Guide to approaching a Consumer Court Akosha Consumer Guidebooks 1
Guide to
approaching a
Consumer Court
Akosha Consumer Guidebooks
39900
1
Table of Contents
Introduction 4
Chapter 1 The basics 5
Chapter 2 How to 7
Chapter 3 The devilish details 14
Chapter 4 A photo tour 19
Chapter 5 The e-commerce problem 20
Chapter 6 Conclusion 24
About Akosha 25
2
About this e-book
We get 1000s of consumer complaints every day
Often a lot of these customers are very angry and want to seek legal help
In several sectors the behavior of the company leaves them with little
choice ndash companies in real estate and insurance sector are notoriously bad
at listening to and resolving complaints
This guide is written for such tormented customers ndash so that they can
understand what it might practically mean to approach the consumer
forum and get their complaint resolved
The actual reality on the ground might be slightly different from that
depicted in this e-book ndash please allow for variations
About this sign
Wersquove included some useful practical tips for you Even if you are
skimming through this e-book do make it a point to read the information
given against this sign
This guidebook does not constitute legal advice
Licensed under Creative Commons
This e-book can be shared freely provided it is attributed to Akosha not used for commercial
purposes and shared as it is
3
Introduction
ldquoConsumer forumsrdquo are unofficially known as ldquoconsumer courtsrdquo We have used these terms interchangeably
Consumer courts are by design supposed to be the easiest and most
accessible courts in the country
The whole idea behind having consumer forums and consumer courts as
separate limbs of the otherwise uniform judiciary is to ensure that
consumer issues are resolved promptly and efficiently without being
trapped by the backlog of regular cases and complicated procedures
Simplicity in procedure is the biggest USP of consumer courts and
consumer forums However in the absence of proper information most
aggrieved consumers are wary of approaching the consumer courts
Through this e-book we shall demystify the working of consumer forums
in the country and answer common questions that concern an average
consumer when he wants to file a complaint with a consumer forum
4
Chapter 1 The basics
This chapter covers some of the basics of approaching the consumer forum Some aspects might vary from one State to another
Can I file my complaint with the consumer court
Anyone who is a consumer can file a complaint with a consumer forum A
consumer is defined by the Consumer Protection Act as anybody who
buys goods or avails services with consent of the seller or the service
provider in return of a consideration
Even if someone has paid only a part of the amount for the goods or
services he can still file a complaint against the seller or service provider
in a consumer court in case of a deficiency
What can I do to avoid going to the consumer court
If you have approached the seller or service provider with a reasonable
solution to your complaint and if such person refuses to resolve your
issue then approaching consumer forums may be a good option
However before approaching the consumer court you may want to
consider the following options which donlsquot involve intervention of
consumer forums or consumer courts
1 Try to approach the customer care cells of the company via
telephone and email both
5
2 Alternatively you can register your complaint on online forums like
Akosha (which escalates your complaint to the company) or tweet
about it on Twitter Several brands are active on online forums and
social media and you might get a prompt response with this
method
Donrsquot confuse online complaint forums with the actual real world
consumer courts These forums trick you into believing that you are filing
the complaint with a government sanctioned consumer court
3 If you have a complaint in a sector which has a ombudsman (like
banking or insurance) or other authorities (like TRAI for telecom
sector) you could first approach such authorities for redressal of the
complaint before approaching a consumer forum It is important to
note that different geographical sectors may have different
Ombudsmen and hence make sure you are addressing the correct
Ombudsman
The main point is that consumer forums are a consumerlsquos last resort and
should be approached after every other source and method of redressal
is exhausted
6
Chapter 2 How to
How long will it take for my complaint to get resolved
The estimate of time for granting relief given by the district consumer
courts is generally between six months to 18 months
The time taken for resolution of a complaint can vary a great deal
depending on
the nature of the case attitude of the companylsquos lawyers
smooth working of the consumer forum (judges have been
appointed etc) existing backlog in that consumer court
quality of documentation produced at the time of filing the case etc
What happens after I file my complaint with the consumer forum
Broadly the lifetime of a consumer complaint while it is being filed and
after it is actually filed with a consumer court can be summarized as
follows
Send a notice
7
You should send a letter to the company informing that if they are unable
to resolve your complaint youlsquod be forced to approach a consumer forum
It is ideal to specify a time limit within which youlsquod like them to settle your
grievance (usually 15 days is considered adequate)
Donrsquot threaten or abuse and state what you would like them to do exactly
Everybody loves compensation but be practical ndash in India no one will
agree to a disproportionate amount
Approach the consumer court
To approach the consumer court you need to take the following steps
1 Identify the correct consumer court to approach
2 Prepare the consumer complaint in the required format (see the
checklist of essentials of a consumer complaint below)
3 Get the complaint affidavit notarized through a notary
4 Make the required number of photocopies after notarizing that
is 1+3 sets of the entire complaint + Number of sets equal to the
number of companies you are complaining against
5 Prepare a bank draft from a nationalized bank to pay court fee
(see the table below for details of court fees)
While all this seems fairly legalistic and scary donrsquot despair ndash you donrsquot
need a lawyer to approach a consumer forum Hundreds of consumers
approach consumer courts themselves or with some assistance from us at
Akosha
8
6 Submit the complaint and court fee to the receiving clerk in the
consumer court who will give you a date for the admission hearing
and a complaint reference number
7 At the admission hearing you will be informed whether your case
is fit for acceptance or not If accepted you will be given a date for
the next hearing of your case
8 The court will send a notice with a copy of your complaint to the
opposite party stating that the opposite party must reply within 30
days and asking them to attend the hearing
9 The hearings will continue till the matter is decided
10 The courtlsquos final order will be sent to all the parties by registered
post
It is important to attend the hearings else the matter may be decided ex-
parte meaning in the absence of the party which could leave you at a
big disadvantage
What is the court fee
At the consumer forum the complainant is required to pay a nominal fee
to the court at the time of admission of a complaint
The court fee is fixed according to the value of goods or services which
form the core of the dispute and the compensation claimed The court fee
is generally nominal and affordable
Rule 9A of the Consumer Protection Rules 1987 provides the following
table setting out the amount of court fees payable in consumer forums
9
Total value of goods or services and the Fee
compensation claimed payable
District Forum
(1) Up to Rs 1 lakh Rs100
(2) Rs 1 lakh ndash up to Rs 5 lakhs Rs200
(3) Above Rs 5 lakhs ndash up to Rs 10 lakhs Rs400
(4) Above Rs 10 lakhs - up to Rs 20 lakhs Rs500
State Commission
(5) Above Rs 20 lakhs - up to Rs 50 lakhs Rs2000
(6) Above Rs 50 lakhs - up to Rs 1 crore Rs4000
National Commission
(7) Above Rs 1 crore Rs5000
How do I pay the court fee
You can pay the court fee by way of
1 a Crossed Demand Draft drawn on a nationalized bank or
2 a Crossed Indian Postal Order
These should be drawn in favour of the President of the District
ForumRegistrar of the State Commissionthe Registrar of the National
Commission (as the case may be) and should be payable at the place
where the District ForumState CommissionNational Commission is
situated (depending on where you have filed your complaint)
10
The Consumer Protection Rules 1987 provides for two ways of payment
of court fees but the situation in the forums across the country varies in
terms of practice
Different consumer courts might insist on different ways of paying of
consumer court fee It is advisable to call the court and check which
method they prefer to avoid repeated trips delays and frustration
For example the Central Delhi District Forum insists that customers pay
only using a Postal Order (so if you went in there with a DD there is a high
chance youlsquod be disappointed ndash even though the law gives you the right
to pay using a DD)
Some courts may even allow the payment of court fees in form of a challan
available at the forum or even cash So before preparing a draft or postal
order do check on the payments accepted by the consumer forum where
you are filing your complaint
What is the format of a consumer complaint to be filed in a consumer court
There is no defined or mandatory format for a consumer complaint ndash this
is to make it easier for a lay person to file a simple complaint without the
(expensive) assistance of a lawyer However there are certain essentials
that should be included in a complaint Below is a checklist of all these
essentials that must be taken care of at various stages of filing a complaint
11
Stage Checklist I DRAFTING OF COMPLAINT
Verify the details of the company such as its legal name address phone no etc
Prepare the statement of DisputeComplaint (this should
contain the facts of the complaint for example details of the
productservice bought details of the deficiency and
correspondence with the seller)
The DefectDeficiency in services should be stated clearly
Check whether your complaint is within 2 years from the
date when the cause of action arose if it is more than 2 years
then prepare a statement explaining why the delay should
be excused
Check the jurisdiction (pecuniaryoriginal) of the forum before which the complaint is to be filed (jurisdiction of the forum has been explained below)
Collect copies of LettersDocumentsCommunications between the partiesinvoices and attach these with your complaint
II DOCUMENTS TO BE ATTACHED ALONG WITH THE PETITION
Copies of Invoicedelivery challanlettersdocuments referred to or relied upon in your complaint
If you have relied on an expertlsquos opinion this should be attached
If you have relied on any technical literature or referred to
any articles etc in your complaint these should be attached
12
Check that the Annexures are page numbered
Check that an Affidavit by the complainant attested by an oath commissioner has been attached
Consumer Complaint should be signed by the complainant and supported
by a notarised attested affidavit with 1+3 sets + Number of Opposite
Parties (with File cover)
While it is true that drafting a complaint is not technical and can be done
by a consumer without professional assistance a professional lawyer or
someone on the team at Akosha may be more adept and efficient at
drafting such a complaint - this may be a good option if you want to save
yourself some hassle and time
Donrsquot be intimidated by the drafting of consumer complaint If you donrsquot have the time seek help
13
Chapter 3 The devilish details
The previous chapter answers some of the basic questions that will arise
when you want to file a complaint at a consumer forum
However there are a few more technical questions that you need to know
about
Where can I file my complaint (the jurisdiction issue)
Jurisdiction basically refers to the scope of the authority of the courts The
Consumer Protection Act provides for a three tiered system of courts
National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission
State Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission
District Consumer Dispute Redressal Forum
National Commission is the apex consumer dispute redressal body The
