc.  One  of  the  major  difficulties  at  the  first  instance  is  to  engage  or  seek  attorney/legal  advice  to  know  the  procedural  rules  as  how  to  approach  the  redressal  authorities  seeking  remedies. Then so on. Okay these may be the challenges in the traditional dispute resolution mechanism being applied in India till the Consumer Protection Act.2019 got introduced. Accordingly new rules were framed in order to protect the online consumers too.

A typical incidence reflecting the emotions and mental strains of a professional photographer who was forced to face such situation has to be briefly conveyed to you. He received a mobile handset he had ordered online at a discount of Rs. 500, he realized it was a refurbished product. The fact it was refurbished had not been stated in a clear, readable manner in the description and he had missed the fine print. After trying to have telephonic contacts with the online provider for months which he ultimately failed, finally gave up the efforts and decided to keep the phone, left with no choice. This person represents the online consumers who have been always at the receiving end and used to get embittered in the hands of the online traders.

Although the Internet is a convenient platform to conduct commercial transactions, consumers are disadvantaged in the online marketplace due to insufficient information about goods and services as well as business and transaction process, lack of access to redress and several other problems. The number of complaints regarding online transactions increased in India and the number of Internet-fraud related complaints reported to Consumer Coordination Council, Consumer-Court and Consumer Redressal Forum under Consumer Protection Act 1986 were also increased. This, in turn, has undermined consumer trust and impeded the growth of e-retailing as well as added to the fear among e-consumers of falling prey to online fraud. In spite of this, the nature and effectiveness of e-consumer protection has not been adequately studied, notwithstanding extensive research into other aspects of e-retailing.

Hope the new revolutionized reforms in the Consumer Protection Act 2019 and the rules framed accordingly could handle such issues competently so as to redress the grievances of online consumers. But there may be apprehensions to the effect of efficient implementation of the amended Act.

In the new era of technology, innovativeness in technology is bursting into the legal domain. For an expedited and inexpensive resolution of disputes, the new Act and legal courts in India and in various other jurisdictions have ventured into the technological advancements. The Act and Rules are also the instances of such effort. But the technicalities to be implemented as the result of this legislation calls for a fast-growing expertise taking into consideration the current business demands.

Though the new resolution mechanism gets initiated through a portal, the ultimate decision rests with the Consumers’ forum. If at all the an early decision taken as a result of the complaints filed in the portal, it would be fine. But the consumer forum is bound by procedural rules and due process of law  should  be  exercised  to  resolve  the  matter  which  is  time  consuming  to  achieve  the  final  outcome.

The introduction of a new platform under the brand of Soft Settle which deals the resolution in minutes or hours maximum, can let the people have an easy access to justice without any fees or any court syndromes.

As the cyber presence of the commercial disputes is cropping up without any breaks use of e-courts paving way for e-commerce disputes resolution has become a necessity in all senses. The first and second segment of the project under the banner of Gateway to Equity & Justice (www.odrsupport.com) and (www.softsettle.com) providing ODR policies and frame work, facilitating E-commerce players from getting assaulted.

Soft Settle is not intending to compete with official dispute resolution mechanism. SoftSettle always prays for such laws to come and save the online shoppers. But SoftSettle has a different perspective with regard to the resolution feature. It encourages harmony which could build a bondage between trader and consumer. Further it tends to bring pleasant ambiance in the society so far as the party which does wrong could be rectified so as to eliminate the negative reviews in future and consumer found his favourite retailer always close to him supplying quality products against his orders.

 

 

The Time Bound Grievance Redressal against E-Commerce Issues

SoftSettle Support

Consumer Protection (E-commerce) Rules, 2020, which fall under the Consumer Protection Act.2019, endorses setting up a robust consumer redressal mechanism.

The e-commerce platforms also have to acknowledge the receipt of any consumer complaint within forty-eight hours and redress the complaint within one month from the date of receipt under this Act. And will also have to appoint a grievance officer for consumer grievance redressal.

As per the rules, sellers cannot refuse to take back goods or withdraw services or refuse refunds, if such goods or services are defective, deficient, delivered late, or if they do not meet the description on the platform. The rules also prohibit the e-commerce companies from manipulating the price of the goods or services to gain unreasonable profit through unjustified prices.

