‘‘Only when you
respect your rights, others will’’
‘Customer
is the King’ is the belief of the businesses prior to the time of sale. This
contention generally loses its ground once a customer pays for the goods or
services as the case may be.
What I had
observed in my professional and personal life (may be I am wrong) that majority
of aggrieved consumers do not take recourse to the courts for enforcement of
their rights and satisfies themselves by cursing the seller. However, this
attitude towards their rights is changing at a fast pace which is a positive
sign.
Those who
choose not to approach a consumer forum have their own reasons. The most
important reasons can be classified as:
1) Lack of knowledge about their rights
or the redressal mechanism;
2) Lack of trust in the redressal
mechanism;
3) Lack of time and/or other resources.
This
Article is primarily meant for consumers who do not approach the forum due to
the lack of knowledge about their rights or the redressal mechanism. The
purpose of this Article is to create awareness amongst the consumers and equip
them with the knowledge of procedural aspects.
Who is a Consumer?
Consumer
means a person who buys the goods for consideration i.e. pays the price of the
goods. The user of the purchased goods such as family members and friends are
also covered.
Similar is
the case with services, for example, if the parents pay for the medical
treatment of their child, then parents as well as child will be considered as a
consumer.
Who is not a Consumer?
Person
buying the goods or hiring the services to be used for commercial purposes are
not covered and thus cannot claim relief under the Consumer Protection Act.
However, courts have given a liberal interpretation to the term ‘Consumer’ so
as to include persons who buy the goods or hire the services to be used for the
purpose of self-employment.
Illustration-
A transport company buys a car to be used for the purpose of carrying
passengers will not be considered a consumer.
A person
buys a car and uses it himself for carrying passengers to earn his livelihood
will be considered as a consumer.
Grounds for Approaching Consumer Forum
- Defect in goods bought;
- Deficiency in services hired;
- Overcharging of Price;
- Unfair Trade Practice or Restrictive Trade Practice
- Offering hazardous goods or service
When and where to file a complaint?
A complaint
before a consumer forum can be filed within a period of two years from
the date on which the cause of action has arisen.
There is a three tier system of forums in the case of
consumer courts viz. at district level, at State Level and at National level. A
complaint has to be filed depending on the amount of claim including
compensation or damages, if any. This is called pecuniary jurisdiction. The
power of various consumer forums is mentioned below:
- District Forum – Upto Rs 20 Lakh
- State Commission – Exceeding Rs 20 Lakh upto Rs 1 Crore
- National Commission – Exceeding Rs 1 Crore
What remedies can a Consumer forum provide?
If the allegation is/are proved by the consumer, the respective
Forum/Commission shall issue an order to the opposite party directing him to do anyone or more of the following:
1) To
remove the defect from the goods in question.
2) To
replace the goods with new goods of similar description which shall be free
from any defect;
3) To
return to the complainant the price, or, as the case may be, the charges paid
by the complainant;
4) To
pay compensation to the consumer;
5) To
discontinue the unfair trade practice or the restrictive trade practice or not
to repeat it;
6) Not
to offer the hazardous goods for sale;
7) To
stop manufacture of hazardous goods and offering hazardous services;
8) To
issue corrective advertisement to neutralize the effect of misleading
advertisement at the cost of the opposite party responsible for issuing such
misleading advertisement.
9) To
provide for adequate costs to parties.
Hope this information is useful to you. For any advice on matters
relating to Consumer Rights, you can e-mail or call at the details given below:
E-mail ID- luckgurpreet@gmail.com
Mobile- 9999823664