The mystery of the missing “Test coins” :
A bad experience with booking of commemorative coins at the Kolkata mint
As I had become an active coin collector recently and taken up coin collection as a serious hobby about a year ago (as mentioned in my profile), I also registered myself on the website of Securities Printing and Minting Corporation of India Ltd. (SPMCIL). On 3rd March 2011, while browsing through the joint websites of Kolkata and Mumbai mints, I was pleasantly surprised to find that Games Test coins, both in the Proof and Uncirculated varieties were being booked by the Kolkata mint, at the unbelievable rate of Rs.20/-each and the booking was going off-line in a couple of hours. I thought, what luck, and booked five of these coins for a price of Rs.100/- together with Rs.2,27 (total cost Rs.102.27)as credit card payment gateway charges on 3rd March 2011.
I immediately received an automated email from the SPMCIL Coin Booking Committee/Team advising me that,my transaction was a success and that the coins would be delivered to me within 6 months from date of close of booking (in this case booking closed on 3rd March 2011 itself, therefore the outside date for delivery of the coins was 03.09.2011).
I immediately received an automated email from the SPMCIL Coin Booking Committee/Team advising me that,my transaction was a success and that the coins would be delivered to me within 6 months from date of close of booking (in this case booking closed on 3rd March 2011 itself, therefore the outside date for delivery of the coins was 03.09.2011).
Upon checking the status of my order on the tracking system of SPMCIL ,I was surprised to find ,that, the booking showed correctly on the “Track you order” facility of the website, but, after a couple of weeks , it was mentioned that there was no such order.
I, accordingly, wrote to Kolkata mint on their email 'calmint@spmcil.com' several times but did not get any response. I even took up the matter with SPMCIL website email 'info@spmcil.com' but did not receive any information either. I have even sent a Speedpost message to General Manager, Kolkata mint, on 26.08.11 which was delivered to the mint on 29th August 2011, but I have received no acknowledgement of the same so far either physically or by email. (so much for customer service at the Kolkata mint).
Now six months have elapsed and the coins have still not been delivered to me, and I am apprehensive that my coins have either been misappropriated by someone or the funds paid by me have been unauthorisedly accounted for at the mint.
As I have booked several other orders with Kolkata mint for subsequent Commemorative programmes viz: Rabindranath Tagore, Mother Teresa, Commonwealth Games and Louis Braille Proof coins, I wonder whether these will also be delivered or not – already four and a half months have passed from the date of close of booking of these coins on 30th April 2011.
I am, apprehensive as to whether there is any fraudulent activity/gross negligence at the Kolkata mint in regard to commemorative coins issue and distribution to genuine customers.
I have presently taken up the matter with the Chief Vigilance Officer on the SPMCIL website for investigation into the matter, whether a vigilance angle is detected or whether I have been a victim of just plain inefficiency/negligence at the Kolkata mint.
Although the amount involved is not very high, I am treating this whole matter as a “test case” as to whether I will ever get my Games “Test Coins” from the Kolkata mint or not.
Contrast this with the efficiency of the US Mint, with whom I had booked coin sets under the “US Past Presidents Programme” and “America and the Beautiful Quarters Programme” and received the coins within two weeks of the booking.
Imagine coin orders booked from across the World reaching me in two weeks, and here we have the Kolkata mint which is not even having the courtesy of replying to my emails/Speedpost message.
In case any Guest/visitor has had a similar experience with SPMCIL coin mints /other units of SPMCIL, you are welcome to share your experience on this blog.
Posted on 06.01.2012
A Note on the first hand experience of
“Customer Relations” of the India Government Mint Kolkata and how the mystery of the missing “Test
coins” was solved after several rounds of correspondence initiated by me to
several officials at IGM, Kolkata/SPMCIL, New Delhi:
After my
voluminous correspondence with the Public Information Officer, Appellate Authority
(under RTI Act) and General Manager, IGM Kolkata (as Appellate Authority under RTI Act),as well
as Chief Vigilance Officer ,SPMCIL, New Delhi , the following interesting
information and insight into the “concern” for Commemorative coin buyers/customers
has been gathered by me. I am sharing
this on this blog, so that more of us become aware of the position obtaining at
the Mint in regard to customer service and deliveries of booked coins.
A)
What the Public Information Officer
said:
1)
In regard to the delay in the delivery
of Booked Commemorative coins (apart from the “Test Coins”, after the
stipulated period of six months had lapsed as well as the revised delivery
schedule of the booked coins :
“We have
received a very high unexpected booking this time and it took three months to
only make the entry in our systems and this is the sole reason for the delay”.
