FAQ’S ON SEBI INVESTOR GRIEVANCES

By | August 13, 2015
(Last Updated On: August 12, 2015)

INVESTOR GRIEVANCES  – SCORES

 Attention: Please be informed that you should try to contact the person or company that is the cause of your complaint. You might be able to resolve your problem more quickly by speaking to them directly rather than waiting for a response to your complaint.

1. Which are the complaints dealt by SEBI?

Complaints arising out of issues that are covered under SEBI Act, Securities Contract Regulation Act, Depositories Act and rules and regulation made there under and provisions that are covered under section 55A of Companies Act.

2. Which are the matters that are not considered as complaints in SCORES?

  ♦  Complaints that are incomplete or not specific

  ♦  Allegations without supporting documents

  ♦  Offering suggestions or seeking guidance/explanation

  ♦  Seeking explanation for non-trading of shares or illiquidity of shares

  ♦  Not satisfied with trading price of the shares of the companies

  ♦  Non-listing of shares of private offer

  ♦  Disputes arising out of private agreement with companies/intermediaries

3. Which are the complaints not dealt by SEBI?

  ♦  Complaints against unlisted/delisted/wound up/liquidated/sick companies

  ♦  Complaints that are sub-judice (relating to cases which are under consideration by court of law, quasi-judicial proceedings etc.)

  ♦  Complaints falling under the purview of other regulatory bodies viz.RBI, IRDA, PFRDA, CCI, FMC, etc., or under the purview of other ministries viz., MCA, etc.

The relevant Regulators/Authorities for some of the grievances which are not dealt by SEBI are given below:

Grievances pertaining toRegulators/Authorities
Banks deposits and banking

Reserve Bank of India (RBI)

http://www.rbi.org.in

Fixed Deposits with Non Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) and other matters pertaining to NBFCs
Primary Dealers
Fixed Deposits with manufacturing companies

Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA)

http://www.mca.gov.in

Unlisted companies
Mismanagement of companies, financial performance of the company, Annual General Meeting, Annual Report, minority shareholders interest, non-receipt of preferential allotment shares, etc. and corporate actions as per the court order such as mergers, amalgamation, reduction of share capital/par value, etc.
Nidhi Companies
Insurance Companies/Brokers/ Agents/products and Service

Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDA)

http://www.irdaindia.org

Commodities

Forward Market Commission (FMC)

http://www.fmc.gov.in/

Pension fund

Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA)

http://www.pfrda.org.in

Monopoly and anti competitive practices

Competition Commission of India (CCI)

http://www.cci.gov.in

Chit FundsRegistrars of Chit Funds of the concerned state
Housing Finance Companies

National Housing Bank (NHB)

www.nhb.org.in

4. How do I register my complaint online in SCORES?

To register a complaint online on SCORES portal, click on “Complaint Registration” under “Investor Corner”. The complaint registration form contains personal details and complaint details. There are certain mandatory fields on the Form. These fields include Name, Address for correspondence, State, Email Address of Investor. Besides this, select the complaint category, entity name, nature of complaint related to, complaint details in brief (up to 1000 characters). A PDF document (up to 1MB of size for each nature of complaint) can also be attached along with the complaint as the supporting document.

On successful submission of complaint, system generated unique registration number will be displayed on the screen which may be noted for future correspondence. An email acknowledging the complaint with complaint registration number will also be sent to the complainant‟s email id entered in the complaint registration form.

In case, you are not able to register a complaint online, you can send your complaint through post to any of the SEBI offices whose addresses are given under the menu “Contact Us”.

5. While lodging complaint, certain characters are not accepted?

Certain characters are not accepted for security reasons. However, the characters which are permissible are mentioned against each field while lodging the complaint. In case certain non-usable characters are entered, then a clear explicit error message is displayed.

6. I could not find the name of the company/intermediary against whom I want to register the complaint?

Unlisted companies and name of the entities that are not registered with SEBI are not available in SCORES. It is possible that the said company/entity might have changed its name, merged into another entity or delisted or its registration with SEBI might have expired.

However, you can send your complaint by post to any of the Offices of SEBI and if the complaint pertains to a listed company/registered intermediary, the same will be taken up by SEBI.

