Consumer Rights: How to File a Complaint

Very often, the average Indian consumer is cheated, insulted or duped while buying goods and services, sometimes blatantly and other times subtly. To protect consumers from being duped or exploited, several consumer redressal courts have been established to reinforce protection of consumer rights.

Consumer Rights: Redressal

By redressal, we mean that if you believe you have been duped, cheated, or falsely persuaded into buying a product that is of substandard or deficient quality, you can seek compensation from the consumer court. In instances where you have complaints about incorrect billing on your cell phone or telephone number or credit card bill, you can make your complaint first to the consumer helpline and if no action is taken thereafter, you can report it either to a quasi-judicial authority such as an Ombudsman or file your complaint in the consumer court.

The right to redressal also means that you, as an aggrieved consumer, have the right to be heard and assured that consumer interests will be upheld in an appropriate forum as established by the laws in force. This means that a wronged consumer can file a consumer complaint with such a court to seek compensation against sale of inferior or hazardous goods or services.

Consumer Rights: How to Approach Consumer Dispute Redressal Agencies in India

It is not enough to know about your consumer rights. You must know the procedure to seek redressal as well.

A consumer complaint is most commonly filed with a district consumer dispute agency. The maximum compensation that can be claimed in a case filed under a district agency is Rs.20 lakhs.

Common corrective actions enforced on the defaulter by a district consumer forum are:

• Correcting deficiencies or repairing defects in the product for free
• Replacing the product with a superior model
• Issuing a full refund of the cost price
• Paying compensation for damages caused by using the product or service
• Withdrawing the sale of the defective or hazardous product altogether
• Issuing corrective advertisements for earlier misrepresentations

If a consumer is dissatisfied with a district consumer court’s verdict, s/he may file a fresh complaint with a State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission within 30 days. The commission State considers complains seeking compensation between Rs.20 lakhs and 1 crore.

If a consumer continues to be discontented with the ruling, s/he may make an appeal in the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission within 30 days of obtaining the State commission’s verdict. The national commission considers claims over Rs1 crore. Finally, a consumer may move up a complaint to the Supreme Court. This is, however, a rarity.

Checklist for Filing a Complaint to Enforce Consumer Rights

The first thing to bear in mind when contemplating to fight for your consumer rights is to organize all necessary documentation to prove the seller’s liability.

This includes:

• A bill or invoice of purchase
• Proof of payment, such as copy of credit card statement
• The warranty card of the product
• Copies of any communication with the company proving its negligence, such as indifferent response letters

Thereafter, send a notice to the seller, stating your grievance and what you expect as redressal. Give the seller adequate time to fathom and analyze the nature of your complaint, typically between 15 and 45 days. If this notice is appropriately drafted and communicated, claiming a fair compensation, you may be able to settle the dispute outside the court.

However, if the seller refuses to pay up, you may have to hire legal representation and move your complaint to an appropriate consumer court.