The online consumers are much relieved and they have a robust consumer redressal mechanism against the e-commerce issues.

This mechanism has been already integrated in the digital platform Soft Settle and it provides a positive reach for the consumers to go ahead with simplified procedure as far as the case management is concerned along with the ADR process in the cyberspace. More over Soft Settle does not compromise in admitting court syndromes in adopting the online platform so far as it is purely DIY platform with adequate consumer services.

The statutory phenomena definitely takes the consumer protection to a level beyond its concept of the traditional court procedure. But still some distresses shall undergo changes and Soft Settle is an alternative online platform which eliminates such flaws detectable in the grievance mechanism statutorily promoted.

The Soft Settle platform provides the simplest online consumer dispute resolution environment. With innovative features, such as representations, list of dispute issues and possible redress, escalation over to a different online platform Mediator Affair, limited need for written texts, direct negotiation tool between the parties etc. The Soft Settle platform cooperates with professional associations, e-commerce and consumer associations and is on the way to be used by companies, consumers and online dispute resolution bodies worldwide.

Further while appreciating the statutory prospects of the consumer protection, Soft Settle assures a harmonization to promote justice, unlike the court, by functioning as a smart choice for consumers as well as businesses in dealing with each other while confronting the disputes to have their share of win-win configuration. Hence both of them can advance their relationship stimulating the consumers to purchase more goods from the same business with upgraded qualities which the trader or business never compromises as they have won the loyalty of their customer and while they may be subjected to negative remarks from the part of the consumer segment.

Soft Settle is being designed in such a way so as to be truly user-friendly and easy for both consumers and retailers from different parts of the world. The application will guide you through the whole process and present you with a number of options to resolve the issue. Plus, our Consumer Service Team is here to help you.

Trends and Challenges in E-Commerce Dispute Resolution

Adv. Rajesh, Chief Coordinator, SoftSettle Support

E-commerce has become a busting business in India today. It is the cutting edge in all areas of business today. E-commerce has indeed emerged as a major opportunity for India. With the phenomenal spread of mobile telephony and the advent of 4G in the country, buyers from small towns and cities are also buying online in large numbers. It is a fact that internet has dissolved the discrimination factor between the small and the big cities enabling buyers from small towns to have access to the same branded goods, and quality products which earlier was a privilege of large city buyers.

The most significant reason for lack of consumer confidence in electronic transactions lies in anonymity of parties to the consumer contract. Statutory law now makes clear that a contract cannot be denied enforcement solely because it is in electronic form or signed electronically. Still there are certain legal issues supposed to take place in a digital contract i.e. the technology contracts are required to fulfil certain conditions to be legally enforceable. They are as follows:

Authenticity: The contracting parties must be identified to give authenticity to the technology contract. The parties shall be saved from any kind of misrepresentation as a form of fraud. Any sort of fraud would be a mark on the genuineness of the terms of the contract and the other party completing its obligations as per the contract.

Offer: One party proposing an offer to enter into a contract with its own sets of terms and conditions accompanying the agreement. The other party has the option to accept the offer or decline on non-compliance with the terms and conditions.

Writing & Signature: Every contract should include a signed digital signature along with the terms and conditions as the indication of acceptance by the other party.

Confidentiality: In a technology contract with e-commerce websites or any other company for that matter are under an obligation to maintain the confidentiality of its consumers. If in any case, they leak the sensitive data then they will be subjected to legal implications.

Disputes within Cyberspace transactions (with regard to technology contract):

It has been a revolution in the field of cyberspace with the introduction of a separate statute for Information Technology. This is an initiation of a generation of techno-friendly legal aspects to ease the workload of the legal professionals as well the companies that have adopted technology contracts as modes of conducting businesses.

It is not a free-flowing field with its own disputes which need to be enumerated in order to be settled in coming times. These disputes are legal in nature and have to be sorted with legal procedure. These loopholes cannot be ignored as they impair the very foundation of the legal framework.

The environment promoting a scenario where the interaction between and among the characters has to be evaluated. It is understandable with the scope of cyber law to reach out to every individual across the globe at an instant without any boundary barriers, the possibility of physical interaction of each contractual party is almost impossible.

