In the era of current consumerism, people are competing to buy any essential non-essential thing. Perhaps this is the advantage of some vendors and companies are picking up. These people many times sell goods of poor quality, sell broken products, take a higher price than the fixed price, and sometimes the quantity of the item is also reduced.
This kind of cheating keeps on living with a consumer. Therefore, the Government has created Consumer Protection Act, 1986 to safeguard the interests of consumers.
Although we have some laws that are somewhat following that protect consumers:
- Indian Contract Act, 1872
- Sales Act objects 1936
- Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006
- Weight and Measures Act, 1976
- Dangerous Drugs Act, 1952
- Agricultural Products Act, 1937
- Indian Standards Institute (ISI) Act, 1952 etc.
But in these laws, civil suits are filed which is very expensive and time consuming and the final decision of the case takes years.
Therefore, in order to solve the problem of delay in decision making, the government has created the Consumer Protection Act, 1986, which provides a solution to the problem of consumers in less time.
The specialty of this act is that only one consumer can file a case in it. So now the question arises, who is the consumer?
According to the Consumer Protection Act, 1986, who is the consumer?
- Consumer is a person who has bought something by paying a rupee.
- A person who has not purchased any of the goods himself, but uses the item with the permission of the buyer; She is also a consumer.
- The person who buys goods with the intention of selling it is not a consumer.
- The person buying goods for self-employment is a consumer.
Than the ones listed above following are also covered in the consumer category:
- Be the beneficiary of person that goods or services
- legal heirs of deceased consumers
- Consumer's spouse
- Relative of the consumer
Can a consumer register himself a complaint?
Yes, for this the consumer does not have to make a lawyer. The consumer can file his own case. Even a common man who has not studied law can also register his own complaint.
How to enter consumer complaint
It is a duty of a consumer to formally inform that before registering the complaint, the opposition (vendor or company) should make the matter known to the matter through a notice about the loss of its item or service. If the seller or company is ready to fix their product or service then the case is closed here. But even if the seller or the company does not solve the problem of the consumer even after giving notice, then the consumer court can be knocked out in such a situation.
Any case can be raised on these three levels (District Forum or State Commission or National Commission) on the basis of its financial qualification.
Is the process of registering cases in the consumer court as follows:
Step 1.
Identify the jurisdiction of the first forum where the complaint should be lodged. There are two ways to determine this: -
- In what area of ??the item or service provider's shop or center is it?
- How much is the price of the item or service.
The economic jurisdiction of Consumer Forums is as follows
Forum=District forum
Money=Case up to Rs 20 lakhs
Forum=State commission
Money=Case ranging from 20 to 1 million
Forum=National commission
Money=Case of more than 10 million
Phase 2: According to your case, you have to pay a fixed fee along with your complaint before District Forum, State Commission and National Commission.
Step 3: After this you will have to prepare a draft of your complaint which will tell you why you want to file the case.
Step 4: In this complaint, tell how the matter comes to the jurisdiction of this forum or forum.
Step 5: At the end of the complaint letter, you must sign your signature. If you want to file a complaint through another person, then you have to put an authorization letter along with the complaint letter.
Step 6: Do not forget to mention the complainant's name, address, subject of complaint, opposition party or party names, product details, address, damage claim, etc.
Step 7: Copies of all documents supporting your charges; Such as photocopies of warranty, warranty and guaranteed documents of purchased goods, a copy of the written complaint made to the company or trader and also request a copy of the notice sent to the trader for requesting improvement of the product.
Step 8: In addition to indemnification in your complaint, you can claim full cost of refund, litigation costs and interest, breakdown of product and cost of repairs. Do not forget to write all these expenses as separate items and demand only according to the category of Total Compensation Complaint Forum.
Step 9: The complaint period in the Act is up to 2 years from the occurrence of the incident, if there is a delay in filing the complaint, please explain the delay which can be accepted by the Tribunal.
Step 10: You also need to file an affidavit with the complaint, the facts stated in the complaint are correct.
Step 11: The complainant can present a complaint without any counsel, by a person or by his own authorized representative. The complaint can be sent by registered post. At least 5 copies of the complaint have to be filed in the forum. Apart from this, you have to submit additional copies for the opposite side.
Nowadays in the time of consumerism, in order to fulfill the adage of "Consumer King," the government has created the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 so that the interests of the consumer can be protected.
Hopefully, with the help of the steps given above, you will be able to protect your rights by raising voice against any exploitation or fraud done by a shopkeeper or company.