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Author- Associate Aswini Ramesh

Not all sellers are reliable in today’s market, a few sellers if not all, rely on unfair trade practices to sell fake or inferior quality goods to their customers in order to save costs and increase their profit. The Consumer Protection Act, 1986 was enacted to protect the interests of the consumers and also to provide legal remedies to consumers who feel that they have been forced upon with defective and faulty goods/ services.  

Who Can File A Consumer Complaint? 

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As per section 2 (1) (d) of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 , A consumer is a person who buys goods or services for consideration which may be partly or fully paid or partly or fully promised or any other person who may consume goods with the approval of buyer and not for manufacturing or resale purpose. 

In simple words following are the people who can file a complaint:

1. Anyone who paid fully or partially for the goods or service   

2. Anyone who received goods and service for free by the manufacturer or any other person

Apart from the consumer the following people and entities can file a complaint

1. A voluntary consumer association

2. Central or State Government 

3. In case of death  of the consumer his or her legal heirs or representatives can file a complaint

4. Numerous consumers having the same interest in goods or services

In the case of a consumer complaint , the consumer can directly file a complaint without seeking any help from a lawyer.

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Time Period Of Filing A Consumer Complaint?

As per Sec 24-A of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986, the time period for filing a complaint by a consumer from the date of violation of their right is 2 years. 

When Can A Consumer Complaint Be Filed?

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A consumer complaint can be raised in the following cases :

1. If the goods bought are defective

2. If the goods or services are sold in an unlawful manner 

3. If the service suffers from any deficiency

4. If the seller or service provider follows restrictive trade practices

5. If the seller or service provider follows unfair trade practice, for instance giving false guarantee. 

Consumer Courts In India:

Consumer courts in India are divided into 3 tiers and are stated below

1. District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum :

The value of goods or services and the compensation amount should not exceed Rs.20 lakhs

2. State Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum :

The value of goods or services and the compensation amount is more than Rs. 20 lakhs but is less than Rs. 1 crore, as well as complaints against the orders of any district forum within the state.

3. National Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum : 

The value of the goods or services and the compensation amount is more than Rs. 1 crore , as well as complaints against the orders of a state commission.

How To File A Complaint In Consumer Court 

Step-1 

Prior to filing a case in the consumer court, the consumer should send a written notice to the seller or the service provider through a lawyer and the notice must clearly state the complaint of the consumer and the action required. Incase the seller fails to respond to the notice then the consumer may lodge a complaint with the competent consumercourt in India.

Step-2 

A consumer can directly file a complaint by himself or herself . The consumer complaint must include the following details 

• Introduction to the parties ie., name and all their details

• Date and purchase of goods or services availed and the amount paid for them

• Details of the dispute ie., defect the goods, unfair trade practices etc

• Proof of notice sent the seller or the service provider and their response to that notice

• Particulars of relief sought from the seller

Step-3

The consumer complaint should also have the following supporting documents attached 

• Any receipt, delivery note, coupon, bill etc

• An affidavit stating that the contents of the complaint are correct, complete and accurate 

• An index of submitted documents

• A receipt of payment of court fees

Step-4

All the above stated documents should be prepared in minimum 5 sets of original and submitted to the competent court. In addition to that one set of documents should be submitted for each provider named in the complaint. The documents can be filed with the competent court or can be sent via registered post to the competent court

 Step-5

The complainant must also pay the consumer court fees depending upon the total claim. The court fees can be paid by Demand Draft (DD) in favor of the respective court. The court feed in accordance to the total claim are as below.

How To File A Consumer Complaint Online 

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Consumer Online Resource and Empowerment Centre is a government run portal. It is a complaint and grievance redressal system run consumer co-ordination council supported by the Department of Consumer Affairs, Government Of India.To file a complaint online, the consumer as to follow the steps below

• The consumer should head to  https://consumerhelpline.gov.in , to file a complaint online the consumer should register on the website. The consumer should click on ‘new user’ and then register

• The consumer should type in details like name, address, phone number, email id and username and password have to be created 

• After registering head to log-in and type in the username and password. Then click on ‘File Complaint’ to start filing the complaint 

• Now select he complaint type ie., regarding goods or service provider etc..

• A page containing the registration form will open up. The consumer has to fill up the form and with the necessary details of the grievance and click ‘submit’ to submit the complaint.Once submitted complaints are assigned an electronically generated number. This can be used to track the status of the complaint until it is resolved. 

According to the website consumers can expect to get a resolution in about 3 months time.

 Also multiple complaints can be filed using the same log in credentials and can be tracked online. Complaints can be filed in both hindi and english.

Conclusion: 

Malpractices happening in the market should be brought to the notice of the consumers in order to create awareness. This article is an attempt to create awareness to consumers on how to get a remedy incase of violation of their rights as consumers. 

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