Grievance Officer

Punjab Consumer Forum directed ICICI Bank to pay Rs 15000

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The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum, Fatehgarh Sahib in Punjab has directed ICICI Bank Limited to pay Rs 10,000 as mental agony and harassment, Rs 5,000 as litigation charges to Hans and Company, Sirhind.
Hans and Company, Sirhind had filed complaint before the Forum on September 3, 2009 against ICICI Bank Limited. The company counsel Anil Gupta informed that the company entered into a Credit Franchise Agreement(CFA) on December 29, 2006 with the bank for earning his livelihood and after entering into the CFA, the company had established an office at Sirhind after spending around Rs 3 lakh and paid a rent of Rs 6,000 per month till the closure of the local bank branch.
As per the complaint, at the time of executing CFA, the bank obtained a FDR which was matured on January 14, 2008 for the amount of Rs 5 lakh on interest rate of 8 per cent per annum for security purpose through Amanpreet Singh. The bank terminated CFA at its own and closed its business in Fatehgarh Sahib area and now the bank has no right to retain the FDR of Rs 5 lakh taken as security but the bank are not returning the same and harassing the company intentionally which is big deficiency in service on the part of the bank.
During the hearing of the case, the bank agreed that CFA was entered between the company and the bank and the company was required to perform duties and obligations mentioned in the agreement and the company failed to perform his obligations agreed under the CFA. As per the bank, in case of default in the loans sourced by the company, the bank was entitled under the agreement to adjust the amounts payment and due to the bank, against the security deposited by the company with the bank. In the present case, the company was appointed as Credit Franchise and there are 16 cases currently pending which were disbursed by the company to pay their dues and it is repeatedly requested by the bank to fulfill his obligations under the agreement but the company has failed to do so the amount is not refundable.
The Forum observed in judgment that the CFA in clause 16 titled as Termination it is specially written that either party may terminate this agreement by providing two months prior written notice. The ICICI Bank may without any notice terminate this agreement but the conditions laid down in this clause is not violated by the complainant. The bank was required to give prior notice of two months to terminate the agreement. The legal notice was issued on August 7, 2009 by the company to the bank to refund the Rs 5 lakh which was retained by the bank in the shape of FDR which was matured on January 1, 2008 with interest kep as security.
During the hearing of the case, the bank admitted that the FDR with them it and they have paid the amount of interest of Rs 1,49,342 but they failed to give any prior notice to the company before terminating the agreement and neither they have refunded the FDR kept as security.
The Forum accepted the complaint and order the Bank to return the FDR of Rs 5 lakh to the company with 8 per cent interest till its realization deducting the amount of interest already paid the bank.
source: Punjab Newsline

Consumer Forum / Court Dates

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Various Dates in Consumer Forum / Court Proceedings
The consumer forum / court case starts with filing of the complaint with the consumer forum / court along with necessary fees, which is followed by series of Court Dates for various purposes, as follows:

1. Acceptance of Complaint by the Consumer Forum / Court and Issue of notice to the Opposite Party is generally what happens on the first date with the Consumer Forum.

2. On the next court date, the Opposite Party(s) have to file their defence in the form of Reply (also called Written Statment in civil court).

3. The Complainant has an opportunity to file Rejoinder on the next court date (i.e. reply to the written statement can be filed with the consumer forum), in which he can refute the Opposite Party’s defence. This has to be accompanied with evidence under Affidavit.

4. On the fourth court date / hearing, the Opposite Party has to file their evidence under affidavit.

5. Last stage of Case is Arguments, which is to be provided in writing by both the parties and these written arguments most relevant, as they cannot be ignored by the Consumer Forum Members, else you can always go into appeal.

6. Last court date / hearing before the consumer forum is for oral arguments, where both the parties are heard in person or through Advocates.

Other Important points to be considered, while dealing with a matter as a consumer before Consumer Forum / Court:
1. A consumer forum / court case may take approx 12 – 24 months to complete, as mostly dates are provided at a gap of 3-4 months. Though it still depends upon the numbers of cases pending in a consumer court.

2. There may be further delays from either side, for which more time may be granted by the Honorable court to file reply/ rejoinder/ affidavit/ arguments.

3. Sometimes, costs can be imposed, especially upon Opposite Party for delaying the matter, which is minimum of Rs 500, in case of Opposite Party and Rs 100 in case of complainant.

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Consumer Forum / Court Case Limitation Period

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Consumer Forum / Court Case Limitation Period
The consumer case has to be filed within the limitation period, which as been provided as two (2) years of the date of cause of action, under Section 24A of Consumer Protection Act, 1986
24A. LIMITATION PERIOD.
(1) The District Forum, the State Commission or the National Commission shall not admit a complaint unless it is filed within two years from the date on which the cause of action has arisen.
(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), a complaint may be entertained after the period specified in sub-section (1), if the complainant satisfies the District Forum, the State Commission or the National Commission, as the case may be, that he had sufficient cause for not filing the complaint within such period :
Provided that no such complaint shall be entertained unless the National Commission, the State Commission or the District Forum, as the case may be, records its reasons for condoning such delay.
The Limitation further applies in case of appeals to the State Commission against the order of the District Consumer Forum / Court, which is thirty (30) days only.

