Complaints can be made with a district forum, state commission, or national commission, all of which are empowered by the act to protect consumer rights. This article provides a simplified version of the steps that need to be followed when approaching your local consumer protection authority.
Resolving consumer grievances
For simple settlement of consumer disputes, district, state, and national redressal commissions have been established at the district, state, and national levels. The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) is the highest body that resolves consumer disputes in Delhi at its headquarters in Janpath Bhawan, A Wing, 5th Floor, Janpath.
The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum should be contacted if your claim does not exceed Rs 20 lakh. Every district holds this forum, which is presided over by a District Judge or another person of authority.
Contact the State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, which is chaired by a High Court Judge, if the claim is worth more than Rs 20 lakh. There are three district as well as state authorities, one of whom is a woman.
How to complain as a consumer?
Complaints can be submitted easily. You just need to fill in the information on plain paper. The petition can be filed in person, or by registered or regular mail, once it has been notarized. Serve the opposing party with a legal or personal notice before you file the complaint. Each opposing party needs to receive an additional copy of the complaint. Follow the steps below to submit a consumer complaint:
- By sending a notice to the other party, one can specify a deadline for dispute resolution.
- The following information is required in complaints.
- Sign the complaint affidavit with a notary public.
- Do notarization copies.
- Pay the court fee with a nationalized bank draft.
- The receptionist at the consumer court will provide you with an admission hearing date and a reference number as soon as your complaint is received.
- At the admission hearing, you will find out if your case will be allowed or not. After your application has been reviewed, you will be given a date when your next hearing will take place.
- A copy of the complaint and a notice will be sent to the opposing party, inviting them to appear at the hearing and requesting a response within 30 days.
- Hearings are scheduled to continue until a decision is made.
- All parties will receive a copy of the court order by registered mail.
Complaint process
Two years after the incident must be filed a complaint. The consumer forum/commission will only entertain complaints after they have been adequately justified. Alternatively, you can contact the national consumer helpline at 1800-11-4000. See this guide for more details.
Additionally, you can hold businesses and dealers accountable under additional statutes besides the Consumer Protection Act of 1986. As per the FSSAI Act of 2006, you may file a complaint with a District Food Safety Officer if you receive food poisoning from a packaged product or a restaurant meal. It is possible to seek assistance from ASCI (Advertising Standards Council of India)
What’s protected by Consumer Protection Act
Unfair business practices
Maximizing profits is the ultimate goal of any professional. Nevertheless, unfair pricing, cheating customers, and misbehavior are still common in the market. During construction, there are many cases of unfair trade practices, even negligently ignoring the public. Additionally, a contractor was liable for uncovered manholes under unfair trade practices. If you feel unfair trade practices were employed in your transaction, you can file a complaint with the appropriate authority.
Read more about: how to file a case in consumer court?
Fraudulent food
In addition to being an unfair consumer practice, food mixed with other substances is also an offense under the Indian Penal Code. Examples include salt with sawdust and ghee with dalada. Medicine adulteration is also unfair practice. A threat to both consumerism and life is adulteration. As such, consumer forums are strict about this.
Weigh and Measure
Customers often get cheated by regular general stores by weighing material less than it should be weighed. In reality, the product will weigh around 800 grams, not 1Kg as the scale shows. Mistakes like these are a threat to consumers.
Irregular Information
Technology has made everything available online. An issue with online purchasing is the products often mislead the consumer and provide incorrect information. Online malpractices are also included in the consumer protection act and an online consumer complaint can be filed in India. In today’s cyber tech world, consumerism is hugely important and valued.
This law protects consumers from unfair trade practices, such as giving them any warranty or guarantee of performance without any authorization. To protect consumers from unfair trade practices, including giving the public any warranty or guarantee of performance without any formal certification