Consumer Complaint

Contents  hide 

1 Everything you need to know about filing a Consumer Complaint

2 Who can file a complaint?

3 Consumer Association-

4 File a complaint against?

5 Other important points to consider

5.1 Contents of the Complaint:

5.2 Limitation for filing Complaint/Appeal:

5.3 Court Fees:

6 How to File a Consumer Complaint?

7 REFERENCE

7.1 Related

Everything you need to know about filing a Consumer Complaint

Consumer Complaint – The Consumer Protection Act, 2019 has created three-tier quasi-judicial machinery at the National, State, and District levels to deal with the consumer disputes and to provide a dispute resolution mechanism to the consumers.

A person can file a complaint in National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission- National Commission if the value exceeds 10 Crores.  To file a complaint in State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commissions- State Commission the value should exceed 1 Crore to 10 Crores). For District Consumer, Disputes Redressal Forums– District Commission the value should be up to Rs. 1 Crore.

Who can file a complaint?

A complaint under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 can be fill by the following people:

• The consumer-
  • to whom such goods are sold or delivered or agreed to be sold or delivered or such service is provided or agreed to be provided; or
  • who alleges unfair trade practice in respect of such goods or service.

Consumer Association-

Any voluntary consumer association registered under any law for the time being in force, whether the consumer is part of that association or not.

• Central Government, Central Authority or State Government depending upon the facts of the case
• One or more consumers, where there are numerous consumers having the same interest- For this the consumers need to obtain the permission of the District Commission on behalf of, or for the benefit of, all consumers so interested.
• Legal heir/Legal representative- In case of death of the consumer Legal heir/Legal representative can file the complaint.
• Parent/Legal guardian- In case the consumer is a minor i.e. below 18 years of age, parent or legal guardian can file a complaint.

File a complaint against?

A complaint under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 can be filed against the following people:

• Trader or service provider
• Product manufacturer
• Product seller

Other important points to consider

“Some other points that need to be taken into consideration while filing a complaint are:

Contents of the Complaint: 

The complaint should contain the following information

• Name and complete details of the complainant and the opposite party.
• Date and time of purchase of goods/ availing of services.
• Facts of the case are necessary for establishing the cause of action.
• Particulars of dispute: Defect in goods/ deficiency in service.
• Relief that has been sought by the complainant.
• Copies of the documents supporting the contention of the complainant. (Invoice, Warranty receipt, etc)

Limitation for filing Complaint/Appeal: 

The Complaint should be file before the District Commission within the period of 2 years from the date of the dispute. An appeal before the State Commission is to be filed within a period of 45 days from the date of order of District Commission. And an appeal to the National Commission should be made within a period of 30 days from the date of receipt of the order from the lower forum.

Court Fees: 

The Court fees have to pay in the form of Demand Draft, in respect of the Registrar of respective Commissions. In respect of the National Commission, the appellant has to make the Demand Draft of Rupees 5,000/-.”[1]

How to File a Consumer Complaint?

• A Consumer Complaint is to make to the District Collector, the Commissioner of the regional office, or the Central Authority, it can make in a written form or through electronic means.
• The consumer can approach the District Commission, State Commission, or National Commission whenever his/her rights violated.
• Complainant also has an option to file an appeal in the higher forum if he/she is not satisfied with the decision of the Consumer court.
• Before filing the complaint, the complainant should find out the territorial and pecuniary jurisdiction of the complaint.
• For filing a complaint in District Commission the claims for goods and services should not exceed Rs 1 Crore. For the State commission, the value of goods and services should be between Rs. 1 Crore to 10 Crore, and for National Commission, the value of goods and services should exceed Rs 10 Crore,
• The consumer should then serve a legal notice to the opposite party. Only after serving the notice consumer can file a complaint in the relevant redressal commission.
• The method and procedure for filing a consumer complaint are similar for District Commission, State Commissions, and National Commissions.[2]

Complaints can be file from the place of residence through e-filling portals (unlike earlier, where the place of seller or place of the purchase to consider as the jurisdiction within which the complaint has to be file;)  and Hearings and cross-examination can be done using video conferencing as a mean.

A consumer before filing a complaint should take into consideration the above-mentioned points and should follow the procedure as per the law in order to succeed in his/her case.

REFERENCE

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[1] Priyanka Ajjannawar, Procedure to file a complaint under Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act, 2019, MONDAQ (Oct. 05, 2020, 4:40 PM),  https://www.mondaq.com/india/dodd-frank-consumer-protection-act/973520/procedure-to-file-complaint-under-consumer-protection-amendment-act-2019

[2] Ayushi Mishra, Consumer Court Complaint under Consumer Protection Act, 2019, TAXGURU (Oct. 08, 2020, 10:50 AM),  https://taxguru.in/corporate-law/consumer-court-complaint-consumer-protection-act-2019.html