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Approaching A Consumer Court
Approaching A Consumer Court
approaching a
Consumer Court
Akosha Consumer Guidebooks
399.00
Table of Contents
Introduction
14
19
20
Chapter 6: Conclusion
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About Akosha
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Introduction
Consumer forums are unofficially known as consumer courts. We
have used these terms interchangeably.
Dont confuse online complaint forums with the actual real world
consumer courts. These forums trick you into believing that you are
filing the complaint with a government sanctioned consumer court.
The main point is that consumer forums are a consumers last resort, and
should be approached after every other source and method of redressal
is exhausted.
Send a notice
You should send a letter to the company informing that if they are
unable to resolve your complaint, youd be forced to approach a
consumer forum. It is ideal to specify a time limit within which youd like
them to settle your grievance (usually 15 days is considered adequate).
Dont threaten or abuse and state what you would like them to do
exactly. Everybody loves compensation but be practical in India, no
one will any real compensation.
6. Submit the complaint and court fee to the receiving clerk in the
consumer court who will give you a date for the admission hearing,
and a complaint reference number.
7. At the admission hearing, you will be informed whether your
case is fit for acceptance or not. If accepted, you will be given a
date for the next hearing of your case.
8. The court will send a notice with a copy of your complaint to the
opposite party, stating that the opposite party must reply within 30
days, and asking them to attend the hearing.
9. The hearings will continue till the matter is decided.
10. The courts final order will be sent to all the parties by
registered post.
It is important to attend the hearings, else the matter may be decided
ex-parte, meaning in the absence of the party, which could leave you at
a big disadvantage.
Fee
compensation claimed
payable
District Forum
(1)
Up to Rs. 1 lakh
Rs.100
(2)
Rs.200
(3)
Rs.400
(4)
Rs.500
State Commission
(5)
Rs.2000
(6)
Rs.4000
National Commission
(7)
Rs.5000
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The Consumer Protection Rules, 1987 provides for two ways of payment
of court fees but the situation in the forums across the country varies in
terms of practice.
Different consumer courts might insist on different ways of paying of
consumer court fee. It is advisable to call the court and check which
method they prefer to avoid repeated trips, delays and frustration.
For example, the Central Delhi District Forum insists that customers pay
only using a Postal Order (so if you went in there with a DD, there is a
high chance youd be disappointed even though the law gives you the
right to pay using a DD).
Some courts may even allow the payment of court fees in form of
a challan available at the forum or even cash. So, before preparing a
draft or postal order, do check on the payments accepted by the
consumer forum where you are filing your complaint.
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Stage Checklist
I
DRAFTING OF COMPLAINT
II
Copies
of Invoice/delivery challan/letters/documents
referred to or relied upon in your complaint
12
13
14
claimed is
District Forum
State Commission
Rs.20,00,000-Rs.1,00,00,000.
National Commission
Exceeds Rs.1,00,00,000
15
17
18
19
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Virtual Jurisdiction
With e-commerce in India growing annually by over 57 per cent and
expected to touch $8.8 billion by 2016 as per projections by Forrester
Research Inc, a leading global research and advisory firm one should
not be surprised to find the growth rate of complaints also keeping pace.
From our own analysis of e-commerce complaints received on the
Akosha platform, these are growing by 19 per cent quarter on quarter.
Out of the 11,980 complaints received by Akosha for the e-commerce
sector in the January-March 2013 quarter, about 58 per cent related to
deficiency in delivery, while 29 per cent had to do with refunds, the
balance 13 per cent concerning other issues.
The bulk of these were registered by consumers in the metros, with Delhi
topping the list. However, despite the urban tilt, the geographical
distribution of the complaints is diverse enough to validate concerns
regarding the misapplication of the jurisdiction clause.
The Consumer Protection Act, by itself, is not very ambiguous, though. It
clearly lays down that a consumer has to file a complaint in the place
where the company resides or carries on business.
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Alternatively, she/he can also file it in the place where the cause of action
arose, that is, where the issue or grievance arose.
However, cause of action is a complicated legal concept something
that is difficult to understand, or simply inconvenient to grapple with, for
the consumer forum registrars and judges.
In the case of the e-commerce sector, which caters to consumers across
the country irrespective of an online retailers geographical location, this
becomes hugely problematic. A lot of consumers are told by the relevant
registrar or the judges that their complaints cannot be accepted because
the companys office does not lie within the said jurisdiction. That is
quite similar to the police refusing to register an FIR because it falls
outside their jurisdiction.
One practical expedient that some consumers use is to make a local
branch, service centre or even a warehouse (in the case of an ecommerce company) party to the complaint and, then, get it admitted at
the local consumer forum.
When the legislature drafted the jurisdiction clause in the Consumer
Protection Act, they tried to balance the burden on the companies with
that on the consumers.
While it would be unaffordable for a company to represent itself
everywhere thereby justifying the customer having to file the complaint
in the place where it did business the cause of action concept, at the
same time, allowed wriggle room for consumers.
Lost Opportunity
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Chapter 6: Conclusion
While we have tried to address the basics in as much detail as possible,
every consumer complaint is unique and may have issues that need to
be addressed individually.
However, this guide shall give every consumer a fair idea on how to get
started and things that should be kept in mind when planning to file a
complaint with a consumer forum.
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About Akosha
3,50,000+ Complaints
10,00,000+ Updates
1250+ Daily customers
185+Brands
80+ Team
2010 Founded
Address:
E-40/7, Second Floor,
Coraza Technologies Private Limited,
Okhla Industrial Area, Phase 2,
New Delhi - 110020
Landline 011 64643453
www.akosha.com
Design by Radhika Dutt
All rights reserved.
First Edition, September 2013
For the sake of repetition: This book does not constitute legal advice.
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