consumers can approach these forums based on
Territorial Jurisdiction- The consumers can approach the
consumer court located in the place where the companylsquos office is
or where it carries on business or where the ―cause of action arose
Pecuniary Jurisdiction- The consumers have to approach the consumer courts based on the monetary value of their suit which
14
usually refers to the amount involved in dispute This jurisdiction is
decided as follows
Where the value of goods or services and the compensation
Forum claimed is
District Forum Upto Rs 2000000
State Commission Rs2000000-Rs10000000
National Commission Exceeds Rs10000000
The companylsquos head office is in Mumbai but I live in Delhi What can I do
If the company you want to complain against is situated in your city that
would make matters simple ndash you would have to file your complaint at the
District Forum under whom the companylsquos office falls
However a lot of times this is not true For example
Anita a resident of Gurgaon who wanted to file a complaint against
an auto-maker (which is based out of Aurangabad) went at the
District Forum in Gurgaon The people at the District Forum told her
that she would not be able to get the complaint admitted in Gurgaon
unless one of the opposite parties was in Gurgaon Therefore the only
practical option left to her was to also name the local Skoda service
center in Gurgaon as a party to the complaint and got her complaint
admitted in Gurgaon itself
15
What do I do if the company has no branch office
or related entity in my city
Despair not
This is where the second criteria for jurisdiction comes to your rescue
―the cause of action Cause of action simply means the actual event
which has lead to you to having a complaint ie which has given you the
―cause to take legal action (ie file a complaint) against the company
Wherever the ―cause of action wholly or partly arose ndash that arealsquos District
Consumer Forum would have valid jurisdiction
For instance a complainant purchases a flight ticket in Shimla for a
journey which is to start from Delhi to another city In case a
complaint arises the complainant can file a complaint at a consumer
forum in Shimla This is because the ticket was purchased in Shimla
and hence the cause of action arose in Shimla even though the
journey was to commence from Delhi
As an easy rule of thumb the place of occurrence of any of the following
shall be considered the place where cause of action arose
(a) where goods are purchased
(b) where goods are supplied
(c) where services are rendered
(d) where the contract was made
The issue of jurisdiction is fairly complicated and in our experience it is
always better to seek expert advice
Even though the law clearly provides the option for you to file a complaint
where the ldquocause of actionrdquo arose on a practical level sometimes district
consumer forums refuse to admit the complaint if the companyrsquos office is
not within their area You should fight and escalate the matter at the
district forum if this happens
16
What if a complaint is against more than one
parties
If you are filing your complaint against more than one person (or
company) then you can file this complaint in the forum of the place where
ALL the opposite parties (companies) reside or carry on business or have
a branch office or personally work for gain
If all the opposite parties do not reside or carry on business or have a
branch office in the same area then you can file the complaint where ANY
of them reside or carry on business or have a branch office provided
you obtain
permission of the Forum where you intend to file the complaint or
the opposite parties who do not reside or carry on business in the place you intend to file agree to the jurisdiction of this forum
As we have mentioned earlier jurisdiction tends to get complicated for
more reasons than one and hence enlisting professional help is always a
good idea
Do I need to send a notice to the company before
filling a complaint against it
It is not compulsory to send a notice to the company before filing the
complaint with the District Forum There is no statutory requirement for
the same under the Consumer Protection Act In urgent circumstances the
consumers can directly file a complaint in the Consumer Court However
as best practice one should send a notice to the company informing it
about the grievance before filing a formal complaint against the company
17
What is the time period within which a complaint
can be filed in a consumer forum
As per the Consumer Protection Act the District Forum the State
Commission or the National Commission cannot admit a complaint unless
it is filed within two years from the date on which the cause of action has
arisen Otherwise a complaint is barred by limitation and cannot be filed
in a consumer forum
However such a delay can be condoned if the complainant shows that he
had sufficient cause for not filing the complaint within such period Of
course you should file your complaint as promptly as possible once it
becomes clear that all other means of its resolution have been exhausted
Can I appeal against the decision of the consumer
court
In case a complainant is not satisfied with the verdict delivered by a
consumer forum he or she may file an appeal with the State Commission
(if the original verdict was delivered by District Forum) or National
Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission (if the complainant is aggrieved
by a verdict delivered by a State Commission) The appeal must be filed
within 30 days of the receipt of the order In case a complainant is not
satisfied with the verdict of the National Commission he can approach the
Supreme Court for review
In our experience professional advice becomes mandatory for the
consumers if a complaint advances to the appeal stage and it is better to
enlist a lawyer for the same
18
Chapter 4 A photo tour
To get a real flavor of what it is like we sent an intern out to the K G
Marg District Consumer Forum in New Delhi
To read more go to
httpinfoakoshacomconsumer-complaintsconsumer-protectiona-
day-at-the-k-g-marg-new-delhi-district-consumer-forum
19
Chapter 5 The e-
commerce complaints
problem
This chapter first appeared as ldquoMake consumer law e-com-friendlyrdquo
The Hindu Business Line May 7 2013 Wersquove included it in this e-book
to give you a sense of the challenges you might face if you have a problem
against an ecommerce player
Anita (name changed) who lives in Bengaluru had ordered a mobile
phone from online electronics retailer Timtara but it was never
delivered despite the full payment being made
She then filed a complaint at the local consumer forum in Bengaluru
which however refused to admit it Instead she was asked to file it in
Noida Uttar Pradesh where Timtararsquos registered office is located
Anita had to forego the idea not only of filing the complaint (there
was no way she could have gone to Noida for that) but also
recovering the money she had paid to Timtara
The rise and fall of Timtara culminating in the arrest of its founder and
CEO just over a month ago has opened a can of worms as far as the e-
commerce sector is concerned It has even generated a debate on all what
is wrong with this ecosystem
However amidst all this there is one major concern that has been
overlooked mdash the application of the Consumer Protection Act with respect
to e-commerce transactions especially pertaining to the jurisdiction
clause
20
The case illustrated above is just one of the hundreds of complaints
against Timtara that were filed with Akosha alone In all such cases
whenever buyers approached the concerned local consumer forum they
were more often than not told to file their complaint in Noida which is
where Timtaralsquos registered office happened to be located
The story does not differ drastically in cases involving other e-commerce
players either Whenever a consumer faces an issue with an e-commerce
company and wishes to file a complaint at a consumer forum shehe very
often ends up confronting this dilemma of jurisdiction Where to file the
complaint
Virtual Jurisdiction
With e-commerce in India growing annually by over 57 per cent and
expected to touch $88 billion by 2016 mdash as per projections by Forrester
Research Inc a leading global research and advisory firm mdash one should
not be surprised to find the growth rate of complaints also keeping pace
From our own analysis of e-commerce complaints received on the Akosha
platform these are growing by 19 per cent quarter on quarter
Out of the 11980 complaints received by Akosha for the e-commerce
sector in the January-March 2013 quarter about 58 per cent related to
deficiency in delivery while 29 per cent had to do with refunds the
balance 13 per cent concerning other issues
The bulk of these were registered by consumers in the metros with Delhi
topping the list However despite the urban tilt the geographical
distribution of the complaints is diverse enough to validate concerns
regarding the misapplication of the jurisdiction clause
The Consumer Protection Act by itself is not very ambiguous though It
clearly lays down that a consumer has to file a complaint in the place
where the company resides or carries on business
21
Alternatively shehe can also file it in the place where the cause of action
arose that is where the issue or grievance arose
However ―cause of action is a complicated legal concept mdash something
that is difficult to understand or simply inconvenient to grapple with for
the consumer forum registrars and judges
In the case of the e-commerce sector which caters to consumers across
the country irrespective of an online retailerlsquos geographical location this
becomes hugely problematic A lot of consumers are told by the relevant
registrar or the judges that their complaints cannot be accepted because
the companylsquos office does not lie within the said jurisdiction That is quite
similar to the police refusing to register an FIR because it falls outside their
―jurisdiction
One practical expedient that some consumers use is to make a local
branch service centre or even a warehouse (in the case of an e-commerce
company) party to the complaint and then get it admitted at the local
consumer forum
When the legislature drafted the jurisdiction clause in the Consumer
Protection Act they tried to balance the burden on the companies with
that on the consumers
While it would be unaffordable for a company to represent itself
everywhere ndash thereby justifying the customer having to file the complaint
in the place where it did business ndash the ―cause of action concept at the
same time allowed wriggle room for consumers
It is this wriggle room that is now squeezed by non-application of mind
by consumer forums
Lost Opportunity
22
The Consumer Protection Amendment Bill 2011 which was introduced in
the Lok Sabha last December could have proposed an amendment to
Section 11 of the Act that deals with jurisdiction
This would have incorporated a separate jurisdiction clause directed at the
e-commerce sector taking into consideration its unique non-territorial
nature
Such a clause should have clearly laid down that in e-commerce cases a
complaint should be filed where the cause of action arises irrespective of the
physical location of the company concerned This would have been a perfect
even though overly legislative redressal of an issue that is already a major
problem for Indian consumers making online purchases
Unfortunately the Bill has already been tabled and referred to the
Standing Committee ndash and it looks as though e-commerce consumer
hopes have been dashed
Another way out could be to have the National Consumer Disputes
Redressal Commission lay down clear directives in this regard clarifying
that ―cause of action be given precedence when dealing with
jurisdiction issues specific to e-commerce complaints
In the absence of these Indian e-commerce consumers will have little to
look forward to in terms of redressal of their complaints
(The author is founder of wwwakoshacom an online consumer complaints
resolution platform)
23
Chapter 6 Conclusion
While we have tried to address the basics in as much detail as possible
every consumer complaint is unique and may have issues that need to be
addressed individually
However this guide shall give every consumer a fair idea on how to get
started and things that should be kept in mind when planning to file a
complaint with a consumer forum If you have suggestions on improving this e-book please write
to feedbackakoshacom
If you liked this e-book please share copiously
