Marked ‘delivered’, but not received: Domestic LPG cylinder users allege ghost deliveries, OTP lapses block fresh refills

Pune: Complaints of "ghost" domestic LPG cylinder deliveries, where consumers either receive delivery messages without booking a cylinder or do not receive the booked cylinder despite it being marked delivered, are mounting across various cities and rural locations, leaving households unable to place fresh bookings due to mandatory waiting periods amid the ongoing conflict-prompted fuel crisis.Working professional Rahul Bansal from Mohali in Punjab told TOI that he had booked a cylinder recently and paid Rs922 online for it, but never received the delivery. "After around 15 days, I got a message saying my LPG cylinder had been delivered, but it wasn't," he said. Bansal added that despite repeated attempts, neither the agency nor the company responded. "I kept calling the agency, no one picked up. I even emailed the oil company, but there was no response," he said, alleging that the cylinders may be diverted elsewhere. "I'm not 100% sure, but people say what happens is your cylinder is given to someone else in the black market, and you are made to wait," he alleged.The consumer said the situation has disrupted daily life as he cannot place another booking until later in April due to system restrictions. "The next booking is not possible till April 20–25. We are managing with an induction stove," he said. Despite OTP-based delivery being mandatory, he had not shared any OTP with anyone and still received a "delivered" message, he flagged.A resident from Pimpri Chinchwad, who requested anonymity, reported a similar experience. He said he booked a cylinder on March 21, but received a delivery confirmation message on March 26 without actually receiving it. "I didn't receive any OTP. Usually, they send an OTP before delivery, but this time I directly got a message saying it was delivered," he said.When he approached the agency, he was told others were facing similar issues. "They said several customers have the same problem. They asked me to contact the delivery person, but even after a week, there has been no response," he said.Like others, he too is unable to make a fresh booking. "It shows I can book only after April 20. They are enforcing a one-month gap, not 25 days," he claimed.The issue has serious implications as LPG booking systems enforce a gap of around 25 days in urban areas and up to 45 days in rural regions between refills. Once a cylinder is marked as delivered, even incorrectly, consumers are locked out of the system during this period.An official from an oil marketing company (OMC) said such complaints had been reported earlier but were largely resolved after OTP-based delivery was made mandatory. However, consumers told TOI that in several recent cases, they either did not receive any OTP or suspected that cylinders were delivered elsewhere without OTP verification.Vinay Kumar Gond, a resident of Deoria, Uttar Pradesh, said, "We booked the cylinder on March 8, and by the night of March 9, we got a message that it had been delivered. We ignored it at first because I had exams and some medical issues, so we couldn't go to the agency. When we finally went after a few days, they told us the booking had expired and asked us to book again. But we are not able to book again because of the gap — here it is 45 days since it's a rural area.""There is no gas at home now. We have run out completely. We are somehow managing by using firewood since it's a village," he said, adding, "I also did not share any OTP with anyone. Still, we got a delivery message."