EESL warns against online ads for cheap LED bulbs

Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), the company making bulbs for the Unnat Jyoti Affordable LEDs for All (UJALA) programme, has warned its customers of fraudulent websites selling 9W LED bulbs.

In a notification to the Press Information Bureau, the company, which is a joint venture public energy services company of the union ministry of power, said that at least two websites were posing as them to sell the LED bulbs.

EESL said the two websites were www.philips-led-at-10rs.in and pbs.twimg.com/media/CoGI9txWIAAybuk.jpg,  and they were responsible for misleading customers with promises of LED bulbs for as low as Re1.

'Philips LED at Rs 10', promises bulbs starting from Re1 to Rs13 for 1 Watt to 13 Watt bulbs. For this, the website asks for your name, mobile number, state of residence, and number of LED bulbs required.

The website then asks the potential customers to share the website information with at least eight persons before proceeding to payment.

"EESL completely disowns and disclaims any relation with the link / URL and the contents provided by these link / URL. EESL or Prime Minister's office does not endorse any of the claims or contents of such advertisements and these are an attempt to malign the name of EESL and Prime Minister's office. Further EESL will be informing the Police about such fraudulent statements that are being made in the public and lodge an FIR," the PIB notice said.

"We are keeping a tab on all the malpractices that can harm the good efforts of EESL to provide quality products to our consumers. We are taking legal routes to address such fraudulent issues and will continuously alert our consumers of such messages and advertisements through various media. We urge the consumers to purchase LED bulbs under the UJALA scheme only in the designated distribution centres," Saurabh Kumar, managing director EESL, said.