It seems Snapdeal’s bad days are refusing to subside. Even as the proposed merger with Flipkart is stretching into eternity, vendors are getting restless over unpaid dues.
After a series of police complaints and summons by Court, another vendor from Bangalore has filed another police complaint against Snapdeal over unpaid dues.
And just like before, Snapdeal has vehemently denied these charges.
But the question arises: Who will listen to the woes of vendors, who partnered with Snapdeal in hope of conducting fair business.
Is Snapdeal spoiling entire e-commerce industry? Or vendors are getting impatient with false promises?
Police Complaint Against Snapdeal Over Rs 67.5 Lakhs
In this recent case, Bengaluru-based apparel seller Rajdhani Cotton has lodged a complaint with Commissioner of Police, Delhi, against Jasper Infotech, which is the parent organisation of Snapdeal. A complaint has also been filed against Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal, who are the company’s co-founders.
Rajat Gupta, one of the promoters of Rajdhani Cotton has alleged that Snapdeal is refusing to pay the pending due of Rs 67.5 lakh as their book of accounts is not showing those transactions.
Left with no other option, Rajdhani Cotton had to approach the police.
Vendor’s Association Supports Rajdhani Cotton
All India Vendor Association, which is a lobby group of online vendors, have extended their support to Rajat Gupta and his case against Snapdeal.
Their spokesperson said, “Due to Snapdeal’s inefficient systems, sellers are forced to take the legal remedy. We approached the commerce ministry with specific inputs on the Snapdeal issue. However, they failed to take any steps to bring accountability to the system”
As per the Association, over 1.5 core vendors have dues worth Rs 1.5 crore against Snapdeal, and the cases are dragging on.
In March this year, another association of online vendors claimed that Rs 300 crore is stuck with Snapdeal. Corporate Ministry had to jump in to diffuse the tension.
In yet another case of cheating pertaining to event sponsorship, the court had summoned Snapdeal founders and 11 others, causing much embarrassment to the company.
Snapdeal Denies All Allegations
Meanwhile, Snapdeal has again denied all charges. They are taking shelter under the contract, and have claimed that their ‘dispute redressal’ system in underway.
A spokesperson from Snapdeal said, “All seller dues are paid/settled as per their payment cycle. Amounts/issues under occasional disputes are settled through a dispute resolution process which operates in accordance with the laws of the land. “
Due to the severe cash crunch, Snapdeal has already fired most of their employees and even vacated their plush Gurgaon office.
Missed payments are not uncommon in business dealing. But what matters is trust and belief in partners, and associates, based on which business transactions are carried on.
It is Snapdeal’s failure to have destroyed this trust, which is prompting such police complaints against them.
If you are an online vendor, then do let us know your experience with Snapdeal, by commenting right here.