School gets rap for retaining fee

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Terming the act of KBDAV School, Sector 7, Chandigarh, unjustified in retaining the total fees of a student who had decided not to pursue his studies at the institute, UT district consumer disputes reprisal forum directed it to refund the admission fee after deducting administrative charges and processing charges.
The forum observed, “In our opinion, educational schools or institutions cannot be permitted to behave like business establishments that work with a profit motive. The respondent school is an education institution/school and cannot act like a commercial establishment and there is no justification on the part of the respondent in retaining the substantial fees paid by a student, who decides not to pursue his/her studies in the said school/institution.”
Complainant Ainesh Chandra, who had field an application through his father Arun Chandra, a resident of Nayagaon, alleged that he took admission in Class VI in the school for the session 2010-11 and deposited admission fee of Rs 15,900 on February 17 this year.
He was told that classes would start on April 7. He also appeared in the test for admission at St John?s School, Sector 26, Chandigarh, on February 27, 2010, the result of which was declared on March 25 and he was successful.
After considering his options, he decided to take admission in St John?s School and deposited a fee of Rs 11,135. Thereafter, he surrendered the seat in the respondent school before the start of the classes and sought a refund. He contacted DAV a number of times and on May 12, they handed over a cheque for Rs 3,000 against the deposit of Rs 15,900.
In their written reply, the respondent stated that the deposit of fee was towards admission and tuition fee for three months, which was non-refundable in view of rules mentioned on page 30 of the school diary.
Further, the rules regarding non-refund of fees and other charges were duly displayed on the notice board, which were never challenged by the complainant.
It was pleaded by the respondent that caution money of Rs 3,000 was refunded to the complainant after making deductions according to school rules.
The consumer forum stated that in its view, the respondents could deduct some amount towards processing fee and administrative charges and the balance amount should be refunded.
“Therefore, we are of the view that the respondent was unjustified in its act by retaining the total fees of Rs 15,900 of the complainant. The respondents should have, at the most, deducted a sum of Rs 1,000 only, towards processing fee and administrative charges, which they have incurred at the time of admission of the complainant,” the forum stated.
The forum directed the respondent to refund Rs 11,900 (after deducting Rs 1,000 as service/processing/administrative charges and Rs 3000 which has already been refunded to the complainant) along with litigation costs of Rs 5,500.
Read more: School gets rap for retaining fee – The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chandigarh/School-gets-rap-for-retaining-fee/articleshow/7007065.cms#ixzz16syjAPlI

Consumer complaints must be in Marathi only

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If you are an aggrieved consumer seeking justice, a knowledge of Marathi may prove more crucial than any single other factor in clinching the case. Otherwise, get ready to hire a translator as the case may not even be heard at a consumer forum in the state. In a move that will affect a large number of consumers, the State Consumer Redressal Commission has issued a circular making it mandatory for all complaints at consumer forums to be filed in Marathi.
The circular dated September 16 states, “Since the language of the District Consumer Forum is Marathi, the complaint and reply version are expected to be in Marathi.”
The commission has also issued other directives, besides prescribing a format under which an application has to be filed. The commission said that these instructions have been issued under Section 24-B of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986, to maintain a uniform procedure throughout district forums in Maharashtra.
An official said, “The state commission in its meeting of the administrative committee dated April 23 had approved these instructions. We are merely enforcing the rules framed by the state government which say that the language used in the district forums should be Marathi.”
Other directives issued by the commission may make filing of consumer cases a more tedious affair. For instance, the commission has issued proforma (similar to petition copies filed in the high court) which have to be adhered to when a complaint or an appeal is being filed in the consumer redressal forum.
Previously, even a complaint on the ordinary page was accepted by the forums for adjudicating the matter. However, an official claimed, many complaints were from people who were not serious in pursuing the matter.
Moreover, the directive states that all the documents, supporting or defending the complaint will have to be certified as ‘true copy’ by the advocate representating the consumer. The circular said that this directive is necessary to avoid forgery or presentation of false documents in support of the claim.
The official added, “The Marathi language directive is not applicable at the State Redressal Commission as its judgment can be appealed in the National Consumer Redressal Commission, where the language in use is English.” He added that Marathi language rules is likely to benefit lakhs of the Marathi- speaking community, who may not have a clue what has been written in the complaint filed before the forum in English.
An advocate said, “As of now, district forums are accepting the copy of the complaint in English but on the condition that a translated version will be submitted in the next few days.”
Read more: Consumer complaints must be in Marathi only – The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Consumer-complaints-must-be-in-Marathi-only/articleshow/6647904.cms#ixzz136CFdcCU