Soft Settle discovered certain methods to mitigate the disputes with the case management procedure and negotiating tactics so as to resolve most the disputes in minutes or hours, but invite the constant efforts from the contracting parties to come up with a commitment to put these solutions into proper practice.

 

Insurance Claim Settlements by means of Artificial Intelligence

SoftSettle Support

Artificial Intelligence or AI has inspired several global businesses in various industries  to develop and implement their required technologies. AI revolutionizes our traditional day-to-day tasks.

One of the domains that can benefit from AI is insurance Claim Settlements. Artificial Intelligence guarantees a fair and fast settlement which would have taken days had traditional approach been accepted for claim settlement. Adopting Artificial Intelligence brings advantages for both companies and their customers. It can simplify claims processing for adjusters and make settlement quicker and more transparent for clients. It can help bringing this most responsible and difficult segmented task of the industry to a new level and attract even more clients.

It is true that we can never underestimate the importance of Artificial Intelligence in other tasks of total Insurance. This technology can greatly improve the insurance industry, simplify routine processes and take care of mundane tasks. We can only anticipate the positive changes AI will trigger in the near future.

it can be said that technology is now being increasingly utilized to make the insurance claims simpler, faster and more cost effective. The outdated processes are slowly being changed for the better, in view of the advancement of artificial intelligence and machine learning, among other forms of technology. Not only will this adoption of technology improve the insurance processes, but will eventually lead to a much better and smoother customer experience.

Soft Settle adopting Artificial Intelligence as the technological stimulant for Insurance Claim Settlement has facilitated automatic process of requests and interactions between the Insurance Company or its adjuster and the client. As such chatbots, related fields and other mode of interactions are being integrated in the workflow can simplify the conversation and make communication more effective and stress-free. Such an approach facilitates reduction of amount of time and thus let the disputants negotiates with respective interests getting reconciled to reach a decision.

As of now, Claim Settlement Process is a manual and laborious affair that requires the involvement of several people in the form of witnesses with a lot of paperwork and communication methods. The devices of communications can be advanced using the optimizing algorithms which ultimately capable of eliminating the process which are prone to not only time consuming and costly but is also prone to errors and inconsistencies. The integration of artificial intelligence and machine learning in Soft Settle Platform to accelerate the process of negotiations to the effect of claim settlement claims settlement adjudication is already helping increase the efficiency of case managers and enabling them to take more informed decisions.

 

 

Insurance Companies discount your Pain and Sufferings

SoftSettle Support

Pain and suffering is a legal term that refers to a host of injuries that a plaintiff may suffer as a result of an accident. It encompasses not just physical pain, but also emotional and mental injuries such as fear, insomnia, grief, worry, inconvenience and even the loss of the enjoyment of life.

The extent of your injury and accompanying pain and suffering can be evidenced through documentation such as photographs and personal journals that record the plaintiff’s physical and emotional feelings. Documentation from friends and family can provide additional evidence of the way the particular injury has negatively impacted the plaintiff’s life. Proof of treatment by a mental health professional is also helpful, and is necessary where the plaintiff is claiming injuries such as increased anxiety, insomnia, or depression.

There is no hard and fast rule for how an insurance company must calculate pain and suffering.

You will need to prove your financial losses so that you can rightfully claim the money you need to rebuild your life. The money for these losses is known as damages. Damages include easily calculable items like medical bills, and non-economic claims like pain and suffering. However, understanding how much money one can claim for pain and suffering is a bit more difficult since there are no receipts or bills.

But you deserve to be compensated for significant temporary and permanent limitations on activities. You also deserve to be compensated if your injuries can potentially shorten your life. Hence the compensation against pain and sufferings shall be on the basis of:

  • Existing medical bills.
  • Future medical expenses.
  • Lost wages or other permanent remuneration or earnings.

Soft Settle’s Consultancy and Resolution services can be invoked at this time.

Typically faster mode of Mediation is guaranteed and the negotiation for clear verdict in the form of claim settlement which is software stimulated, got integrated in the portal www.softsettle.com and the mobile application. A win-win proposition is guaranteed.

 

 

Insurance Companies are not reluctant to make you convince that their (less) offer is final

SoftSettle Support

The hypothetical scenario is with regard to an injury in a vehicle accident. After suffering an injury in an accident, you may be able to turn to insurance for coverage of medical costs and other losses. You might file a claim under a policy you hold (e.g., auto collision insurance, homeowners’ insurance, health insurance) or through another person’s liability insurance if he or she was at fault.

