I have divided the procedure in various stages for sake of brevity .
Stage 0: Decide To File
The most common emotions when you have been duped, ignored, insulted or cheated by a company from whom you bought a product is that of helplessness, anger or revenge. You may also hear yourself threatening the company about going to consumer court.
Stage 1: Collect Necessary Documentation
Before a consumer complaint can be filed against a company, you need to ensure that you have all the supporting documentation that you need. These may include the following documents related to the purchase of the product from the company:
· An invoice or bill for the purchase (Preferably with an invoice number and Tax ID of the company)
· Warranty card for products and SLA for services (This is optional)
· Proof of payment such as copy of the cheque or credit card statement (This is optional)
· Any other communication or record from the company that can show negligence, insensitivity or lack of attention from the company (Telephone call logs made to the company with long wait times, letters from company expressing uncaring attitude etc.)
· The registered address of the company. You should be able to find this either in the above documentation, website of the company or from third party sources such as directories.
Stage 2: Send a Notice to the Company
In this step, you will be required to “officially” notify the company of your grievance. Be detailed about what it is that you are complaining about and what you expect the company to do. Be fair in your demands to the company. For example, if a product you purchased for Rs.10000/- is broken due to no fault of yours, ask to either replace the product or refund Rs.10000/- + a small additional sum for any inconveniences caused; do not place unreasonable demands for Rs.50000/- or so :. You are also entitled to ask for interest on any amount paid, if you think you are eligible for it.
Also, when it comes to making demands, be sure to give the company more than one option. For example, company policy might prevent them from giving you a full refund, but they may be open to giving you a replacement product that is superior to the one you purchased. In other words, the more options you give the company, the better your chances are to get your grievance addressed without going to court. When you think of the hassles of going to court, being flexible here will ultimately help you out a lot!
Your notice can be printed in English on a regular A4 size page, signed by you and sent by post to the registered address of the company. Be sure to use either
registered post with acknowledgement due or speed post with tracking feature. This is important as you will need legal proof that the company has received your notice.In your notice, you will need to also give the company some time to redress your grievance. This time should be specified as after the receipt of the notice. Again, be fair when providing time to the company. Anywhere between 15 to 45 days should be adequate depending on the gravity of the matter.
You should also be sure to mention, in a non-threatening manner, your intention to pursue the matter legally should the company fail to address your problem in the given time. The statement could be merely something like this; “You are hereby given fifteen (15) days from the receipt of this letter, to grant and process this demand, failing which, I will be forced to pursue other legal measures including filing a petition with the State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (or other competent court or forum with jurisdiction) on this matter”
Important points to take care of in the notice include the following:
· Providing clarity to the company on the nature of your grievance
· Providing clarity to the company on how you expect the company to solve your complaint
· Providing the time frame in which you expect the company to rectify your grievance
· Providing a polite and stern notification that you intent to pursue the matter legally
With luck on your side, the company will respond to your notice with willingness to resolve the issue. I wish that all the consumer complaints in this country get solved in this manner, but then the chances are that you will have to read on to the next step.
Stage 3: Get Legal Representation
The biggest advantage or hiring a lawyer is that you do not have to read the remaining of this boring article. The advocate will know what to do from here on.
The biggest disadvantage of hiring a lawyer is that good ones don’t come free.
Put simply, if your case is complicated, you have less time to spare and the compensation you seek is large, hire one.
Stage 4: Prepare Your Complaint
As you prepare your complaint, here are a few questions that may come to your mind.
1. How much time do I have?
According to the Indian Consumer Protection Act of 1986, clause 24A(i) a consumer court shall not admit a complaint unless it is filed within two years from the date on which the cause of action has arisen’.
2. What format should I use to prepare a complaint?
It is too much legal jargon to explain the nitty gritty details of preparing a complaint to file in the court. So i will just point you to a few good web pages that have this information already provided. You will need to prepare a complaint and an affidavit as per these suggestions. You need not file the complaint in a stamp paper. It can be filed in a regular legal size sheet or as suggested by your advocate.
o ICRPC
3. Which court should I file the complaint in?
Depending on convenience, you can file the complaint in the area you purchased the product from or the area the company did the action to grievance you or any area where the company does business in. Depending on the amount of compensation you claim, you must file the complaint at appropriate courts. If the total amount (of cost and compensation) in your complaint is below Rs. 20 Lakhs, you must file the complaint with the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum. If it is between Rs. 20 Lakhs and Rs. 1 Crore, then you must file the complaint with the State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission. If it is more than Rs. 1 Crore, then you must file with the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission.
4. How to find the address of the court?
Here are a few web pages that give the address of the district forums.
Stage 5: File your Complaint
There are several actions involved in this step as listed below:
1. Along with your complaint and the affidavit, attach a list of documents you are submitting as part of the complaint file. You will need to attach copies of the evidentiary documents. Ensure that you attach only photocopies of the evidentiary documents and not the original. You may also need to sign and attach a Vakalatnama, which is similar to a power of attorney authorizing your lawyer to represent you in court on this case, should you decide to hire a lawyer.
2. You will need to approach a Notary and get your complaint file and the affidavit notarized. The Notary who, unless known to you, will require you to show a proof of identification such as your driver’s license, PAN card, passport, ration card or election ID. You will then need to the sign the complaint and the affidavit in front of the Notary after which he/she will notarize the document with his/her Notary seal and signature. Notarization is a process by which the consumer court can ascertain that you are the person you claim you are and that you have actually signed the complaint.
3. You will then be required to make a specific number of copies of the complaint. In most cases, you will need to make a total of five copies including three for the court, one for the court to send to the company and one for yourself. I recommend that you visit the court in which you intent to file the complaint and find out exactly how many copies are needed.
4. The next action is preparing the court fee payment. Most courts accept Demand Drafts (DD) through a Nationalized Bank duly crossed, drawn in favor of the person as shown in the table as the mode of payment. The recent fee structure is also shown in the following table. I highly recommend that you visit the court to validate these amounts and to verify the mode of payment.
|
Amount of Compensation Sought
|
Court Fee to be Paid
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Court with Jurisdiction
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Demand Draft drawn in the Favor of
|
|
Up to Rs. 1 Lakh
|
Rs. 100/-
|
District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum
|
President, Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum, (District Name)
|
|
Rs. 1 Lakh to Rs. 5 Lakhs
|
Rs. 200/-
|
District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum
|
President, Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum, (District Name)
|
|
Rs. 5 Lakhs to Rs. 10 Lakhs
|
Rs. 400/-
|
District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum
|
President, Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum, (District Name)
|
|
Rs. 10 Lakhs to Rs. 20 Lakhs
|
Rs. 500/-
|
District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum
|
President, Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum, (District Name)
|
|
Rs. 20 Lakhs to Rs. 50 Lakhs
|
Rs. 2000/-
|
State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission
|
Registrar, State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, (State Name)
|
|
Rs. 50 Lakhs to Rs. 1 Crore
|
Rs. 4000/-
|
State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission
|
Registrar, State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, (State Name)
|
|
Above Rs. 1 Crore
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Rs. 5000/-
|
National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission
|
Registrar, National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission
|
5. The last and the most tedious action in this step is to go to the court, locate the receiving clerk, deposit your complaint file and make the court fee payment. Be sure to obtain a receipt of the payment. At this time, the clerk will also give the date a judge will first hear your case (admission hearing) and a complaint reference number.
6. The court will then send the complaint to the company and ask them to respond to the claim and hear the claim and decide.
Good luck!!
The author is a lawyer practicing in the Delhi High Court and other courts of Delhi and can be contacted at lawyer.soniasaini@gmail.comor 9873658554