Grievance Policy(Prepaid Card)

Hitch Zone ("the Company" or "Hitch Zone") is a 'Company' incorporated under the 'Companies Act, 1956' and has its registered office in Chennai. The Reserve Bank of India ("RBI") has allowed the Company to issue Prepaid Payment Instruments ("PPI") in accordance with the RBI's Master Directions on PPIs ("PPI Master Directions"). The PPI Master Directions require the Company to develop and publicize a Board-approved 'Customer Grievance Redressal policy' to protect the customer's interests. Furthermore, the PPI Master Directions and related Guidelines require the Company to establish a Nodal Grievance Redressal Officer and include sections on reporting improper PPI transactions and specifying the scope of the customer's liabilities.

Hitch Zone's PPI product centers around the issue of digital wallets, which are marketed under the brand name 'Hitch Zone'. The wallet serves as an alternative to cash-based transactions and is widely employed in numerous sectors of society. The company focuses a high priority on achieving first-time resolution and establishing customer trust and confidence. Furthermore, Hitch Zone provides frequent training to its personnel to guarantee that consumer inquiries and complaints are handled appropriately.

In light of the foregoing, the Company has developed a consolidated Grievance Redressal Policy ("the Policy") with the agreement of its Board of Directors ("Board") for its PPI-based products and services. The company has made this policy available to all users via its mobile app, products, and website.

Some important definitions for the Policy's purposes are as follows:
An individual or organization that uses the PPI wallet-based products and services provided by the company is referred to as a "customer," "complainant," or "user".

An individual or organization that uses the PPI wallet-based products and services provided by the company is referred to as a "customer," "complainant," or "user".

Grievances or complaints may also be filed regarding improper behavior, acts of commission or omission, however comments or explanations will not be regarded as grievances or complaints. The term "Nodal Officer" describes the person designated by the business to handle customer complaints and grievances and make sure they are resolved in line with the escalation matrix, Turn-Around-Time (TAT), and the established procedure.

"Product," "Hitch Zone", "Wallet" or "Card" all refer to the PPI wallet that the company sells under the name "Hitch Zone".

Transactions that debit the customer's account without the customer's authorization are referred to as "unauthorized transactions".

The following are the goals of this policy:

Create a strong Grievance Redressal system that will be applied to all of the company's products; Give the customer access to a multi-channel complaint registration system that is available around-the-clock.

Reiterate that the company's efforts and plans are centered on the consumer, and that protecting customers is of utmost significance.

Give its customers a transparent experience by giving them information about the Nodal Officer, "Turn-Around-Time" (TAT), the escalation matrix, and their accountability for unauthorized transactions.

Make certain that all complaints and grievances are handled smoothly, effectively, and efficiently, to the customer's satisfaction, and within the allotted time frames. Give its clients clear communication about the grievance procedure and the capability to monitor their grievances.

To encourage openness, make all information about the company's grievance redressal procedure publicly available.

Make sure Hitch Zone, its staff, and its people act impartially and in good faith for the benefit of the company's users.

Always treat every customer equally and fairly.

Improve the company's offerings based on frequent client feedback in order to resolve complaints.

To guarantee that customers' questions and complaints are addressed appropriately and to their satisfaction, the company makes sure that all of its employees who are in charge of customer service receive frequent training.

Consent includes approving a transaction debit through any further authentication that Hitch Zone requires, including using security passwords, entering an OTP, or using any other Hitch Zone-provided electronic authentication method.

The company promotes its employees to work in a way that enables it to provide a first-time resolution, which in turn increases customer confidence and trust. Both the company's operations and customer communications reflect this.

The business values each and every one of its clients and promises to address their complaints in an honest and open manner. Hitch Zone has developed a thorough grievance redressal procedure in an attempt to give its clients satisfying grievance redressal. Through a multi-channel setup, the company has made sure that its clients may easily file their grievances. To guarantee that a customer receives sufficient appeals, the process also features a 4-step escalation matrix. In order to guarantee timely resolution of complaints, the company has additionally implemented TATs at several points in the procedure.

After receiving a complaint, the company aims to address all grievances within 30 days. Even so, customers may file an appeal with the RBI Ombudsman (under the Reserve Bank – Integrated Ombudsman Scheme, 2021) if they are unhappy with the resolution they received from the company or if their complaint has not been addressed within the allotted 30-day period. By accessing the following link, the complainant can submit their claim on the RBI's "Complaint Management System" (CMS) portal: https://cms.rbi.org.in/cms/indexpage.html#eng

The organization is dedicated to reducing financial crime, specifically to stopping, identifying, looking into, and disclosing fraud. Hitch Zone encourages moral business practices throughout its organizational structure and operates with honesty and integrity. Reducing the risk of fraud and its effects on the business, its reputation, its clients, its staff, and its stakeholders is Hitch Zone's top priority.

The company will work to raise enough awareness and instruct clients on how to use PPIs safely. This will cover password security, making sure pins are kept private, what to do in the event that a card or authentication data is lost or stolen, or if fraud or abuse is discovered, among other things. (Note: the same process described above applies to such grievances.)

The company has established a customer compensation and TAT procedure for unsuccessful Hitch Zone transactions in compliance with the RBI's "Harmonization of Turn Around Time (TAT) and Customer compensation for failed transactions using authorised Payment Systems, 2019".

The following are the specifics of the procedure: (Note: The definition of T in this context differs from that in section 5.3.1. T stands for the transaction's day and calendar date.)

