The Hindu Business Line : The right to protection

IT IS that time of the year when the festive mood starts to set in. People are busy shopping or planning vacation. It is that time when gifts are exchanged between family members and friends. The last thing anyone would expect at such a time is a fly in the ointment.

For example, you buy a box of expensive sweets and you find out that it is spoilt or you buy new clothes and you realise that they are defective or you have confirmed plane tickets to visit your friends or family but at the airport you are informed that the plane is full and you are left to make alternative arrangements.

So what next? It is here that one may discover the silver lining in the form of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 as amended by the Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act, 1993 ("the Act").

How does the Act help the consumers?

Besides checking the unfair trade practices in goods and services, the Act attempts to save the consumers from the litigation in civil courts, which becomes expensive and protracted.

The consumer is not required to engage a lawyer to present his or her case under the Act. For speedy redress of the consumer disputes, the Act provides the following time limit:

The complaint shall be decided within three months from the date of service of notice on the opposite party where the complaint does not require testing or analysis of the commodity and within five where testing or analysis of the commodity is required;

The appeal shall be disposed of, as far as possible, within 90 days.

How to prefer a complaint under the Act?

Within two years from the date when the cause of action arose and after giving sufficient notice to the opposite party, a consumer can file a complaint in writing before the District Forum (where the value of goods or services and compensation does not exceed Rs 20 lakh); the State Commission (Rs 20 lakh to Rs 1 crore); and the National Commission (exceeding Rs 1 crore).

These quasi-judicial bodies will observe the principles of natural justice and are empowered to give relief such as removal of the defect from goods or deficiency in service and to award, wherever necessary, appropriate compensation to the consumers.

With effect from March 5, 2004, the Centre amended the Consumer Protection Rules 1987 to levy a court fee for filing consumer cases at the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum. A court fee of Rs 100 to a maximum of Rs 500 is now applicable, depending upon the amount of compensation claimed.

The order of the District Forum, the State Commission or the National Commission, as the case may be, shall be enforced as if it were a decree made by a civil court in a suit.

The Act provides for imprisonment for a term not less than one month and extending to three years or with fine which shall not be less than Rs 2,000 and extending up to Rs 10,000, or with both as penalty for failure to comply with the orders.

Should the consumer be dissatisfied with the order of the Forum or the Commission, as the case may be, he has the option of preferring a review or an appeal before the appropriate forum.

So go ahead and enjoy the festive season and cast your burden on the Act to take care of all your problems and grievances pertaining to defective goods or deficiency in services rendered. Although, preferring a complaint under the Act is no longer free, the `juice is still worth the squeeze'.

(The author is an Advocate with Kochhar & Co., and can be at shadaan@chennai.kochhar.com)