If you have a complaint give us a try ndash just file your complaint on
wwwakoshacom
24
About Akosha
350000+ Complaints
1000000+ Updates
1250+ Daily customers 185+Brands
80+ Team
2010 Founded
Address
E-407 Second Floor Coraza Technologies Private Limited
Okhla Industrial Area Phase 2 New Delhi - 110020
Landline 011 64643453
wwwakoshacom
Design by Radhika Dutt
All rights reserved
First Edition September 2013
For the sake of repetition This book does not constitute legal advice 25
infoakoshacomwwwakoshacominfoakoshacom
Table of Contents
Introduction 4
Chapter 1 The basics 5
Chapter 2 How to 7
Chapter 3 The devilish details 14
Chapter 4 A photo tour 19
Chapter 5 The e-commerce problem 20
Chapter 6 Conclusion 24
About Akosha 25
2
About this e-book
We get 1000s of consumer complaints every day
Often a lot of these customers are very angry and want to seek legal help
In several sectors the behavior of the company leaves them with little
choice ndash companies in real estate and insurance sector are notoriously bad
at listening to and resolving complaints
This guide is written for such tormented customers ndash so that they can
understand what it might practically mean to approach the consumer
forum and get their complaint resolved
The actual reality on the ground might be slightly different from that
depicted in this e-book ndash please allow for variations
About this sign
Wersquove included some useful practical tips for you Even if you are
skimming through this e-book do make it a point to read the information
given against this sign
This guidebook does not constitute legal advice
Licensed under Creative Commons
This e-book can be shared freely provided it is attributed to Akosha not used for commercial
purposes and shared as it is
3
Introduction
ldquoConsumer forumsrdquo are unofficially known as ldquoconsumer courtsrdquo We have used these terms interchangeably
Consumer courts are by design supposed to be the easiest and most
accessible courts in the country
The whole idea behind having consumer forums and consumer courts as
separate limbs of the otherwise uniform judiciary is to ensure that
consumer issues are resolved promptly and efficiently without being
trapped by the backlog of regular cases and complicated procedures
Simplicity in procedure is the biggest USP of consumer courts and
consumer forums However in the absence of proper information most
aggrieved consumers are wary of approaching the consumer courts
Through this e-book we shall demystify the working of consumer forums
in the country and answer common questions that concern an average
consumer when he wants to file a complaint with a consumer forum
4
Chapter 1 The basics
This chapter covers some of the basics of approaching the consumer forum Some aspects might vary from one State to another
Can I file my complaint with the consumer court
Anyone who is a consumer can file a complaint with a consumer forum A
consumer is defined by the Consumer Protection Act as anybody who
buys goods or avails services with consent of the seller or the service
provider in return of a consideration
Even if someone has paid only a part of the amount for the goods or
services he can still file a complaint against the seller or service provider
in a consumer court in case of a deficiency
What can I do to avoid going to the consumer court
If you have approached the seller or service provider with a reasonable
solution to your complaint and if such person refuses to resolve your
issue then approaching consumer forums may be a good option
However before approaching the consumer court you may want to
consider the following options which donlsquot involve intervention of
consumer forums or consumer courts
1 Try to approach the customer care cells of the company via
telephone and email both
5
2 Alternatively you can register your complaint on online forums like
Akosha (which escalates your complaint to the company) or tweet
about it on Twitter Several brands are active on online forums and
social media and you might get a prompt response with this
method
Donrsquot confuse online complaint forums with the actual real world
consumer courts These forums trick you into believing that you are filing
the complaint with a government sanctioned consumer court
3 If you have a complaint in a sector which has a ombudsman (like
banking or insurance) or other authorities (like TRAI for telecom
sector) you could first approach such authorities for redressal of the
complaint before approaching a consumer forum It is important to
note that different geographical sectors may have different
Ombudsmen and hence make sure you are addressing the correct
Ombudsman
The main point is that consumer forums are a consumerlsquos last resort and
should be approached after every other source and method of redressal
is exhausted
6
Chapter 2 How to
How long will it take for my complaint to get resolved
The estimate of time for granting relief given by the district consumer
courts is generally between six months to 18 months
The time taken for resolution of a complaint can vary a great deal
depending on
the nature of the case attitude of the companylsquos lawyers
smooth working of the consumer forum (judges have been
appointed etc) existing backlog in that consumer court
quality of documentation produced at the time of filing the case etc
What happens after I file my complaint with the consumer forum
Broadly the lifetime of a consumer complaint while it is being filed and
after it is actually filed with a consumer court can be summarized as
follows
Send a notice
7
You should send a letter to the company informing that if they are unable
to resolve your complaint youlsquod be forced to approach a consumer forum
It is ideal to specify a time limit within which youlsquod like them to settle your
grievance (usually 15 days is considered adequate)
Donrsquot threaten or abuse and state what you would like them to do exactly
Everybody loves compensation but be practical ndash in India no one will
agree to a disproportionate amount
Approach the consumer court
To approach the consumer court you need to take the following steps
1 Identify the correct consumer court to approach
2 Prepare the consumer complaint in the required format (see the
checklist of essentials of a consumer complaint below)
3 Get the complaint affidavit notarized through a notary
4 Make the required number of photocopies after notarizing that
is 1+3 sets of the entire complaint + Number of sets equal to the
number of companies you are complaining against
5 Prepare a bank draft from a nationalized bank to pay court fee
(see the table below for details of court fees)
While all this seems fairly legalistic and scary donrsquot despair ndash you donrsquot
need a lawyer to approach a consumer forum Hundreds of consumers
approach consumer courts themselves or with some assistance from us at
Akosha
8
6 Submit the complaint and court fee to the receiving clerk in the
consumer court who will give you a date for the admission hearing
and a complaint reference number
7 At the admission hearing you will be informed whether your case
is fit for acceptance or not If accepted you will be given a date for
the next hearing of your case
8 The court will send a notice with a copy of your complaint to the
opposite party stating that the opposite party must reply within 30
days and asking them to attend the hearing
9 The hearings will continue till the matter is decided
10 The courtlsquos final order will be sent to all the parties by registered
post
It is important to attend the hearings else the matter may be decided ex-
parte meaning in the absence of the party which could leave you at a
big disadvantage
What is the court fee
At the consumer forum the complainant is required to pay a nominal fee
to the court at the time of admission of a complaint
The court fee is fixed according to the value of goods or services which
form the core of the dispute and the compensation claimed The court fee
is generally nominal and affordable
Rule 9A of the Consumer Protection Rules 1987 provides the following
table setting out the amount of court fees payable in consumer forums
9
Total value of goods or services and the Fee
compensation claimed payable
District Forum
(1) Up to Rs 1 lakh Rs100
(2) Rs 1 lakh ndash up to Rs 5 lakhs Rs200
(3) Above Rs 5 lakhs ndash up to Rs 10 lakhs Rs400
(4) Above Rs 10 lakhs - up to Rs 20 lakhs Rs500
State Commission
(5) Above Rs 20 lakhs - up to Rs 50 lakhs Rs2000
(6) Above Rs 50 lakhs - up to Rs 1 crore Rs4000
National Commission
(7) Above Rs 1 crore Rs5000
How do I pay the court fee
You can pay the court fee by way of
1 a Crossed Demand Draft drawn on a nationalized bank or
2 a Crossed Indian Postal Order
These should be drawn in favour of the President of the District
ForumRegistrar of the State Commissionthe Registrar of the National
Commission (as the case may be) and should be payable at the place
where the District ForumState CommissionNational Commission is
situated (depending on where you have filed your complaint)
10
The Consumer Protection Rules 1987 provides for two ways of payment
of court fees but the situation in the forums across the country varies in
terms of practice
Different consumer courts might insist on different ways of paying of
consumer court fee It is advisable to call the court and check which
method they prefer to avoid repeated trips delays and frustration
For example the Central Delhi District Forum insists that customers pay
only using a Postal Order (so if you went in there with a DD there is a high
chance youlsquod be disappointed ndash even though the law gives you the right
to pay using a DD)
Some courts may even allow the payment of court fees in form of a challan
available at the forum or even cash So before preparing a draft or postal
order do check on the payments accepted by the consumer forum where
you are filing your complaint
What is the format of a consumer complaint to be filed in a consumer court
There is no defined or mandatory format for a consumer complaint ndash this
is to make it easier for a lay person to file a simple complaint without the
(expensive) assistance of a lawyer However there are certain essentials
that should be included in a complaint Below is a checklist of all these
essentials that must be taken care of at various stages of filing a complaint
11
Stage Checklist I DRAFTING OF COMPLAINT
Verify the details of the company such as its legal name address phone no etc
Prepare the statement of DisputeComplaint (this should
contain the facts of the complaint for example details of the
productservice bought details of the deficiency and
correspondence with the seller)
The DefectDeficiency in services should be stated clearly
Check whether your complaint is within 2 years from the
date when the cause of action arose if it is more than 2 years
then prepare a statement explaining why the delay should
be excused
Check the jurisdiction (pecuniaryoriginal) of the forum before which the complaint is to be filed (jurisdiction of the forum has been explained below)
Collect copies of LettersDocumentsCommunications between the partiesinvoices and attach these with your complaint
II DOCUMENTS TO BE ATTACHED ALONG WITH THE PETITION
Copies of Invoicedelivery challanlettersdocuments referred to or relied upon in your complaint
If you have relied on an expertlsquos opinion this should be attached
If you have relied on any technical literature or referred to
any articles etc in your complaint these should be attached
12
Check that the Annexures are page numbered
Check that an Affidavit by the complainant attested by an oath commissioner has been attached
Consumer Complaint should be signed by the complainant and supported
by a notarised attested affidavit with 1+3 sets + Number of Opposite
Parties (with File cover)
While it is true that drafting a complaint is not technical and can be done
by a consumer without professional assistance a professional lawyer or
someone on the team at Akosha may be more adept and efficient at
drafting such a complaint - this may be a good option if you want to save
yourself some hassle and time
Donrsquot be intimidated by the drafting of consumer complaint If you donrsquot have the time seek help
13
Chapter 3 The devilish details
The previous chapter answers some of the basic questions that will arise
when you want to file a complaint at a consumer forum
However there are a few more technical questions that you need to know
about
Where can I file my complaint (the jurisdiction issue)