7. If I want to lodge a complaint against a company before listing, in which category should I lodge?

You should lodge it in “Prelisting/Offer document” category under Listed Companies menu.

8. How to attach a document along with my Complaint?

If any supporting document is required to be attached along with the complaint, you can upload that document (only PDF) at the time of lodging the complaint.

There is a field with name “Upload Supporting Document” followed by a button “Browse”. On clicking the browse button, a pop-up window will be opened, prompting you to select the PDF document to be uploaded. After selecting the PDF file, click “Attach” button to enclose the selected document with the complaint. Please note that for security reasons, only PDF file can be attached. You can upload a file in PDF format up to a maximum size of 1 MB for each nature of complaint.

9. If I want to attach a document of more than 1MB, what should I do?

You can attach a document file size up to 1MB for each nature of complaint and each complaint can have up to a maximum of 5 natures. If the document size exceeds 1MB, then the document quality (dpi) may be reduced to shrink the document size to 1MB and upload only the necessary documents. In case you have more than 1MB to be loaded for each nature, then that can be sent by post to any of our SEBI offices whose addresses are given under the menu “Contact Us”.

10. What do I do if I am not able to register a complaint online?

The website of SCORES is best viewed in browsers Internet Explorer 7.0 and above or Mozilla Firefox 3.0 and above. However, if you are still unable to lodge the complaint, you can check your internet settings. Otherwise, you may contact us on telephone no.022-26449188 /9199 or you may send the complaint physically by post to any of the Office of SEBI.

11. How do I check the status of my Complaint?

To check your complaint status, click on “View Complaint Status” under “Investor Corner” on the homepage

Step 1 : Provide the complaint registration number which was allotted at the time of registration of your complaint. Step 2: Please enter your password.

 a.  In case of web complaint, your email address is your password.

 b.  In case of physical complaints sent to SEBI, please enter the password which was communicated by SEBI in the acknowledgement letter sent to you.

On verifying the correctness of registration number, password and security code, the current status of your complaint is displayed.

12. What should I do if I forget my password to see my complaint status?

If you have lodged a web complaint, then your password is your email id. However, in case you have lodged a physical complaint, then the password is given in the acknowledgement letter sent to you. If you have not received your acknowledgement or the acknowledgment is misplaced, you may contact the help desk at 022-26449188 /9199.

13. Can I have a single password for all my complaints?

You can have a single password for all web complaints i.e. your email id. Also, if you become a registered user, you can get a single password.

14. How do I become a registered user?

To become a registered user of SCORES, you can click on “Register here” appearing on the homepage of the portal. You will have to fill in Registration form. The username and password of SCORES will be sent to your registered email id.

15. What is the advantage of becoming a registered user?

Personal details need not be entered for every new complaint once you become a registered user. You can also track all your complaints (including previous complaints that were lodged with same email id) with a single login.

16. How to send reminder for my Complaint?

If you want to send a reminder for your earlier lodged complaint, then click on the link “Send Reminder” under “Investor Corner” on the homepage. Provide details like Registration number, Reminder details and the security code.

17. How to reply to a clarification sought from me?

If a clarification has been sought by SEBI or the entity against which complaint is lodged, you can send the reply online. The reply can be sent by clicking on the link “Send Reply” while viewing the status of your complaint through “View Complaint Status Form” (Please refer to the reply to question “How do I check the status of my Complaint?” to view status of the complaint).In case, you are not able to send reply to clarification online, you can send it through post to any of the SEBI offices whose addresses are given under the menu “Contact Us” by providing your unique registration number.

18. Can I complain about market or price manipulation or violation of Insider trading regulations?

Yes. You can lodge your complaint about market or price manipulation or violation of Insider trading regulations under ‘Information to SEBI’.

However, status of your complaint cannot be disclosed since SEBI conducts examinations and investigations confidentially. As a result, SEBI will neither confirm nor deny the existence of any investigation. Any regulatory actions taken by SEBI are published at SEBI website at www.sebi.gov.in after the proceedings are completed.

19. Can I give suggestions through SCORES website?

You can send your suggestions, if any, to email id sebi@sebi.gov.in

20. How is my complaint handled?

SEBI examines your complaint and decides whether the subject matter falls under the purview of SEBI and whether it needs to be referred to concerned entity. After examination, SEBI forwards the complaint to the concerned entity with an advice to send a written reply to you and file an action taken report in SCORES.