A claims adjuster should follow up on your claim by contacting you and investigating your case. The investigation may include reviewing your medical records, obtaining vehicle repair estimates, reviewing police accident reports, interviewing you and reviewing your initial claim documents.

There are certain damages to be categorized for the insurance purpose. They are as follows:

Special damages include:

  • Present and future medical expenses, from emergency care through hospitalization and rehabilitation
  • Property damage (costs to repair or replace)
  • Lost income during recovery or because of disability
  • Out-of-pocket expenses, such as the cost of towing a wrecked car, prescription medication, travel to doctors’ appointments or wheelchair rental.

General damages include payments for:

  • Pain and suffering (physical)
  • Emotional distress
  • Loss of enjoyment of life, such as inability to pursue recreation, hobbies, or other activity as you did prior to injury
  • Loss of consortium (marital/partner relations).

An insurance settlement should account for all of these losses as they apply to you and your situation, up to the limits of the applicable insurance coverage.

However, a settlement offer may be less than what you expected if the claims adjustor decides that your losses were not as much as you originally demanded, or that your own negligence or recklessness contributed to your injury.

If you question the settlement offer, the claims adjustor may not be reluctant to suppress all relevant facts and put you in the peril by convincing you that offer is the generosity from the part of the insurance company.

Soft Settle’s Consultancy and Resolution services can be invoked at this time.

Typically faster mode of Mediation is guaranteed and the negotiation for clear verdict in the form of claim settlement which is software stimulated, got integrated in the portal www.softsettle.com and the mobile application. A win-win proposition is guaranteed.

 

 

Resolving Consumer Grievances effectively

SoftSettle Support

Consumer grievance is the voice of consumer raise after dissatisfaction from company product or services. When consumer expectations not meet with the value as they paid for product or services then they become frustrated are raise their voice against the company for the replacement of good, refund and return.

Disputes arise within and between businesses and individuals all the time for many different reasons. The one thing all disputes share is that ultimately they involve people and people involve relationships. The key to effective dispute resolution, from the perspective of business, is to have a broad, flexible approach which offers an outcome-focused resolution to the dispute.

Where dispute arises in the area of Consumer-Business relations, those trained in problem solving, dispute avoidance, negotiation and dispute resolution should have initial oversight of such dispute and be able to record and monitor all claims. Apart from such training, role of the grooming technology in deciding the cases resulting out of the issues in respect of the consumer dissatisfaction of the products or services belong to the Business has to be evaluated too.

Ideally, the analysis of disputes and complaints should include a recommended online dispute resolution (ODR) plan and suggestions on how to strengthen the relationship with the other party.

Soft Settle has adopted such ODR frame work to go along with people to decide the cases where the outcome shall not be painful to either parties while justice cannot be let down or ignored. But while promoting the win-win propositions, Soft Settle requires parties to be more amenable, generous and collaborative so that they can expect an reasonable outcome deemed to be the appropriate justice.

Soft Settle provides such platform as a device to resolve your consumer grievances through online medium which is easy, relaxed to come out with a decision acceptable to both parties unlike the outcome resulting in court litigation.

There are many ways to resolve your consumer grievances and online medium made this easier for quick redressal of consumer complaint.

Now things, information, and communication become online and easily accessible for all users because they are using a mobile device. Soft Settle is such a platform where a virtual neutral SS-Equity (CDR) would decide the cases in no time and at no cost. The decision is binding too.

 

Comforting Consumer Concerns

SoftSettle Support

Disappointed by a product or service you’ve paid for? You don’t have to settle for shabby performance. Most businesses want to keep you happy so you’ll keep coming back. But things may sometimes happen in a different way. Hence the problem crops up.

You can solve many consumer problems by talking to a store employee, or if you bought the item online, by returning to the website. Do this as soon as possible because some retailers have time limits on returns and refunds.

Online retailers should provide return instructions on the site or on your receipt. When shopping online, it is wise to consider the company’s reputation and return policy before you buy. Similarly the manner in which the physical shops considers the direct customer in a reasonable way such as providing the refund and return policy before the consumers buy things should be there.