Jurisdiction basically refers to the scope of the authority of the courts The
Consumer Protection Act provides for a three tiered system of courts
National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission
State Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission
District Consumer Dispute Redressal Forum
National Commission is the apex consumer dispute redressal body The
consumers can approach these forums based on
Territorial Jurisdiction- The consumers can approach the
consumer court located in the place where the companylsquos office is
or where it carries on business or where the ―cause of action arose
Pecuniary Jurisdiction- The consumers have to approach the consumer courts based on the monetary value of their suit which
14
usually refers to the amount involved in dispute This jurisdiction is
decided as follows
Where the value of goods or services and the compensation
Forum claimed is
District Forum Upto Rs 2000000
State Commission Rs2000000-Rs10000000
National Commission Exceeds Rs10000000
The companylsquos head office is in Mumbai but I live in Delhi What can I do
If the company you want to complain against is situated in your city that
would make matters simple ndash you would have to file your complaint at the
District Forum under whom the companylsquos office falls
However a lot of times this is not true For example
Anita a resident of Gurgaon who wanted to file a complaint against
an auto-maker (which is based out of Aurangabad) went at the
District Forum in Gurgaon The people at the District Forum told her
that she would not be able to get the complaint admitted in Gurgaon
unless one of the opposite parties was in Gurgaon Therefore the only
practical option left to her was to also name the local Skoda service
center in Gurgaon as a party to the complaint and got her complaint
admitted in Gurgaon itself
15
What do I do if the company has no branch office
or related entity in my city
Despair not
This is where the second criteria for jurisdiction comes to your rescue
―the cause of action Cause of action simply means the actual event
which has lead to you to having a complaint ie which has given you the
―cause to take legal action (ie file a complaint) against the company
Wherever the ―cause of action wholly or partly arose ndash that arealsquos District
Consumer Forum would have valid jurisdiction
For instance a complainant purchases a flight ticket in Shimla for a
journey which is to start from Delhi to another city In case a
complaint arises the complainant can file a complaint at a consumer
forum in Shimla This is because the ticket was purchased in Shimla
and hence the cause of action arose in Shimla even though the
journey was to commence from Delhi
As an easy rule of thumb the place of occurrence of any of the following
shall be considered the place where cause of action arose
(a) where goods are purchased
(b) where goods are supplied
(c) where services are rendered
(d) where the contract was made
The issue of jurisdiction is fairly complicated and in our experience it is
always better to seek expert advice
Even though the law clearly provides the option for you to file a complaint
where the ldquocause of actionrdquo arose on a practical level sometimes district
consumer forums refuse to admit the complaint if the companyrsquos office is
not within their area You should fight and escalate the matter at the
district forum if this happens
16
What if a complaint is against more than one
parties
If you are filing your complaint against more than one person (or
company) then you can file this complaint in the forum of the place where
ALL the opposite parties (companies) reside or carry on business or have
a branch office or personally work for gain
If all the opposite parties do not reside or carry on business or have a
branch office in the same area then you can file the complaint where ANY
of them reside or carry on business or have a branch office provided
you obtain
permission of the Forum where you intend to file the complaint or
the opposite parties who do not reside or carry on business in the place you intend to file agree to the jurisdiction of this forum
As we have mentioned earlier jurisdiction tends to get complicated for
more reasons than one and hence enlisting professional help is always a
good idea
Do I need to send a notice to the company before
filling a complaint against it
It is not compulsory to send a notice to the company before filing the
complaint with the District Forum There is no statutory requirement for
the same under the Consumer Protection Act In urgent circumstances the
consumers can directly file a complaint in the Consumer Court However
as best practice one should send a notice to the company informing it
about the grievance before filing a formal complaint against the company
17
What is the time period within which a complaint
can be filed in a consumer forum
As per the Consumer Protection Act the District Forum the State
Commission or the National Commission cannot admit a complaint unless
it is filed within two years from the date on which the cause of action has
arisen Otherwise a complaint is barred by limitation and cannot be filed
in a consumer forum
However such a delay can be condoned if the complainant shows that he
had sufficient cause for not filing the complaint within such period Of
course you should file your complaint as promptly as possible once it
becomes clear that all other means of its resolution have been exhausted
Can I appeal against the decision of the consumer
court
In case a complainant is not satisfied with the verdict delivered by a
consumer forum he or she may file an appeal with the State Commission
(if the original verdict was delivered by District Forum) or National
Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission (if the complainant is aggrieved
by a verdict delivered by a State Commission) The appeal must be filed
within 30 days of the receipt of the order In case a complainant is not
satisfied with the verdict of the National Commission he can approach the
Supreme Court for review
In our experience professional advice becomes mandatory for the
consumers if a complaint advances to the appeal stage and it is better to
enlist a lawyer for the same
18
Chapter 4 A photo tour
To get a real flavor of what it is like we sent an intern out to the K G
Marg District Consumer Forum in New Delhi
To read more go to
httpinfoakoshacomconsumer-complaintsconsumer-protectiona-
day-at-the-k-g-marg-new-delhi-district-consumer-forum
19
Chapter 5 The e-
commerce complaints
problem
This chapter first appeared as ldquoMake consumer law e-com-friendlyrdquo
The Hindu Business Line May 7 2013 Wersquove included it in this e-book
to give you a sense of the challenges you might face if you have a problem
against an ecommerce player
Anita (name changed) who lives in Bengaluru had ordered a mobile
phone from online electronics retailer Timtara but it was never
delivered despite the full payment being made
She then filed a complaint at the local consumer forum in Bengaluru
which however refused to admit it Instead she was asked to file it in
Noida Uttar Pradesh where Timtararsquos registered office is located
Anita had to forego the idea not only of filing the complaint (there
was no way she could have gone to Noida for that) but also
recovering the money she had paid to Timtara
The rise and fall of Timtara culminating in the arrest of its founder and
CEO just over a month ago has opened a can of worms as far as the e-
commerce sector is concerned It has even generated a debate on all what
is wrong with this ecosystem
However amidst all this there is one major concern that has been
overlooked mdash the application of the Consumer Protection Act with respect
to e-commerce transactions especially pertaining to the jurisdiction
clause
20
The case illustrated above is just one of the hundreds of complaints
against Timtara that were filed with Akosha alone In all such cases
whenever buyers approached the concerned local consumer forum they
were more often than not told to file their complaint in Noida which is
where Timtaralsquos registered office happened to be located
The story does not differ drastically in cases involving other e-commerce
players either Whenever a consumer faces an issue with an e-commerce
company and wishes to file a complaint at a consumer forum shehe very
often ends up confronting this dilemma of jurisdiction Where to file the
complaint
Virtual Jurisdiction
With e-commerce in India growing annually by over 57 per cent and
expected to touch $88 billion by 2016 mdash as per projections by Forrester
Research Inc a leading global research and advisory firm mdash one should
not be surprised to find the growth rate of complaints also keeping pace
From our own analysis of e-commerce complaints received on the Akosha
platform these are growing by 19 per cent quarter on quarter
Out of the 11980 complaints received by Akosha for the e-commerce
sector in the January-March 2013 quarter about 58 per cent related to
deficiency in delivery while 29 per cent had to do with refunds the
balance 13 per cent concerning other issues
The bulk of these were registered by consumers in the metros with Delhi
topping the list However despite the urban tilt the geographical
distribution of the complaints is diverse enough to validate concerns
regarding the misapplication of the jurisdiction clause
The Consumer Protection Act by itself is not very ambiguous though It
clearly lays down that a consumer has to file a complaint in the place
where the company resides or carries on business
21
Alternatively shehe can also file it in the place where the cause of action
arose that is where the issue or grievance arose
However ―cause of action is a complicated legal concept mdash something
that is difficult to understand or simply inconvenient to grapple with for
the consumer forum registrars and judges
In the case of the e-commerce sector which caters to consumers across
the country irrespective of an online retailerlsquos geographical location this
becomes hugely problematic A lot of consumers are told by the relevant
registrar or the judges that their complaints cannot be accepted because
the companylsquos office does not lie within the said jurisdiction That is quite
similar to the police refusing to register an FIR because it falls outside their
―jurisdiction
One practical expedient that some consumers use is to make a local
branch service centre or even a warehouse (in the case of an e-commerce
company) party to the complaint and then get it admitted at the local
consumer forum
When the legislature drafted the jurisdiction clause in the Consumer
Protection Act they tried to balance the burden on the companies with
that on the consumers
While it would be unaffordable for a company to represent itself
everywhere ndash thereby justifying the customer having to file the complaint
in the place where it did business ndash the ―cause of action concept at the
same time allowed wriggle room for consumers
It is this wriggle room that is now squeezed by non-application of mind
by consumer forums
Lost Opportunity
22
The Consumer Protection Amendment Bill 2011 which was introduced in
the Lok Sabha last December could have proposed an amendment to
Section 11 of the Act that deals with jurisdiction
This would have incorporated a separate jurisdiction clause directed at the
e-commerce sector taking into consideration its unique non-territorial
nature
Such a clause should have clearly laid down that in e-commerce cases a
complaint should be filed where the cause of action arises irrespective of the
physical location of the company concerned This would have been a perfect
even though overly legislative redressal of an issue that is already a major
problem for Indian consumers making online purchases
Unfortunately the Bill has already been tabled and referred to the
Standing Committee ndash and it looks as though e-commerce consumer
hopes have been dashed
Another way out could be to have the National Consumer Disputes
Redressal Commission lay down clear directives in this regard clarifying
that ―cause of action be given precedence when dealing with
jurisdiction issues specific to e-commerce complaints
In the absence of these Indian e-commerce consumers will have little to
look forward to in terms of redressal of their complaints
(The author is founder of wwwakoshacom an online consumer complaints
resolution platform)
23
Chapter 6 Conclusion
While we have tried to address the basics in as much detail as possible