21. How long does it take the entity to respond to my complaint?

Generally, the complaint will be responded within a few days after the receipt of your complaint. If your complaint is complex, it may take a little longer.

22. What is the timeline to get my complaint resolved?

Entities are required to submit the action taken report within a reasonable period but not later than 30 days.

23. Why is my complaint pending for a long time?

The complaint may be pending due to various reasons viz., non receipt of satisfactory reply from the entity, non receipt of information/ documents sought by the entity / SEBI from the investor, court matter, entity not traceable or vanished companies, etc.

24. When is my complaint treated as disposed of?

On receipt of satisfactory action taken report along with supporting documents, if any, from the entity or the concerned Stock Exchange/ Depository, or if the complainant fails to give complete details/documents required for redressal of his complaint within the prescribed time, the complaint is treated as disposed of.

25. Whether I will receive intimation about disposal of my complaint?

Yes. An email is sent to the complainant‟s email id available in SCORES. Complainant can also view the disposal details online by following the procedure given above in answer to “How do I check the status of my Complaint?”

26. What shall I do if I am not satisfied with the disposal of the complaint?

In case the complainant is not satisfied with the disposal of the complaint, a fresh complaint can be lodged or an email can be sent to the concerned Dealing Officer or escalate the complaint by sending an email to Senior Officers whose email ids are given at the menu “Contact Us”. Further, you can initiate appropriate legal proceedings against the entity.

27. What are the limitations in dealing with my complaint?

Sometimes a complaint is successfully resolved when the entity was advised to send reply to you. But in certain cases, the entity or company denies wrongdoing, and it remains unclear as to who is wrong or whether any wrongdoing occurred at all. If this happens, SEBI cannot act as a judge or an arbitrator and force the entity or company to resolve your complaint. Further, SEBI cannot act as your personal representative or attorney. But the law allows you to take legal action on your own.

28. Can I take legal action on my own?

Securities and other laws provide important legal rights and remedies if you have suffered wrongdoing. Acting on your own, you can seek to resolve your complaint through the courts, consumer courts, or arbitration.

To take advantage of these laws, you must take legal action promptly or you may lose the right to recover funds. Please note that as per the “law of limitations,” there are some time periods within which court proceedings should be initiated.

29. When can SEBI take action for non resolution of my complaint?

While the entity is directly responsible for redressal of your complaint, SEBI initiates action against recalcitrant entities on the grounds of their failure to redress large number of investor complaints as a whole. For redress of your complaint, you may have to pursue appropriate legal/arbitration remedies.

30. When can I refer my case to arbitration?

If you have an account with the broker or a depository participant (DP), you probably agreed to use only arbitration to settle all disputes with your broker or DP. But even if you did not, you may choose to use arbitration to settle disputes. You generally cannot pursue an issue through arbitration if it is barred by limitation prescribed. When deciding whether to arbitrate-or, if it is a choice, to sue in court-bear in mind that if your broker or DP goes out of business or declares bankruptcy, you might not be able to recover your money-even if the arbitrator or court rules in your favor. However, with certain restriction to the nature of transactions, Stock Exchanges may settle the claim of an investor up to a limit prescribed in the investor protection fund‟ guidelines of the respective Stock Exchange.

Simplified arbitration can be a less costly alternative. You should carefully review the rules governing simplified arbitration before you file a claim. Again, you should always weigh the costs of arbitrating against the likelihood of being able to collect any award in your favor, especially if the brokerage firm has left the industry or gone bankrupt. Firms that stay in business typically pay the arbitration awards levied against them, but defunct firms may not.

To obtain information about how to file an arbitration claim,

BSE: http://www.bseindia.com/invdesk/Arbitrage.asp

NSE: http://www.nseindia.com/content/assist/asst investser.htm

31. How do I learn more on other issues related to securities market?

You may learn more on other issues related to securities market through FAQs provided in the link below.

http://www.sebi.gov.in/cms/sebi_data/attachdocs/1315458767512.pdf

http://www.sebi.gov.in/sebiweb/home/list/4/37/0/1/FAQs

http://investor.sebi.gov.in

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