Last Updated on March 17, 2020 by Legalseva.net
In our day to day lives, every individual becomes a consumer in some way or other. The Consumer Protection Act, 2019 protects the consumers and their rights and interests against traders. For the same purpose of protecting the same, consumer forums have been set up from the district level which hear the cases related to the grievances of the consumers.
Also Read- Consumer Protection Act Faq
- Who is a consumer?
A consumer has been defined as any person who buys or purchases any property or goods for a value of money for his personal use and not for resale. The essential factor for any person to be considered as a consumer and to be able to claim compensation under this Act, the bought property or good should be for personal use and not for any resale or to obtain profit from the same. The bought goods or services should be for a consideration. It also includes all the transactions including online as well as offline transactions. The definition of a consumer under this Act does not include those persons who buy any good for the purpose of resale or any other commercial purpose.
Also Read- RERA or Consumer Forum
- Jurisdiction
A consumer may file a case in any of the forums established under this Act provided that the case falls under the jurisdiction of the said court. The lowest forum is the District Consumer Dispute Redressal Forum, then is the State Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission, then is the National consumer Disputed Redressal Commission and the highest court is the Supreme Court.
For a case to be filed in any of the said forums, it should fall under the pecuniary jurisdictional authority of the forum. The District Forum has the pecuniary jurisdiction of an amount that does not exceed 20 Lakh Rupees. The State forum’s jurisdiction is between 20 Lakh to 1 crore Rupees. The National Forum has a jurisdiction of the cases that exceed 1 crore Rupees.
Along with the pecuniary jurisdiction, the territorial jurisdiction is also to be considered. The case may be filed in the court where the opposite party runs its business, resides or works, or where the complainant resides, works or carries on its business, or the place where any online transaction took place.
Also Read- Real Estate
- Filing procedure.
Before filing any case in the consumer forums, the consumer needs to ensure that he is eligible to file a case and falls under the category of a consumer. once confirmed, a simple procedure that has been provided by the Act needs to be followed.
- The jurisdictional authority of the court, both territorial as well as pecuniary, have to be considered.
- A court fee has to be paid depending on the forum in which the complaint is being filed and the amount for which redressal is being asked. The demand draft is made to the President of the concerned district Forum. In case of state and National commission, the demand draft is made to the registrar of the concerned forum.
- A plaint is filed which should contain the name, address, and description of both the parties, i.e., the complainant and the opposite party. It can be filed in person or through an agent after it has notarized by the post. It should also contain the facts of the case that establish a clear cause of action. The signature of the complainant or his representative should also be present. In case of a representative, a letter of authorization should also be attached.
- The bills and receipts should also be attached along with the notice to the opposite party to rectify the good or service.
- The statement of jurisdiction and statement of compensation that is sought should also be mentioned.
- The limitation period to file a case is for 2 years after which the reason for the delay also need to be mentioned.
- An affidavit claiming all facts to be true should also be filed along with the plaint.
Also Read- Real Estate Legal Matter
- Court fees
The court fee varies depending upon the court in which the plaint is filed and the amount for which the redressal is sought.
- District Consumer Forum
For cases upto the value to 1 lakh there is no court fee for people with the Antyodaya Anna Yojana Card whereas for others the court fee is Rs 100.
For cases upto Rs 5 lakhs, the court fee is Rs. 200.
For case upto Rs 10 lakhs the court fee is Rs 400.
For cases upto Rs 20 lakhs the court fee is Rs 500.
- State Consumer Forum
The court fee for cases whose amount lies within Rs 20 lakhs to 50 lakhs, the court fees is Rs 2,000.
For cases whose amount lies upto Rs 1 crore the court fee is Rs. 4,000.
- National Consumer Forum
The court fee for all the cases above Rs 1 crore is Rs. 5,000.
Also Read- Legal Notice
- Nature of complaints
The nature of complaints that can be filed are various.
- The misrepresentation in the sale or advertising of new automobiles.
- Any billing disputes in services and their complaints like water or electricity supply, internet, satellite, etc.
- Any non-payment of the won prizes and lotteries.
- Any complaint related to online shopping like failure to deliver on time, non-delivery, etc.
- Misleading offers on phones and the charges paid on toll free numbers.
- Overcharges, unexpected interest rate changes, etc. in credit cards.
- Not providing customer care after promising the same.
Also Read- Free Legal Advice
- RERA or Consumer Forum
RERA and Consumer Forum are the two different ways provided to the consumers or purchasers of any service or property to claim their rights.
- Under RERA, you can file a case in the state body where the wrong took place whereas under the Consumer Act, the complaint needs to be filed in the court where both, the pecuniary as well as territorial jurisdiction lies.
- A complaint in CDRC can be filed on plain paper whereas a complaint in RERA needs to be filed in a predefines style.
- Under RERA, any builder who has done any wrong can be detained for a term of upto 3 years whereas the CDRC has no such authority.
- If a completion certificate has been certified and later any other issue or imperfection comes up in the property then RERA cannot take any action and the buyer has to go to the consumer forum.
- Unless a complaint is not filed, the CDRC cannot take up any action whereas it is not same for RERA.
- Only an enlisted customer can file a complaint in CDRC which is not the case in RERA.
- The CDRC can only impose a fine over the defaulter and cannot sent him to any correction facility whereas RERA can impose fine along with prison time.
Also Read- Consumer
The Parliament replaced the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 with the Consumer Protection (Amendment) Bill which was passed on 06.08.2019. the President gave his assent for the same on 09.08.2019. this Bill has been passed to provide timely and effective settlement of disputes and other related consumer matters.
The new Bill has brought many changes. It has increased the ambit of the definition of Consumer and now includes the consumers involved in online transactions as well. It also provides more protection to the consumers as compared to the earlier Act. The Act has also increased the scope of the definition of ‘unfair trade practices.’
The Act has also included the concept of ‘Unfair contracts.’ It includes all those contracts made that are not in the favour of the consumer. This Bill prevents the contractors to take unreasonably high amounts of security from the consumers, imposing any penalty on the consumer which is disproportionate with the actual loss incurred, among many other changes brought for the benefit of the consumers.
The most significant change brought in by the Act is the introduction of the CCPA or the Central Consumer Protection Authority for the protection of the consumers. They can impose penalties on false advertisers. The have been given powers related to inquiry, investigation and taking action against the violators.
Also Read- State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission
The consumer protection laws in the country have been laid down in keeping in mind the best interests of the consumers and also to protect their rights against the producers. The important factor in the same being that the consumers are aware of their rights and also ask for redressal in case they are violated.
For case specific advice, one may contact best/top consumer court lawyer advocate in Chandigarh Panchkula Mohali. This Post is written by Sukriti Jaswal.
More on 99888-17966.