every consumer complaint is unique and may have issues that need to be
addressed individually
However this guide shall give every consumer a fair idea on how to get
started and things that should be kept in mind when planning to file a
complaint with a consumer forum If you have suggestions on improving this e-book please write
to feedbackakoshacom
If you liked this e-book please share copiously
If you have a complaint give us a try ndash just file your complaint on
wwwakoshacom
24
About Akosha
350000+ Complaints
1000000+ Updates
1250+ Daily customers 185+Brands
80+ Team
2010 Founded
Address
E-407 Second Floor Coraza Technologies Private Limited
Okhla Industrial Area Phase 2 New Delhi - 110020
Landline 011 64643453
wwwakoshacom
Design by Radhika Dutt
All rights reserved
First Edition September 2013
For the sake of repetition This book does not constitute legal advice 25
infoakoshacomwwwakoshacominfoakoshacom
About this e-book
We get 1000s of consumer complaints every day
Often a lot of these customers are very angry and want to seek legal help
In several sectors the behavior of the company leaves them with little
choice ndash companies in real estate and insurance sector are notoriously bad
at listening to and resolving complaints
This guide is written for such tormented customers ndash so that they can
understand what it might practically mean to approach the consumer
forum and get their complaint resolved
The actual reality on the ground might be slightly different from that
depicted in this e-book ndash please allow for variations
About this sign
Wersquove included some useful practical tips for you Even if you are
skimming through this e-book do make it a point to read the information
given against this sign
This guidebook does not constitute legal advice
Licensed under Creative Commons
This e-book can be shared freely provided it is attributed to Akosha not used for commercial
purposes and shared as it is
3
Introduction
ldquoConsumer forumsrdquo are unofficially known as ldquoconsumer courtsrdquo We have used these terms interchangeably
Consumer courts are by design supposed to be the easiest and most
accessible courts in the country
The whole idea behind having consumer forums and consumer courts as
separate limbs of the otherwise uniform judiciary is to ensure that
consumer issues are resolved promptly and efficiently without being
trapped by the backlog of regular cases and complicated procedures
Simplicity in procedure is the biggest USP of consumer courts and
consumer forums However in the absence of proper information most
aggrieved consumers are wary of approaching the consumer courts
Through this e-book we shall demystify the working of consumer forums
in the country and answer common questions that concern an average
consumer when he wants to file a complaint with a consumer forum
4
Chapter 1 The basics
This chapter covers some of the basics of approaching the consumer forum Some aspects might vary from one State to another
Can I file my complaint with the consumer court
Anyone who is a consumer can file a complaint with a consumer forum A
consumer is defined by the Consumer Protection Act as anybody who
buys goods or avails services with consent of the seller or the service
provider in return of a consideration
Even if someone has paid only a part of the amount for the goods or
services he can still file a complaint against the seller or service provider
in a consumer court in case of a deficiency
What can I do to avoid going to the consumer court
If you have approached the seller or service provider with a reasonable
solution to your complaint and if such person refuses to resolve your
issue then approaching consumer forums may be a good option
However before approaching the consumer court you may want to
consider the following options which donlsquot involve intervention of
consumer forums or consumer courts
1 Try to approach the customer care cells of the company via
telephone and email both
5
2 Alternatively you can register your complaint on online forums like
Akosha (which escalates your complaint to the company) or tweet
about it on Twitter Several brands are active on online forums and
social media and you might get a prompt response with this
method
Donrsquot confuse online complaint forums with the actual real world
consumer courts These forums trick you into believing that you are filing
the complaint with a government sanctioned consumer court
3 If you have a complaint in a sector which has a ombudsman (like
banking or insurance) or other authorities (like TRAI for telecom
sector) you could first approach such authorities for redressal of the
complaint before approaching a consumer forum It is important to
note that different geographical sectors may have different
Ombudsmen and hence make sure you are addressing the correct
Ombudsman
The main point is that consumer forums are a consumerlsquos last resort and
should be approached after every other source and method of redressal
is exhausted
6
Chapter 2 How to
How long will it take for my complaint to get resolved
The estimate of time for granting relief given by the district consumer
courts is generally between six months to 18 months
The time taken for resolution of a complaint can vary a great deal
depending on
the nature of the case attitude of the companylsquos lawyers
smooth working of the consumer forum (judges have been
appointed etc) existing backlog in that consumer court
quality of documentation produced at the time of filing the case etc
What happens after I file my complaint with the consumer forum
Broadly the lifetime of a consumer complaint while it is being filed and
after it is actually filed with a consumer court can be summarized as
follows
Send a notice
7
You should send a letter to the company informing that if they are unable
to resolve your complaint youlsquod be forced to approach a consumer forum
It is ideal to specify a time limit within which youlsquod like them to settle your
grievance (usually 15 days is considered adequate)
Donrsquot threaten or abuse and state what you would like them to do exactly
Everybody loves compensation but be practical ndash in India no one will
agree to a disproportionate amount
Approach the consumer court
To approach the consumer court you need to take the following steps
1 Identify the correct consumer court to approach
2 Prepare the consumer complaint in the required format (see the
checklist of essentials of a consumer complaint below)
3 Get the complaint affidavit notarized through a notary
4 Make the required number of photocopies after notarizing that
is 1+3 sets of the entire complaint + Number of sets equal to the
number of companies you are complaining against
5 Prepare a bank draft from a nationalized bank to pay court fee
(see the table below for details of court fees)
While all this seems fairly legalistic and scary donrsquot despair ndash you donrsquot
need a lawyer to approach a consumer forum Hundreds of consumers
approach consumer courts themselves or with some assistance from us at
Akosha
8
6 Submit the complaint and court fee to the receiving clerk in the
consumer court who will give you a date for the admission hearing
and a complaint reference number
7 At the admission hearing you will be informed whether your case
is fit for acceptance or not If accepted you will be given a date for
the next hearing of your case
8 The court will send a notice with a copy of your complaint to the
opposite party stating that the opposite party must reply within 30
days and asking them to attend the hearing
9 The hearings will continue till the matter is decided
10 The courtlsquos final order will be sent to all the parties by registered
post
It is important to attend the hearings else the matter may be decided ex-
parte meaning in the absence of the party which could leave you at a
big disadvantage
What is the court fee
At the consumer forum the complainant is required to pay a nominal fee
to the court at the time of admission of a complaint
The court fee is fixed according to the value of goods or services which
form the core of the dispute and the compensation claimed The court fee
is generally nominal and affordable
Rule 9A of the Consumer Protection Rules 1987 provides the following
table setting out the amount of court fees payable in consumer forums
9
Total value of goods or services and the Fee
compensation claimed payable
District Forum
(1) Up to Rs 1 lakh Rs100
(2) Rs 1 lakh ndash up to Rs 5 lakhs Rs200
(3) Above Rs 5 lakhs ndash up to Rs 10 lakhs Rs400
(4) Above Rs 10 lakhs - up to Rs 20 lakhs Rs500
State Commission
(5) Above Rs 20 lakhs - up to Rs 50 lakhs Rs2000
(6) Above Rs 50 lakhs - up to Rs 1 crore Rs4000
National Commission
(7) Above Rs 1 crore Rs5000
How do I pay the court fee
You can pay the court fee by way of
1 a Crossed Demand Draft drawn on a nationalized bank or
2 a Crossed Indian Postal Order
These should be drawn in favour of the President of the District
ForumRegistrar of the State Commissionthe Registrar of the National
Commission (as the case may be) and should be payable at the place
where the District ForumState CommissionNational Commission is
situated (depending on where you have filed your complaint)
10
The Consumer Protection Rules 1987 provides for two ways of payment
of court fees but the situation in the forums across the country varies in
terms of practice
Different consumer courts might insist on different ways of paying of
consumer court fee It is advisable to call the court and check which
method they prefer to avoid repeated trips delays and frustration
For example the Central Delhi District Forum insists that customers pay
only using a Postal Order (so if you went in there with a DD there is a high
chance youlsquod be disappointed ndash even though the law gives you the right
to pay using a DD)
Some courts may even allow the payment of court fees in form of a challan
available at the forum or even cash So before preparing a draft or postal
order do check on the payments accepted by the consumer forum where
you are filing your complaint
What is the format of a consumer complaint to be filed in a consumer court
There is no defined or mandatory format for a consumer complaint ndash this
is to make it easier for a lay person to file a simple complaint without the
(expensive) assistance of a lawyer However there are certain essentials
that should be included in a complaint Below is a checklist of all these
essentials that must be taken care of at various stages of filing a complaint
11
Stage Checklist I DRAFTING OF COMPLAINT
Verify the details of the company such as its legal name address phone no etc
Prepare the statement of DisputeComplaint (this should
contain the facts of the complaint for example details of the
productservice bought details of the deficiency and
correspondence with the seller)
The DefectDeficiency in services should be stated clearly
Check whether your complaint is within 2 years from the
date when the cause of action arose if it is more than 2 years
then prepare a statement explaining why the delay should
be excused
Check the jurisdiction (pecuniaryoriginal) of the forum before which the complaint is to be filed (jurisdiction of the forum has been explained below)
Collect copies of LettersDocumentsCommunications between the partiesinvoices and attach these with your complaint
II DOCUMENTS TO BE ATTACHED ALONG WITH THE PETITION
Copies of Invoicedelivery challanlettersdocuments referred to or relied upon in your complaint
If you have relied on an expertlsquos opinion this should be attached
If you have relied on any technical literature or referred to
any articles etc in your complaint these should be attached
12
Check that the Annexures are page numbered
Check that an Affidavit by the complainant attested by an oath commissioner has been attached
Consumer Complaint should be signed by the complainant and supported
by a notarised attested affidavit with 1+3 sets + Number of Opposite
Parties (with File cover)
While it is true that drafting a complaint is not technical and can be done
by a consumer without professional assistance a professional lawyer or
someone on the team at Akosha may be more adept and efficient at
drafting such a complaint - this may be a good option if you want to save
yourself some hassle and time
Donrsquot be intimidated by the drafting of consumer complaint If you donrsquot have the time seek help
13
Chapter 3 The devilish details
The previous chapter answers some of the basic questions that will arise
when you want to file a complaint at a consumer forum
