Consumer Forums

SC lowers criterion for appointment as president, member of consumer forums

The Supreme Court Friday said lawyers and professionals with 10 years of experience will be eligible for appointment as President and member of the state consumer commission and district forums. The apex court said the Central government and the state governments concerned have to come with an amendment in the Consumer Protection (Qualification for appointment, method of recruitment, procedure of appointment, term of office, resignation and removal of President and Members of State Commission and District Commission) Rules, 2020 to provide for 10 years' experience to become eligible for appointment as President and member of the state commission and district forums instead of 20 years and 15 years respectively. A bench of Justices M R Shah and M M Sundresh, in exercise of powers under Article 142 of the Constitution to do complete justice, directed that till suitable amendments are made, a person with bachelor's degree from a recognised university and having ability, integrity and ..

Statsguru: Six charts show faltering consumer protection in India

While pendency rates in consumer courts are better than the usual courts, an analysis found that one in five of the 2.5 million cases across consumer forums were pending

'Banks not required to inform about rate change in floating plan': NCRDC

NCDRC said that the borrowers have already agreed to such fluctuations while executing loan agreements

Consumer forum fines Amazon for Rs 10,000 for selling knives above MRP

The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum here has fined online trade platform Amazon for selling knives above the maximum retail price. The Forum directed Amazon to pay Rs 10,000 as compensation to the complainant. The complainant approached the Forum saying he had purchased knife-set for Rs 215 after getting a discount of 45 per cent when the actual price listed was Rs 410. The complainant alleged that the knife cost only Rs 191.96 including tax. The Forum found that Amazon had violated the Consumer Protection Act and gave a fake advertisement. It said the online platform violated the provisions of the Act and was liable to pay compensation for unfair trade practice. V S Manu Lal, R Bindu and K M Anto of the Forum directed the online platform to repay the consumer excess amount of Rs 23.04 and nine per cent interest apart from the compensation.

Govt mulls way of protecting online consumers from 'reward'-based reviews

The BIS wants it make it obvious when reviews are based on rewards and easier to verify if the reviewer is 'real'

Forced to pay service charge? Here's how you can lodge a complaint

If a restaurant is forcing customers to pay extra money in the name of service charges, customers can lodge a complaint with the CCPA

Mobile phone users can approach consumer forum for service deficiency: SC

The Supreme Court has held that an individual facing any deficiency in telecom services can approach consumer forums directly with his complaint against the company. The fact that the remedy of arbitration under the Indian Telegraph Act of 1885 is of a statutory nature would not oust the jurisdiction of the consumer forum in such matters, a bench of Justices DY Chandrachud, Surya Kant and Vikram Nath said. "It would be open to a consumer to opt for the remedy of arbitration, but there is no compulsion in law to do so and it would be open to a consumer to seek recourse to the remedies which are provided under the (Consumer Protection) Act of 1986, now replaced by the Act of 2019, the bench said. The top court passed the verdict on an appeal of Vodafone by which the company had challenged an order of National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) by which it had affirmed the view of SCDRC that Section 7B of the Act of 1885 would not be applicable to a private service provider

SC says it's displeased with vacancies at consumer dispute commissions

The Supreme Court on Friday expressed displeasure over delay in appointments in the Districts and State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission

Snapdeal partners with Sama for online dispute resolution, sees success

In the pilot, which looked at a few hundred cases, Snapdeal and Sama helped settle a 100, with an overall success rate of 50 per cent

Due diligence failure facilitated fraud

In a case of fraud, the National Commission found that a postal department had handed over a cheque meant for a couple to another person without an authorisation letter

Builder can't sell flat until case is resolved

A builder in Punjab delayed issuing the allotment letter but was quick to cancel the booking after issuing the demand letter

Claim payable if bariatric surgery is medical necessity

In cases where the bariatric surgery is performed for cosmetic purposes, the insurer is not liable to pay

Insurer is liable to pay for loss due to defective packaging

The Commission observed that the policy excluded defects in packaging from inception. But the package had been checked by the insurer's representatives and found to be in order

Where does magazine jurisdiction lie?

Both the District Forum and State Commission dismissed the case claiming they did not have territorial jurisdiction. The National Commission set aside their orders

Letter to BS: Firms should focus more on customer satisfaction than profits

In spite of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, the consumer's awareness about the quality of product or service remains low.

Fine only for frivolous complaints

The State Commission pointed out that costs could be imposed only if the complaint was frivolous and vexatious. But DeSouza did have a genuine grievance

Compensation for the missing promo song

Yash Raj Films was found guilty of deceiving viewers through a promotional song for Shah Rukh Khan's 'Fan' which was not included in the film

Hospital indicted for levying surcharge

The hospital contested the case contending that there was no deficiency in service

Why approaching consumer forum is a better option than Rera at times

Many states are yet to implement RERA fully whereas every district has a consumer forum

Consumer forums aren't for everyone

Goods and services provided without any consideration are out of ambit of Consumer Protection Act; investors, too, cannot approach a forum