Business LawConsumer Protection Act, 1986

Presented By:

Aaruni Shukla(090102001)Akansha Awasthi(090102003)Akash Sharma(090102004)Amriteshwar Pratap Singh(090102007)Ankit Baliyan(090102008)Ankit Gupta(090102009)Vishal Kumar(090102087)Abhishek Pachisia(090102801)

Presented To:

Mrs. Shalini Mittal Group 1 (I.T.)

To know what this act is about, we should first know

•Who is a CONSUMER?

•What are GOODS?

•What are SERVICES?

Consumer Awareness:

It  is about making the consumer aware of his/her rights.

Ankit Gupta

The Act enshrines all the consumer(s) rights which are internationally accepted.

The Consumer Protection Act, 1986

The Act was introduced to give the rules and regulations regarding consumer welfare the form of a law.

Ankit Gupta

Right to Safety

Right to Information

Right to Choose

Right to be Heard

Right to Seek Redressal

Right to Consumer Education

RIGHTS OF A CONSUMER

Ankit Gupta

The Consumer Protection Act 1986 is a social welfare legislation

The main object of the legislature in the enactment of this act is:

To provide for the better protection of the interests of the consumer

To make provisions for establishment of consumer councils and other authorities for settlement of consumer disputes and matter.

This Act of 1986, applies to all goods and services, excluding goods for resale or for commercial purpose and services rendered free of charge and under a contract for personal service.

Akansha Awasthi

Quasi judicial machinery:

Observe the principles of natural justice

Give reliefs

Impose penalties

The main object of these bodies is to provide speedy and simple redressal to consumer disputes.

Akansha Awasthi

Complaint: 

No stamp or court fee is needed.

A complaint can be hand written or typed.

Admitted if it is filed within two years from the date on which the cause of action has arisen.

According to Three Tier System it is decided in which commission or forum the hearing of case will be.

Aaruni Shukla

Jurisdiction under Consumer Protection Act 1986

Consumer Courts:  A three-tier-system

A. National Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission: claims above Rs. 20 lakh.

B. Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission or State Commission: Claims from Rs 5 to 20 lakh.

C. Consumer Dispute Redressal Forum or District Forum: Claims upto Rs 5 Lakh

Aaruni Shukla

When can a consumer can launch a complain or What should be the nature of complaint?

a) Any unfair trade practice adopted by the trader

b) Defective goods

c) Deficiency in service

d) Excess price charged by the trader

e) Unlawful goods sale, which is hazardous to life and safety when used.

Abhishek Pachisia

Format of complaint:

Complaint are addressed to ICRPC (by post / courier) duly signed.

State date wise facts in the following format: (complaints by e-mail not accepted) Page one: Name, Address, Residence telephone, E-mail address (Mandatory). Membership fee of Rs. 300 or transaction number if paid online. Page two: Full name, registered address of the Opposite Parties, telephone no’s, fax number and e-mail address. 

Abhishek Pachisia

Page three onwards: Complaint with date wise facts, refer to the page numbers of the attached documents where ever required.

RELIEF: On the last page, mention what relief that you are looking for against Enclose: Only one set of Xerox copies of supporting documents. (Which are disposed off and the documents after discarded 6 months).

Enclose: One year membership subscription of Rs. 300 by draft in favour of "ICRPC" payable at "Mumbai”. Online payment: Send a request e-mail for online payment procedure to payment@consumergrievance.com.

Abhishek Pachisia

Class actions

CPA Section 2 (1) (b) - filing of a complaint by a consumer, any voluntary consumer

associationRegistered under companies Act 1956 or under

any other law.In case of death of a consumer , his legal

representative may ,make a complaint.

Penalty under Section 27 CPAA trader or the complainant fails to comply with an order made by the relevant consumer forum is liable for punishment(s):

Imprisonment- 1 month to 3 Yrs.Fine – Rs.2000\- to Rs.10,000\-

Vishal Kumar

What can be the nature of relief granted to a consumer?

a) Repair of defective goods.b) Replacement of defective goods.c) Refund of the price paid  for the defective goods or

service.d) Removal of deficiency in service.e) Refund of extra money charged.f) Withdrawal of  goods hazardous to life and safety.g) Compensation for the loss or injury suffered by the

consumer due to negligence of the opposite party.h) Adequate cost of filing and pursuing the complaint

o In 90 days complaint should be decided from issuing date.

o 150 days in case of sample testing.o Time limit can be extended due to practical

problems.Vishal Kumar

The salient features of the Act are:

It covers all the sectors whether private, public, and cooperative or any person.

It enshrines the rights of consumers.

The Act also takes care of establishment of Consumer Protection Councils.

The Act envisages a three-tier quasi-judicial machinery.

Ankit Baliyan

Recent

Cases

Reebok dealer ordered to pay compensation (Reebok Dealer vs Harpreet Kanwar )July 13,2009

CHANDIGARH: Consumer Court has ordered a Reebok shoe dealer to pay Rs 5, 000 as compensation to Harpreet Kanwar for not entertaining her request to change her shoes, which were of smaller size even after a long wait of eight months, she claimed.

It is notable that Harpreet, a residence of Sector 44, purchased one pair of shoes of particular design and size UK 9 from Reebok Outlet on July 7 in 2008 but when she opened the shoe box, the pair of shoes which she had purchased was not found therein and instead a wrong size of pair of shoes. 

This girl reported this to the manager of the outlet, who asked her to visit the outlet on July 22 to exchange it. The complainant had visited the showroom a number of times to exchange the shoes but he failed to do the same and every time took an excuse of non-availability of stock. Moreover, he also did not issue any exchange slip.

Amriteshwar Pratap Singh

When the dealer delayed the matter for about eight months, the complainant filed a complaint against him in Consumer Court on March 6 this year. This is admitted by the dealer that the complainant had visited his premises three to four times but she could not be given the exact pair due to the unavailability of the stock. However, she was also requested to get back the money of Rs 1,797, the price of the shoe pair, which she refused flatly. 

It is also claimed that the complainant had purchased the shoes for her morning walks and physical exercise to keep her physically fit but due to the careless delay of the showroom manager, she could not do so as a result her weight increased and her health deteriorated, which caused her great mentally and physically harassment. 

After hearing the both sides of the argument, the  Consumer Court directed the trader to refund the amount of Rs1,794, the price of the shoes and also pay to the complainant a sum of Rs5,000 as compensation within 30 days of receipt of a copy of the order, failing which the entire amount will carry interest at the rate of 12 per cent per annum since the date of filing of the case. The dealer would also be liable to pay the litigation cost of Rs 1,100.

Amriteshwar Pratap Singh

CHANDIGARH: 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.

School gets rap for retaining feeTNN, Nov 29, 2010, 12.50am IST

Akash Sharama

 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, 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. 

Akash Sharama

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.

Akash Sharama

Group 1 (I.T.)