However there are a few more technical questions that you need to know
about
Where can I file my complaint (the jurisdiction issue)
Jurisdiction basically refers to the scope of the authority of the courts The
Consumer Protection Act provides for a three tiered system of courts
National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission
State Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission
District Consumer Dispute Redressal Forum
National Commission is the apex consumer dispute redressal body The
consumers can approach these forums based on
Territorial Jurisdiction- The consumers can approach the
consumer court located in the place where the companylsquos office is
or where it carries on business or where the ―cause of action arose
Pecuniary Jurisdiction- The consumers have to approach the consumer courts based on the monetary value of their suit which
14
usually refers to the amount involved in dispute This jurisdiction is
decided as follows
Where the value of goods or services and the compensation
Forum claimed is
District Forum Upto Rs 2000000
State Commission Rs2000000-Rs10000000
National Commission Exceeds Rs10000000
The companylsquos head office is in Mumbai but I live in Delhi What can I do
If the company you want to complain against is situated in your city that
would make matters simple ndash you would have to file your complaint at the
District Forum under whom the companylsquos office falls
However a lot of times this is not true For example
Anita a resident of Gurgaon who wanted to file a complaint against
an auto-maker (which is based out of Aurangabad) went at the
District Forum in Gurgaon The people at the District Forum told her
that she would not be able to get the complaint admitted in Gurgaon
unless one of the opposite parties was in Gurgaon Therefore the only
practical option left to her was to also name the local Skoda service
center in Gurgaon as a party to the complaint and got her complaint
admitted in Gurgaon itself
15
What do I do if the company has no branch office
or related entity in my city
Despair not
This is where the second criteria for jurisdiction comes to your rescue
―the cause of action Cause of action simply means the actual event
which has lead to you to having a complaint ie which has given you the
―cause to take legal action (ie file a complaint) against the company
Wherever the ―cause of action wholly or partly arose ndash that arealsquos District
Consumer Forum would have valid jurisdiction
For instance a complainant purchases a flight ticket in Shimla for a
journey which is to start from Delhi to another city In case a
complaint arises the complainant can file a complaint at a consumer
forum in Shimla This is because the ticket was purchased in Shimla
and hence the cause of action arose in Shimla even though the
journey was to commence from Delhi
As an easy rule of thumb the place of occurrence of any of the following
shall be considered the place where cause of action arose
(a) where goods are purchased
(b) where goods are supplied
(c) where services are rendered
(d) where the contract was made
The issue of jurisdiction is fairly complicated and in our experience it is
always better to seek expert advice
Even though the law clearly provides the option for you to file a complaint
where the ldquocause of actionrdquo arose on a practical level sometimes district
consumer forums refuse to admit the complaint if the companyrsquos office is
not within their area You should fight and escalate the matter at the
district forum if this happens
16
What if a complaint is against more than one
parties
If you are filing your complaint against more than one person (or
company) then you can file this complaint in the forum of the place where
ALL the opposite parties (companies) reside or carry on business or have
a branch office or personally work for gain
If all the opposite parties do not reside or carry on business or have a
branch office in the same area then you can file the complaint where ANY
of them reside or carry on business or have a branch office provided
you obtain
permission of the Forum where you intend to file the complaint or
the opposite parties who do not reside or carry on business in the place you intend to file agree to the jurisdiction of this forum
As we have mentioned earlier jurisdiction tends to get complicated for
more reasons than one and hence enlisting professional help is always a
good idea
Do I need to send a notice to the company before
filling a complaint against it
It is not compulsory to send a notice to the company before filing the
complaint with the District Forum There is no statutory requirement for
the same under the Consumer Protection Act In urgent circumstances the
consumers can directly file a complaint in the Consumer Court However
as best practice one should send a notice to the company informing it
about the grievance before filing a formal complaint against the company
17
What is the time period within which a complaint
can be filed in a consumer forum
As per the Consumer Protection Act the District Forum the State
Commission or the National Commission cannot admit a complaint unless
it is filed within two years from the date on which the cause of action has
arisen Otherwise a complaint is barred by limitation and cannot be filed
in a consumer forum
However such a delay can be condoned if the complainant shows that he
had sufficient cause for not filing the complaint within such period Of
course you should file your complaint as promptly as possible once it
becomes clear that all other means of its resolution have been exhausted
Can I appeal against the decision of the consumer
court
In case a complainant is not satisfied with the verdict delivered by a
consumer forum he or she may file an appeal with the State Commission
(if the original verdict was delivered by District Forum) or National
Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission (if the complainant is aggrieved
by a verdict delivered by a State Commission) The appeal must be filed
within 30 days of the receipt of the order In case a complainant is not
satisfied with the verdict of the National Commission he can approach the
Supreme Court for review
In our experience professional advice becomes mandatory for the
consumers if a complaint advances to the appeal stage and it is better to
enlist a lawyer for the same
18
Chapter 4 A photo tour
To get a real flavor of what it is like we sent an intern out to the K G
Marg District Consumer Forum in New Delhi
To read more go to
httpinfoakoshacomconsumer-complaintsconsumer-protectiona-
day-at-the-k-g-marg-new-delhi-district-consumer-forum
19
Chapter 5 The e-
commerce complaints
problem
This chapter first appeared as ldquoMake consumer law e-com-friendlyrdquo
The Hindu Business Line May 7 2013 Wersquove included it in this e-book
to give you a sense of the challenges you might face if you have a problem
against an ecommerce player
Anita (name changed) who lives in Bengaluru had ordered a mobile
phone from online electronics retailer Timtara but it was never
delivered despite the full payment being made
She then filed a complaint at the local consumer forum in Bengaluru
which however refused to admit it Instead she was asked to file it in
Noida Uttar Pradesh where Timtararsquos registered office is located
Anita had to forego the idea not only of filing the complaint (there
was no way she could have gone to Noida for that) but also
recovering the money she had paid to Timtara
The rise and fall of Timtara culminating in the arrest of its founder and
CEO just over a month ago has opened a can of worms as far as the e-
commerce sector is concerned It has even generated a debate on all what
is wrong with this ecosystem
However amidst all this there is one major concern that has been
overlooked mdash the application of the Consumer Protection Act with respect
to e-commerce transactions especially pertaining to the jurisdiction
clause
20
The case illustrated above is just one of the hundreds of complaints
against Timtara that were filed with Akosha alone In all such cases
whenever buyers approached the concerned local consumer forum they
were more often than not told to file their complaint in Noida which is
where Timtaralsquos registered office happened to be located
The story does not differ drastically in cases involving other e-commerce
players either Whenever a consumer faces an issue with an e-commerce
company and wishes to file a complaint at a consumer forum shehe very
often ends up confronting this dilemma of jurisdiction Where to file the
complaint
Virtual Jurisdiction
With e-commerce in India growing annually by over 57 per cent and
expected to touch $88 billion by 2016 mdash as per projections by Forrester
Research Inc a leading global research and advisory firm mdash one should
not be surprised to find the growth rate of complaints also keeping pace
From our own analysis of e-commerce complaints received on the Akosha
platform these are growing by 19 per cent quarter on quarter
Out of the 11980 complaints received by Akosha for the e-commerce
sector in the January-March 2013 quarter about 58 per cent related to
deficiency in delivery while 29 per cent had to do with refunds the
balance 13 per cent concerning other issues
The bulk of these were registered by consumers in the metros with Delhi
topping the list However despite the urban tilt the geographical
distribution of the complaints is diverse enough to validate concerns
regarding the misapplication of the jurisdiction clause
The Consumer Protection Act by itself is not very ambiguous though It
clearly lays down that a consumer has to file a complaint in the place
where the company resides or carries on business
21
Alternatively shehe can also file it in the place where the cause of action
arose that is where the issue or grievance arose
However ―cause of action is a complicated legal concept mdash something
that is difficult to understand or simply inconvenient to grapple with for
the consumer forum registrars and judges
In the case of the e-commerce sector which caters to consumers across
the country irrespective of an online retailerlsquos geographical location this
becomes hugely problematic A lot of consumers are told by the relevant
registrar or the judges that their complaints cannot be accepted because
the companylsquos office does not lie within the said jurisdiction That is quite
similar to the police refusing to register an FIR because it falls outside their
―jurisdiction
One practical expedient that some consumers use is to make a local
branch service centre or even a warehouse (in the case of an e-commerce
company) party to the complaint and then get it admitted at the local
consumer forum
When the legislature drafted the jurisdiction clause in the Consumer
Protection Act they tried to balance the burden on the companies with
that on the consumers
While it would be unaffordable for a company to represent itself
everywhere ndash thereby justifying the customer having to file the complaint
in the place where it did business ndash the ―cause of action concept at the
same time allowed wriggle room for consumers
It is this wriggle room that is now squeezed by non-application of mind
by consumer forums
Lost Opportunity
22
The Consumer Protection Amendment Bill 2011 which was introduced in
the Lok Sabha last December could have proposed an amendment to
Section 11 of the Act that deals with jurisdiction
This would have incorporated a separate jurisdiction clause directed at the
e-commerce sector taking into consideration its unique non-territorial
nature
Such a clause should have clearly laid down that in e-commerce cases a
complaint should be filed where the cause of action arises irrespective of the
physical location of the company concerned This would have been a perfect
even though overly legislative redressal of an issue that is already a major
problem for Indian consumers making online purchases
Unfortunately the Bill has already been tabled and referred to the
Standing Committee ndash and it looks as though e-commerce consumer
hopes have been dashed
Another way out could be to have the National Consumer Disputes
Redressal Commission lay down clear directives in this regard clarifying
that ―cause of action be given precedence when dealing with
jurisdiction issues specific to e-commerce complaints
In the absence of these Indian e-commerce consumers will have little to
look forward to in terms of redressal of their complaints