My observation:
a)What happened during the next three months?
b) If the
said delay was for reasons “beyond the
control” of Mint officials, then what prevented them from mentioning the
reasons for the said delay on their official website/intimation to individual
customers, as their email addresses were available with the IGM Kolkata.
c) What
happened to the IGM Kolkata’s clause in their Booking Advertisement for
Commemorative coins (on Rabindranath Tagore, Mother Teresa, Commonwealth Games
and Louis Braille) for bookings which opened on 22.03.2011 and closed on
30.04.2011 wherein it was mentioned that “the status of the Booking can be
viewed on website after 31st May 2011?”
The PIO
has “clarified” in this regard that “we are in the process of developing our
website where customers can view their booking status”.
There is clearly a variance between what was
advertised and what is actually happening at the IGM Kolkata!! A clear case of
the Advertisement which has “claimed” that the “Booking status” can be viewed
after 31.05.2011 has been proved to be inaccurate by its own officials, as well
as giving a misleading position to the customers.
2)
In regard to “revised” delivery schedule
for my 5 booked Orders i.e. Louis Braille, Rabindranath Tagore, Mother Teresa,
XIX Commonwealth Games since the
stipulated delivery schedule had lapsed already:
“We are in the process of dispatching the web
booking coins shortly”.
My observation:
The PIO’s
communication was dated 29.11.2011(more than a month after scheduled period for
replying to RTI communications) and he was not aware that based on my
complaints the Chief Vigilance Officer, SPMCIL, New Delhi, four of my booked
coins had been dispatched on 04.11.2011 itself, and the 5th Order
was in the pipeline for delivery. So much for information sharing /collation at
the IGM Kolkata. There seems to be no proper process for keeping the PIO
properly informed!!
3)
In regard to my query that the
delivery of the “Test coins” booked on 03.03.2011, the stipulated delivery
period of six months had expired and that , as my “Test coins” had still not
been delivered, to let me know the revised delivery schedule for the said
coins.
“No
Booking was open on the date i.e. 03.03.2011 given by you”.
My observation:
Then, how
did I receive the confirmation of the “successful booking” order of five test
coins on my email address. Also, how was my credit card debited by Rs.102.27 on
03.03.2011, with the money having been credited to the SPMCIL, New Delhi
account? The PIO made no effort to elaborate this aspect, although I had sent
photocopies of the “evidences” to him.
B)
What the Officer (Marketing) said, who
signed all communications to me on behalf of the General Manager, IGM, Kolkata,
1)
In regard to the status obtaining on
my “missingTest coins”:
“It has
been verified and found that there was no booking open on the date i.e.
03.03.2011 as given by you. Hence it is difficult to inform you about the
status of the Order (No.) as given by you”
My observation:
Difficult
to inform or simply do not care to check up as to how the debit of Rs.102.27 to
my credit card account took place as also, where did my money go? Also, when I
had pointed out the matter with proper evidences, he did not
investigate the reasons for ” the mix-up”. (Excellent customer service indeed!!!).
2)
Upon my taking up the matter with the
Chief Vigilance Officer, SPMCIL, New Delhi, inter alia on the following points:
a)
That I suspected either gross negligence
or collusion of officials of the IGM Kolkata, particularly their reluctance to
let me know the fate of my booked “Test coins” or the end-use of my Rs.102.27
paid by debit to my credit card, to defraud genuine customers which needed
investigation.
b)
To ensure that a fool-proof
inter-active system is placed on-line on their website to facilitate customers,
the following “detailed” response came from the Officer (Marketing):
Regarding 2 (a) vide Officer (Marketing)’s letter dated 21.12.2011:“You are informed that this mint had developed some new features on its official website www. igmkolkata. spmcil.com and for checking purpose about the proper working of the same on 03.03.2011, we placed a dummy advertisement named as “ test coins booking” which was appearing only for 3-4 hours. Further these testing was only for mint officials however which was wrongly interpreted by you.
2. In the
same regard Rs.100/- (Rupees one hundred) was deducted from your credit card
and was received in account of this mint which will be returned to you through
cheque within 05.01.2012.”
My observation:
a)
Why
did the Officer (Marketing) not investigate the matter/ mix-up at their end in
the first place and wait for the matter to be escalated to higher authorities?
b)
In
fact, a cheque of Rs.100/- was posted by the Officer(Marketing) on 24.12.2011
only and received by me 3 days later by courier. However, notice, that there
is no word of regret for the inconvenience caused to me because the mint
officials had not put up a caution on the “dummy test advertisement” that it
was an internal exercise and customers should not book online.
c)
What
prevented the mint officials to refund all such bookings which had gone through
due to their fault immediately, say within a week or so of such bookings?
