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:
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
|
Court with Jurisdiction
|
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
|
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.com
or 9873658554