(The author is founder of wwwakoshacom an online consumer complaints
resolution platform)
23
Chapter 6 Conclusion
While we have tried to address the basics in as much detail as possible
every consumer complaint is unique and may have issues that need to be
addressed individually
However this guide shall give every consumer a fair idea on how to get
started and things that should be kept in mind when planning to file a
complaint with a consumer forum If you have suggestions on improving this e-book please write
to feedbackakoshacom
If you liked this e-book please share copiously
If you have a complaint give us a try ndash just file your complaint on
wwwakoshacom
24
About Akosha
350000+ Complaints
1000000+ Updates
1250+ Daily customers 185+Brands
80+ Team
2010 Founded
Address
E-407 Second Floor Coraza Technologies Private Limited
Okhla Industrial Area Phase 2 New Delhi - 110020
Landline 011 64643453
wwwakoshacom
Design by Radhika Dutt
All rights reserved
First Edition September 2013
For the sake of repetition This book does not constitute legal advice 25
infoakoshacomwwwakoshacominfoakoshacom
Introduction
ldquoConsumer forumsrdquo are unofficially known as ldquoconsumer courtsrdquo We have used these terms interchangeably
Consumer courts are by design supposed to be the easiest and most
accessible courts in the country
The whole idea behind having consumer forums and consumer courts as
separate limbs of the otherwise uniform judiciary is to ensure that
consumer issues are resolved promptly and efficiently without being
trapped by the backlog of regular cases and complicated procedures
Simplicity in procedure is the biggest USP of consumer courts and
consumer forums However in the absence of proper information most
aggrieved consumers are wary of approaching the consumer courts
Through this e-book we shall demystify the working of consumer forums
in the country and answer common questions that concern an average
consumer when he wants to file a complaint with a consumer forum
4
Chapter 1 The basics
This chapter covers some of the basics of approaching the consumer forum Some aspects might vary from one State to another
Can I file my complaint with the consumer court
Anyone who is a consumer can file a complaint with a consumer forum A
consumer is defined by the Consumer Protection Act as anybody who
buys goods or avails services with consent of the seller or the service
provider in return of a consideration
Even if someone has paid only a part of the amount for the goods or
services he can still file a complaint against the seller or service provider
in a consumer court in case of a deficiency
What can I do to avoid going to the consumer court
If you have approached the seller or service provider with a reasonable
solution to your complaint and if such person refuses to resolve your
issue then approaching consumer forums may be a good option
However before approaching the consumer court you may want to
consider the following options which donlsquot involve intervention of
consumer forums or consumer courts
1 Try to approach the customer care cells of the company via
telephone and email both
5
2 Alternatively you can register your complaint on online forums like
Akosha (which escalates your complaint to the company) or tweet
about it on Twitter Several brands are active on online forums and
social media and you might get a prompt response with this
method
Donrsquot confuse online complaint forums with the actual real world
consumer courts These forums trick you into believing that you are filing
the complaint with a government sanctioned consumer court
3 If you have a complaint in a sector which has a ombudsman (like
banking or insurance) or other authorities (like TRAI for telecom
sector) you could first approach such authorities for redressal of the
complaint before approaching a consumer forum It is important to
note that different geographical sectors may have different
Ombudsmen and hence make sure you are addressing the correct
Ombudsman
The main point is that consumer forums are a consumerlsquos last resort and
should be approached after every other source and method of redressal
is exhausted
6
Chapter 2 How to
How long will it take for my complaint to get resolved
The estimate of time for granting relief given by the district consumer
courts is generally between six months to 18 months
The time taken for resolution of a complaint can vary a great deal
depending on
the nature of the case attitude of the companylsquos lawyers
smooth working of the consumer forum (judges have been
appointed etc) existing backlog in that consumer court
quality of documentation produced at the time of filing the case etc
What happens after I file my complaint with the consumer forum
Broadly the lifetime of a consumer complaint while it is being filed and
after it is actually filed with a consumer court can be summarized as
follows
Send a notice
7
You should send a letter to the company informing that if they are unable
to resolve your complaint youlsquod be forced to approach a consumer forum
It is ideal to specify a time limit within which youlsquod like them to settle your
grievance (usually 15 days is considered adequate)
Donrsquot threaten or abuse and state what you would like them to do exactly
Everybody loves compensation but be practical ndash in India no one will
agree to a disproportionate amount
Approach the consumer court
To approach the consumer court you need to take the following steps
1 Identify the correct consumer court to approach
2 Prepare the consumer complaint in the required format (see the
checklist of essentials of a consumer complaint below)
3 Get the complaint affidavit notarized through a notary
4 Make the required number of photocopies after notarizing that
is 1+3 sets of the entire complaint + Number of sets equal to the
number of companies you are complaining against
5 Prepare a bank draft from a nationalized bank to pay court fee
(see the table below for details of court fees)
While all this seems fairly legalistic and scary donrsquot despair ndash you donrsquot
need a lawyer to approach a consumer forum Hundreds of consumers
approach consumer courts themselves or with some assistance from us at
Akosha
8
6 Submit the complaint and court fee to the receiving clerk in the
consumer court who will give you a date for the admission hearing
and a complaint reference number
7 At the admission hearing you will be informed whether your case
is fit for acceptance or not If accepted you will be given a date for
the next hearing of your case
8 The court will send a notice with a copy of your complaint to the
opposite party stating that the opposite party must reply within 30
days and asking them to attend the hearing
9 The hearings will continue till the matter is decided
10 The courtlsquos final order will be sent to all the parties by registered
post
It is important to attend the hearings else the matter may be decided ex-
parte meaning in the absence of the party which could leave you at a
big disadvantage
What is the court fee
At the consumer forum the complainant is required to pay a nominal fee
to the court at the time of admission of a complaint
The court fee is fixed according to the value of goods or services which
form the core of the dispute and the compensation claimed The court fee
is generally nominal and affordable
Rule 9A of the Consumer Protection Rules 1987 provides the following
table setting out the amount of court fees payable in consumer forums
9
Total value of goods or services and the Fee
compensation claimed payable
District Forum
(1) Up to Rs 1 lakh Rs100
(2) Rs 1 lakh ndash up to Rs 5 lakhs Rs200
(3) Above Rs 5 lakhs ndash up to Rs 10 lakhs Rs400
(4) Above Rs 10 lakhs - up to Rs 20 lakhs Rs500
State Commission
(5) Above Rs 20 lakhs - up to Rs 50 lakhs Rs2000
(6) Above Rs 50 lakhs - up to Rs 1 crore Rs4000
National Commission
(7) Above Rs 1 crore Rs5000
How do I pay the court fee
You can pay the court fee by way of
1 a Crossed Demand Draft drawn on a nationalized bank or
2 a Crossed Indian Postal Order
These should be drawn in favour of the President of the District
ForumRegistrar of the State Commissionthe Registrar of the National
Commission (as the case may be) and should be payable at the place
where the District ForumState CommissionNational Commission is
situated (depending on where you have filed your complaint)
10
The Consumer Protection Rules 1987 provides for two ways of payment
of court fees but the situation in the forums across the country varies in
terms of practice
Different consumer courts might insist on different ways of paying of
consumer court fee It is advisable to call the court and check which
method they prefer to avoid repeated trips delays and frustration
For example the Central Delhi District Forum insists that customers pay
only using a Postal Order (so if you went in there with a DD there is a high
chance youlsquod be disappointed ndash even though the law gives you the right
to pay using a DD)
Some courts may even allow the payment of court fees in form of a challan
available at the forum or even cash So before preparing a draft or postal
order do check on the payments accepted by the consumer forum where
you are filing your complaint
What is the format of a consumer complaint to be filed in a consumer court
There is no defined or mandatory format for a consumer complaint ndash this
is to make it easier for a lay person to file a simple complaint without the
(expensive) assistance of a lawyer However there are certain essentials
that should be included in a complaint Below is a checklist of all these
essentials that must be taken care of at various stages of filing a complaint
11
Stage Checklist I DRAFTING OF COMPLAINT
Verify the details of the company such as its legal name address phone no etc
Prepare the statement of DisputeComplaint (this should
contain the facts of the complaint for example details of the
productservice bought details of the deficiency and
correspondence with the seller)
The DefectDeficiency in services should be stated clearly
Check whether your complaint is within 2 years from the
date when the cause of action arose if it is more than 2 years
then prepare a statement explaining why the delay should
be excused
Check the jurisdiction (pecuniaryoriginal) of the forum before which the complaint is to be filed (jurisdiction of the forum has been explained below)
Collect copies of LettersDocumentsCommunications between the partiesinvoices and attach these with your complaint
II DOCUMENTS TO BE ATTACHED ALONG WITH THE PETITION
Copies of Invoicedelivery challanlettersdocuments referred to or relied upon in your complaint
If you have relied on an expertlsquos opinion this should be attached
If you have relied on any technical literature or referred to
any articles etc in your complaint these should be attached
12
Check that the Annexures are page numbered
Check that an Affidavit by the complainant attested by an oath commissioner has been attached
Consumer Complaint should be signed by the complainant and supported
by a notarised attested affidavit with 1+3 sets + Number of Opposite
Parties (with File cover)
While it is true that drafting a complaint is not technical and can be done
by a consumer without professional assistance a professional lawyer or
someone on the team at Akosha may be more adept and efficient at
drafting such a complaint - this may be a good option if you want to save
yourself some hassle and time
Donrsquot be intimidated by the drafting of consumer complaint If you donrsquot have the time seek help
13
Chapter 3 The devilish details
The previous chapter answers some of the basic questions that will arise
when you want to file a complaint at a consumer forum
However there are a few more technical questions that you need to know
about
Where can I file my complaint (the jurisdiction issue)
Jurisdiction basically refers to the scope of the authority of the courts The
Consumer Protection Act provides for a three tiered system of courts
National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission
State Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission
District Consumer Dispute Redressal Forum
National Commission is the apex consumer dispute redressal body The
consumers can approach these forums based on
Territorial Jurisdiction- The consumers can approach the
consumer court located in the place where the companylsquos office is
or where it carries on business or where the ―cause of action arose
Pecuniary Jurisdiction- The consumers have to approach the consumer courts based on the monetary value of their suit which