Possibly, more customers like me may have booked, whose amounts could still be
lying at SPMCIL accounts?
d)
What
about the credit card payment gateway charges of Rs.2.27 which has not been refunded
by the Kolkata mint due to their error? While this is a small amount, a
customer booking several more coins would stand to lose a substantial amount.
The "fool-proof" interactive system
which has been put in place by IGM Kolkata :
In a
recent Advertisement released by IGM Kolkata (No. IGMK.ADVT/3 dated 03.01.2012
for Booking Proof and Uncirculated coin sets on “Income Tax – 150 years of
Building India (1860-2010)", the following “improvements” have been put in place
:
a)
“Status
of booking can be viewed on website after three months of close of booking
date.” (earlier it used to be one month after close of booking). This indicates a sincere attempt on the part of mint officials to process the received applications within say, three months time and, then, inform the customers online regarding the status of coin bookings/deliveries within a reasonable time thereafter. Let us see how things go.
b)
The
period of delivery now is “Within 8(eight) months from close of booking which
may vary as per quantity of booking received”. (Earlier it used to be within
six months. Now there is a possibility that the period may go beyond eight
months in case Kolkata mint has not been able to process the applications). However, at least now we (the customers) have the information regarding delivery schedules ab initio and we do not start worrying about the fate of our coin orders after the six month period had lapsed, as in the earlier cases.
c)
"No
query will be entertained after one year of close of booking date i.e.
20.02.2012". (So, the window for making enquiries after the lapse of the
stipulated eight month period ending 31.10.2012 is only four months after which
the non-delivery of coins, if any, cannot be technically questioned).However, on the flip side, this, also appears to be a "self-imposed" time-bound restriction on the part of the Mint officials to try and effect the deliveries within the earliest possible time .
d) A new email address igmkspmcil@gmail.com has been advertised, indicating that, perhaps, customer queries/concerns may be responded to by a dedicated staff and not go unresponded like in the earlier cases.
d) A "one-day Workshop for better service to be provided to our sincere customers" is being conducted by the Curator, IGM Kolkata on 7th February 2012 for which applications are being received from interested customers (particularly the regular ones being given a preference) who wish to participate in the Workshop, being received till 17.01.2012.
This appears to be a positive development which shows the IGM Kolkata's concern for keeping the customers informed about their procedures/schedules for effecting commemorative coin deliveries, and thereby restoring customer confidence .
However, as this Workshop will be held in Kolkata, I hope that the minutes will be put up on the IGM Kolkata website, so that all of us can read the outcome thereof.
In any case, more transparency in interactions with customers and information-sharing seems to have been put in place at the IGM Kolkata, which is a welcome step.
d) A new email address igmkspmcil@gmail.com has been advertised, indicating that, perhaps, customer queries/concerns may be responded to by a dedicated staff and not go unresponded like in the earlier cases.
d) A "one-day Workshop for better service to be provided to our sincere customers" is being conducted by the Curator, IGM Kolkata on 7th February 2012 for which applications are being received from interested customers (particularly the regular ones being given a preference) who wish to participate in the Workshop, being received till 17.01.2012.
This appears to be a positive development which shows the IGM Kolkata's concern for keeping the customers informed about their procedures/schedules for effecting commemorative coin deliveries, and thereby restoring customer confidence .
However, as this Workshop will be held in Kolkata, I hope that the minutes will be put up on the IGM Kolkata website, so that all of us can read the outcome thereof.
In any case, more transparency in interactions with customers and information-sharing seems to have been put in place at the IGM Kolkata, which is a welcome step.
Posted on 22.01.2012:
Today I
have come across another advertisement from IGM Kolkata, as part of their
customer service improvement measures, wherein it is mentioned that from
January 24th 2012 onwards, commemorative coin sets will be available
across the counter on an on-going basis on various themes depending on
availability, five days a week. This is indeed an excellent initiative, which I
believe is a first for any Indian Mint and one which other mints which book
Commemorative coins could also emulate.
Posted on 03.07.2012:
I have received my Proof set of coins issued to commemorate 150 years of existence of the Income Tax Department, booked at the Kolkata Mint, within four months of booking which is an excellent delivery schedule indeed. This shows that the measures taken at The Kolkata Mint to improve their customer service/relations are indeed having a positive effect.
Posted on 03.07.2012:
I have received my Proof set of coins issued to commemorate 150 years of existence of the Income Tax Department, booked at the Kolkata Mint, within four months of booking which is an excellent delivery schedule indeed. This shows that the measures taken at The Kolkata Mint to improve their customer service/relations are indeed having a positive effect.
