Morbi ceramic players bring defaulters to heel with new move

AHMEDABAD: Plagued by delayed payments and defaults, ceramic industry players in Morbi have begun an initiative – Fight Against Fraud (FAF) – led by the Morbi Ceramic Association. The group collects and share details of erring merchants among their members and blacklists continual defaulters. So far, 400 tile makers have joined the FAF group.
The association has also hired a debt recovery agency and has been able to recover more than Rs 7 crore owed to its members by various dealers and merchants.“Under this initiative, all information about defaulting dealers and merchants is collected and maintained. Software developed by the debt recovery agency makes this information available to our members, so that they can avoid dealing with merchants, who have defaulted on payments,” said K G Kundariya, president, Morbi Ceramic Association. Apart from sharing information, the FAF group, also takes concrete action for recovery of dues and C-Forms, and handles complaints lodged by its members.
“We blacklist merchants, who have delayed payments for long. And, members are alerted about such dealers,” Kundariya added. “We do business across India and the world. Default or delay in payment takes a heavy toll on our business as recovery consumes much resource and efforts,” said Kundariya. “Now, through the software, members can easily check the credibility of persons they are doing business with,” he said.
“Many merchants paid up past dues after FAF was launched. The main intention of this initiative is to safeguard ventures of our members from frauds, and help grow their business,” Kundariya said. The association is now reaching out to ceramic and sanitaryware industry associations in other states for sharing information on defaulters and fraudsters.
“We have collaborated with tiles and sanitaryware associations in Kerala and Punjab to share information of erring customers for our database, so that the interests of entire industry can be protected,” said Kundariya, adding, “We are also in talks with similar associations in Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh. Ceramic industry associations in Madhya Pradesh have agreed to join us.”