How to redress your grievances with SEBI

There will be occasions when you have a complaint against a listed company / intermediary registered with SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India). In the event of such complaint you should first approach the concerned company / intermediary against whom you have a complaint. However, you may not be satisfied with their response. Therefore, you should know whom you should turn to, to get your complaint redressed.

SEBI takes up complaints related to issue and transfer of securities and non-payment of dividend with listed companies. In addition, SEBI also takes up complaints against the various intermediaries registered with it and related issues.

SCORES (Sebi COmplaints REdress System) facilitates you to lodge your complaint online with SEBI and subsequently view its status. SCORES is a centralised online system for lodging and tracking complaints.

How is the complaint processed?

The complaint is examined by SEBI to see if the subject falls under its purview. If it does, SEBI forwards it to the concerned entity with an advice to send a written reply to the investor and file an action-taken report in 30 days.

For registering a complaint, access http://scores.gov.in and click on the ‘complaint registration’ tab under ‘Investor Corner’. Enter your personal details such as name, address, mobile number, etc. On the same page below, select a category among the following options: Listed companies / registrar & travel agents; Brokers / stock exchanges; Depository participants / depository; Mutual funds; other entities and Information to SEBI. Now enter specific details of the complaint in the specific category.

Supporting documents: Supporting documents up to 1 MB can be attached in the PDF format. In case the data to be loaded for each category is more than 1 MB, it can be sent by post to any SEBI office.

Registration number: On filing the complaint, a unique registration number will be generated, which can be used for future communication. An e-mail with the complaint registration number will also be sent to the e-mail ID added in the complaint registration form.

Send reminder: If you want to send a reminder for the lodged complaint, click on ‘Send Reminder’ under ‘Investor Corner’ on the home page. Add details like registration number, reminder details and the security code.

View complaint status: To check your complaint status, click on ‘View Complaint Status’ under ‘Investor Corner’ on the home page. Provide the complaint registration number which was allotted at the time of registration & enter your password. In case of online complaints, your e-mail ID is your password. 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. 

In case of physical complaints sent to SEBI, enter the password sent to you by SEBI in the acknowledgement letter.

Before using SCORES, 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.

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

Read more:

SEBI’s toll free service available for 7 days in a week

How to file a complaint against an insurance company