The Commerce Ministry on Monday started refunding Tk 59 crore to the customers of Qcoom, an e-commerce company, which got stuck at the payment gateway. Among 6,721 Qcoom customers who did not receive their ordered products despite full payment in advance, 20 customers officially got their money back. Senior Commerce Secretary Tapan Kanti Ghosh inaugurated the refunding drive at the conference room of the Commerce Ministry. Tapan Kanti Ghosh said 20 customers received Tk 40,02,413. He said they decided to provide a unique ID number for each e-commerce company to get registered after a meeting with several ministries. "Hopefully, we’ll be able to start it in the next 15 days." Read: Stop taking extra fares on public transport, HC asks BRTA He said, "The most important thing was that the customer neither got their money back nor received the products, they wanted the money back. I wanted the opinion of the Law Ministry about those companies against whom cases have been filed.”

E-commerce platform Qcoom and their payment gateway Foster Corporation on Monday jointly submitted a list of 6,621 transactions  worth Tk 59.05 crore that they can refund. The list was jointly signed by the two companies and sent to the Commerce Ministry with a one page application form. The information is mentioned in the application form. The list of customers’ names is approximately 500 pages, sources of the ministry said. The application, signed on a white paper, does not use the company pads by Qcoom’s legal adviser Abul Kalam Azad and Foster Corporation’s senior manager Al Beruni. They did not mention any contact or even e-mail address. The application was addressed to AHM Safiquzzaman, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Commerce. READ: Qcoom offers to refund Tk 59 crore to customers They sent the list as per the decision of an emergency meeting held at the Ministry of Commerce on December 28 to return the money of Qcoom customers stuck in the Foster Payment Gateway. The meeting was attended by representatives of the Ministry of Law, Criminal Investigation Department (CID), Bangladesh Bank, Qcoom and Foster. Sources said Tk398 crore of Qcoom was stuck at Foster Payment Gateway, of which purchase orders for about half the money have not been delivered to the customers. The Commerce Ministry asked them to find a way to refund customers if there were no legal complications. Safiquzzaman told UNB that for the time being, it is possible to refund Tk 59.5 crore as per the partial list of the customers. “Bangladesh Bank will take action in this regard as soon as possible. The two companies have been given time till next Sunday to give a complete list,” he said. Qcoom started its journey in February 2020. Like Evaly they were selling products at unfeasible discounts. Qcoom advertised the sale of motorcycles at low prices in various offers called 'Victory Hour', 'Independence Hour', 'Big Billion'. The company also promised to deliver the products to the customer within 2 to 15 days with advance payment.