In light of the growing emphasis on financial inclusion and consumer protection, the RBI released guidelines on customers' liability in the event of unauthorized transactions on January 4, 2019, through its Notification titled "Customer Protection – Limiting Liability of Customers in Unauthorized Electronic Payment Transactions in Prepaid Payment Instruments (PPIs) issued by Authorized Non-banks".

Hitch Zone has made technological investments with strong security systems and fraud detection and prevention procedures to guarantee a safe and secure environment for conducting transactions electronically. In addition to the channels listed above in section 5.2, the company offers its customers a 24-hour unauthorised transaction reporting service that includes a dedicated toll-free helpline number, a direct link to report such transactions on their website, mobile app, and other evolving acceptance mode.

Additionally, the time and date of message delivery and receipt of any customer response must be recorded by the company's communication systems used to send alerts and receive customer responses in order to guarantee an accurate assessment of a customer's culpability. Hitch Zone will act right away to stop additional unauthorized payment transactions in the PPI after receiving a customer report of an unauthorized payment activity. The procedure for reporting unauthorized transactions and information about the customer's liability for such transactions are described in the paragraphs that follow.

A customer can report an unauthorized transaction via email at dispute@hitchpayments.com by calling the company's toll-free helpline at +91-8093099750, or by using the direct link on the company's website and mobile app. Anytime, through any method, the customer can report an unauthorized transaction. After then, the company will send the customer a message acknowledging receipt of the complaint and giving them a complaint reference number.

If an unforeseeable circumstance (such as civil unrest, sabotage, lockout, strike, or other labor disturbances, accidents, fires, natural disasters, or other "Acts of God," war, damage to Hitch Zone facilities or its agents, the lack of regular communication channels or all forms of transportation, etc.) beyond Hitch Zone's control prevents it from fulfilling its obligations within the designated service delivery parameters, Hitch Zone will not be responsible for paying customers for delayed credit.

Liability of a consumer is determined by the type of unauthorized transaction and the client's time. This is because there is a greater chance of loss for either the customer or the business the longer the customer waits to report such transactions. The customer's liability is shown below:

Contributory fraud, negligence, or deficiency on the part of Hitch Zone, regardless of whether the customer reports the transaction or not. Third-party breach occurs when the customer tells the company about an unauthorized payment transaction and the deficiency is not with Hitch Zone or the customer but rather elsewhere in the system. In these situations, the customer's obligation for each transaction will be determined by the amount of days that pass between when they receive the transaction message from Hitch Zone and when they notify the company of an unauthorized transaction.

In this case there is no liability for the customer.
Within three days, there is no liability for the customer.

If it happens within four to seven days, a transaction value or Rs 10000 per transaction (whichever is lower).

IIf this happens after seven days, 100 percent liability will be for the customer.

The customer will be responsible for the full loss until they notify Hitch Zone of the unauthorized transaction if the loss results from their carelessness, such as sharing payment information. The company will be responsible for any losses that arise after the unapproved transaction has been reported.

Even in circumstances where the customer is negligent, the company may, at its discretion, choose to absolve the customer of any duty in the event of an unauthorized electronic payment transaction. The days listed above will be counted, with the exception of the day on which Hitch Zone's communication was received.

Regardless of whether an insurance claim is settled or not, Hitch Zone will make every effort to start a notional credit of the transaction amount into a shadow account within ten days of receiving the complaint regarding the unlawful transaction.

Furthermore, Hitch Zone will make an effort to settle the complaint within ninety days of receiving it and will try to determine the customer's liability, if any. Hitch Zone shall pay the customer in line with the liability condition mentioned in the previous section if, after ninety days of receiving the complaint, it is unable to either settle the issue or prove any customer liability.

Hitch Zone will bear the responsibility of demonstrating customer accountability in the event of unauthorized electronic payment transactions.

The Company will keep records of the complaints it has received in accordance with applicable laws. The following is a sample list of such data:

Customer's mobile number.

Type of complaints received. The grievance's status.

The time it took to resolve the complaint, if it was. The amount of time it takes the company to handle complaints at each level of escalation, if any.

A resolution was given, and any necessary compensation was given.

Hitch Zone will make every effort to swiftly alert the RBI to any security breach or disclosure of private customer data. In accordance with Annexure 6 of the PPI Master Directions, the company will also submit the PPI Customer Grievance Report to the RBI on a quarterly basis.

Hitch Zone shall notify the Board or an appropriate Board committee about customer liability situations. Among other things, the reporting will contain the number and volume of cases, the total value involved, and the distribution of these cases among different categories.

The company's monitoring mechanism include routinely reviewing the complaints it receives. The Customer Support team will then examine the criteria and offer suggestions for enhancing and improving the Customer Grievance procedure. Among these parameters will be:

Complaints that were received and resolved outside of the allotted time frame. The quantity and kind of complaints that were forwarded to the digital ombudsman or nodal officer. Any shortcomings in the way the complaints are handled, etc.

At least once a year, or sooner if there are developments that affect the Company's business operations or the regulatory environment, the Company will evaluate the Policy. The Board will authorize any such policy modifications and notify all pertinent departments.

Every quarter, the Board or one of its committees will review any unapproved electronic payment transactions that customers or others report, as well as any action taken in response. It will also assess how well the grievance redressal mechanism is working and take the necessary steps to enhance the processes and systems.