Soft Settle provides a Consultancy Platform to help customers as if they were drafting a complaint letter to retailer with the following inclusions and in the following manner:

  • You have to provide the details of your profile in the specified fields.
  • You would be precise and concise as the fields call for concise and precise complaints.
  • You can express what you desire to get out of the settlement of the issue
  • You can upload relevant documents.

Soft Settle frame the issues furnished in the specified fields to build a case  and find the answers to the following questions.

  •  Didn’t get what you ordered?
  • Did you get a defective product?
  • Disappointed with the service you got?
  •  Any other issues (product or service) with your Seller?

The Soft Settle platform has two levels of resolving disputes (negotiations level and resolution by a neutral as an escalated level) with refined technological features.

It is free sign up and free resolution for customers but for the escalated mode (appeal)

 

Converting Shopping Complaints into a Great Customer Experiences

SoftSettle Support (targeting sellers/traders and servicemen)

It is true that customer experiencing a good relationship with sellers or traders, would definitely share this experience with friends, family and connections, which in can lead to new business without expending anything in the form of advertisements or towards using certain publicity tools. But on the other hand the experience is bitter, there will be an adverse approach from the part of the customer to proceed with his or her complaint.

And for customers that don’t complain, they just stop doing business with you.

A customer complaint highlights a problem, whether that’s a problem with your product, employees or internal processes, and by hearing these problems directly from your customers, you can investigate and improve to prevent further complaints in the future.

Soft Settle helps you handling the customer complaints. When a customer makes a complaint, he or she is voicing a concern in relation to your product or service. Soft Settle proposes a consumer redressal avenue step by step where the consumer has a specific issue or dispute over certain products or services, so that the seller or trader could react over the complaints positively to focus on the quality of the product or services. This may ultimately lead to good relationship with the customer and finding more leads with him or her to enhance your business.

Soft Settle is a simple application that resolves customer claims and makes shopping experience trouble-free for both businesses and consumers.

It helps companies seamlessly communicate and handle claims, allowing customers to spend more time on shopping – and less on complaining. Through Soft Settle, in just a couple of clicks, both sides can communicate and negotiate directly, making the issue resolved – for good…

The Soft Settle platform has two levels of resolving disputes (negotiations level and resolution by a neutral as an escalated level) with refined technological features.

Soft Settle can take the baton. It has nothing to do with lawyers, adjusters, but everything can be taken care of by you only. It is purely a DIY business. That itself calls for a true and fruitful relationship with the customer always.

Settling Your Own Debts: Do It Yourself

SoftSettle Support

Debt settlement is definitely an activity consoling one’s fainted heart. Doing it yourself requires persistence, hard work and the willingness to deal with debt collectors for months or years.

Defaulters may be under the impression that debt settlement usually is brutal. Negotiating down a debt with a creditor, rather than hiring someone else, can save you money and put you in control of the settlement process. However, many consumers shy away from DIY debt settlement, chiefly because they want to avoid interacting with banks, other creditors and collection agencies, experts say.

The first question should be whether debt settlement is the best option for you. To answer that question, you need to look at your total financial picture and alternatives such as bankruptcy or a family loan,  noting that debt settlement typically will severely damage your credit.

Debt settlement can damage your credit severely when creditors and collection agencies report delinquent payments, collections and settlements for less than the full amounts owed on accounts.

Soft Settle encourages people to settle their debts DIY.  If you decide to try to settle, you’ll need to decide whether to do it yourself. The advantages of DIY debt settlement include:

Creditors might go easier on you. Creditor may find to deal easier with you while they may be aggressive with debt settlement companies and even dare to file suit against you. Their lenient attitude towards you may probably reduce the total debt reasonably; so that you may have a target to settle is quite reasonable.

Another advantage behind DIY is it might motivate you to get your finances in order. So far as you are ready to negotiate directly with creditor and you become more accommodative and collaborative could bring the creditor to a level where you can set your financial commitments in a proper manner.

Soft Settle provides channel where you can apply the mode of negotiations as referred above, so that you would be collaborative in negotiating which prompts the virtual neutral to decide things in your favour and it never attempts to reduce the claim of the creditor. Hence the win-win proposition is accessible.