Small investors seem to be facing costly delays on IPO applications. Months after issue close, some investors have received neither shares nor refunds, reports CNBC-TV18.

Chintal Patel has a lot on his mind. He has share application receipts in hand, but neither shares in his account nor a full refund in the bank. He received a refund of Rs 1.68 lakh but Rs 15 lakh is outstanding.

"They sent the refund through ECS. Out of 18 applications we submitted, we received refunds on only two applications. We inquired with the bank and we have been waiting for the past three months," laments Patel.

But he is not the only one. Another investor Taranjeet Kaur of Mumbai has had a similar experience.

"I applied for Sobha IPO on November 29 last year and I was not allotted any shares. I did a lot of follow up for the refund of Rs 64,000. We contacted them but they did not respond," says Taranjeet.

Intime Spectrum, the registrar to the issues, says it is processing the refund orders. It says Patel's refund has been delayed because the ECS rejected the deposit and now Intime will send him a cheque.

But Patel and Kaur are not the only aggrieved investors. CNBC TV18 has received complaints from several others struggling for refunds. For many, an IPO might not be the quickest route to a good investment.