14
usually refers to the amount involved in dispute This jurisdiction is
decided as follows
Where the value of goods or services and the compensation
Forum claimed is
District Forum Upto Rs 2000000
State Commission Rs2000000-Rs10000000
National Commission Exceeds Rs10000000
The companylsquos head office is in Mumbai but I live in Delhi What can I do
If the company you want to complain against is situated in your city that
would make matters simple ndash you would have to file your complaint at the
District Forum under whom the companylsquos office falls
However a lot of times this is not true For example
Anita a resident of Gurgaon who wanted to file a complaint against
an auto-maker (which is based out of Aurangabad) went at the
District Forum in Gurgaon The people at the District Forum told her
that she would not be able to get the complaint admitted in Gurgaon
unless one of the opposite parties was in Gurgaon Therefore the only
practical option left to her was to also name the local Skoda service
center in Gurgaon as a party to the complaint and got her complaint
admitted in Gurgaon itself
15
What do I do if the company has no branch office
or related entity in my city
Despair not
This is where the second criteria for jurisdiction comes to your rescue
―the cause of action Cause of action simply means the actual event
which has lead to you to having a complaint ie which has given you the
―cause to take legal action (ie file a complaint) against the company
Wherever the ―cause of action wholly or partly arose ndash that arealsquos District
Consumer Forum would have valid jurisdiction
For instance a complainant purchases a flight ticket in Shimla for a
journey which is to start from Delhi to another city In case a
complaint arises the complainant can file a complaint at a consumer
forum in Shimla This is because the ticket was purchased in Shimla
and hence the cause of action arose in Shimla even though the
journey was to commence from Delhi
As an easy rule of thumb the place of occurrence of any of the following
shall be considered the place where cause of action arose
(a) where goods are purchased
(b) where goods are supplied
(c) where services are rendered
(d) where the contract was made
The issue of jurisdiction is fairly complicated and in our experience it is
always better to seek expert advice
Even though the law clearly provides the option for you to file a complaint
where the ldquocause of actionrdquo arose on a practical level sometimes district
consumer forums refuse to admit the complaint if the companyrsquos office is
not within their area You should fight and escalate the matter at the
district forum if this happens
16
What if a complaint is against more than one
parties
If you are filing your complaint against more than one person (or
company) then you can file this complaint in the forum of the place where
ALL the opposite parties (companies) reside or carry on business or have
a branch office or personally work for gain
If all the opposite parties do not reside or carry on business or have a
branch office in the same area then you can file the complaint where ANY
of them reside or carry on business or have a branch office provided
you obtain
permission of the Forum where you intend to file the complaint or
the opposite parties who do not reside or carry on business in the place you intend to file agree to the jurisdiction of this forum
As we have mentioned earlier jurisdiction tends to get complicated for
more reasons than one and hence enlisting professional help is always a
good idea
Do I need to send a notice to the company before
filling a complaint against it
It is not compulsory to send a notice to the company before filing the
complaint with the District Forum There is no statutory requirement for
the same under the Consumer Protection Act In urgent circumstances the
consumers can directly file a complaint in the Consumer Court However
as best practice one should send a notice to the company informing it
about the grievance before filing a formal complaint against the company
17
What is the time period within which a complaint
can be filed in a consumer forum
As per the Consumer Protection Act the District Forum the State
Commission or the National Commission cannot admit a complaint unless
it is filed within two years from the date on which the cause of action has
arisen Otherwise a complaint is barred by limitation and cannot be filed
in a consumer forum
However such a delay can be condoned if the complainant shows that he
had sufficient cause for not filing the complaint within such period Of
course you should file your complaint as promptly as possible once it
becomes clear that all other means of its resolution have been exhausted
Can I appeal against the decision of the consumer
court
In case a complainant is not satisfied with the verdict delivered by a
consumer forum he or she may file an appeal with the State Commission
(if the original verdict was delivered by District Forum) or National
Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission (if the complainant is aggrieved
by a verdict delivered by a State Commission) The appeal must be filed
within 30 days of the receipt of the order In case a complainant is not
satisfied with the verdict of the National Commission he can approach the
Supreme Court for review
In our experience professional advice becomes mandatory for the
consumers if a complaint advances to the appeal stage and it is better to
enlist a lawyer for the same
18
Chapter 4 A photo tour
To get a real flavor of what it is like we sent an intern out to the K G
Marg District Consumer Forum in New Delhi
To read more go to
httpinfoakoshacomconsumer-complaintsconsumer-protectiona-
day-at-the-k-g-marg-new-delhi-district-consumer-forum
19
Chapter 5 The e-
commerce complaints
problem
This chapter first appeared as ldquoMake consumer law e-com-friendlyrdquo
The Hindu Business Line May 7 2013 Wersquove included it in this e-book
to give you a sense of the challenges you might face if you have a problem
against an ecommerce player
Anita (name changed) who lives in Bengaluru had ordered a mobile
phone from online electronics retailer Timtara but it was never
delivered despite the full payment being made
She then filed a complaint at the local consumer forum in Bengaluru
which however refused to admit it Instead she was asked to file it in
Noida Uttar Pradesh where Timtararsquos registered office is located
Anita had to forego the idea not only of filing the complaint (there
was no way she could have gone to Noida for that) but also
recovering the money she had paid to Timtara
The rise and fall of Timtara culminating in the arrest of its founder and
CEO just over a month ago has opened a can of worms as far as the e-
commerce sector is concerned It has even generated a debate on all what
is wrong with this ecosystem
However amidst all this there is one major concern that has been
overlooked mdash the application of the Consumer Protection Act with respect
to e-commerce transactions especially pertaining to the jurisdiction
clause
20
The case illustrated above is just one of the hundreds of complaints
against Timtara that were filed with Akosha alone In all such cases
whenever buyers approached the concerned local consumer forum they
were more often than not told to file their complaint in Noida which is
where Timtaralsquos registered office happened to be located
The story does not differ drastically in cases involving other e-commerce
players either Whenever a consumer faces an issue with an e-commerce
company and wishes to file a complaint at a consumer forum shehe very
often ends up confronting this dilemma of jurisdiction Where to file the
complaint
Virtual Jurisdiction
With e-commerce in India growing annually by over 57 per cent and
expected to touch $88 billion by 2016 mdash as per projections by Forrester
Research Inc a leading global research and advisory firm mdash one should
not be surprised to find the growth rate of complaints also keeping pace
From our own analysis of e-commerce complaints received on the Akosha
platform these are growing by 19 per cent quarter on quarter
Out of the 11980 complaints received by Akosha for the e-commerce
sector in the January-March 2013 quarter about 58 per cent related to
deficiency in delivery while 29 per cent had to do with refunds the
balance 13 per cent concerning other issues
The bulk of these were registered by consumers in the metros with Delhi
topping the list However despite the urban tilt the geographical
distribution of the complaints is diverse enough to validate concerns
regarding the misapplication of the jurisdiction clause
The Consumer Protection Act by itself is not very ambiguous though It
clearly lays down that a consumer has to file a complaint in the place
where the company resides or carries on business
21
Alternatively shehe can also file it in the place where the cause of action
arose that is where the issue or grievance arose
However ―cause of action is a complicated legal concept mdash something
that is difficult to understand or simply inconvenient to grapple with for
the consumer forum registrars and judges
In the case of the e-commerce sector which caters to consumers across
the country irrespective of an online retailerlsquos geographical location this
becomes hugely problematic A lot of consumers are told by the relevant
registrar or the judges that their complaints cannot be accepted because
the companylsquos office does not lie within the said jurisdiction That is quite
similar to the police refusing to register an FIR because it falls outside their
―jurisdiction
One practical expedient that some consumers use is to make a local
branch service centre or even a warehouse (in the case of an e-commerce
company) party to the complaint and then get it admitted at the local
consumer forum
When the legislature drafted the jurisdiction clause in the Consumer
Protection Act they tried to balance the burden on the companies with
that on the consumers
While it would be unaffordable for a company to represent itself
everywhere ndash thereby justifying the customer having to file the complaint
in the place where it did business ndash the ―cause of action concept at the
same time allowed wriggle room for consumers
It is this wriggle room that is now squeezed by non-application of mind
by consumer forums
Lost Opportunity
22
The Consumer Protection Amendment Bill 2011 which was introduced in
the Lok Sabha last December could have proposed an amendment to
Section 11 of the Act that deals with jurisdiction
This would have incorporated a separate jurisdiction clause directed at the
e-commerce sector taking into consideration its unique non-territorial
nature
Such a clause should have clearly laid down that in e-commerce cases a
complaint should be filed where the cause of action arises irrespective of the
physical location of the company concerned This would have been a perfect
even though overly legislative redressal of an issue that is already a major
problem for Indian consumers making online purchases
Unfortunately the Bill has already been tabled and referred to the
Standing Committee ndash and it looks as though e-commerce consumer
hopes have been dashed
Another way out could be to have the National Consumer Disputes
Redressal Commission lay down clear directives in this regard clarifying
that ―cause of action be given precedence when dealing with
jurisdiction issues specific to e-commerce complaints
In the absence of these Indian e-commerce consumers will have little to
look forward to in terms of redressal of their complaints
(The author is founder of wwwakoshacom an online consumer complaints
resolution platform)
23
Chapter 6 Conclusion
While we have tried to address the basics in as much detail as possible
every consumer complaint is unique and may have issues that need to be
addressed individually
However this guide shall give every consumer a fair idea on how to get
started and things that should be kept in mind when planning to file a
complaint with a consumer forum If you have suggestions on improving this e-book please write
to feedbackakoshacom
If you liked this e-book please share copiously
If you have a complaint give us a try ndash just file your complaint on
wwwakoshacom
24
About Akosha
350000+ Complaints
1000000+ Updates
1250+ Daily customers 185+Brands
80+ Team
2010 Founded
Address
E-407 Second Floor Coraza Technologies Private Limited
Okhla Industrial Area Phase 2 New Delhi - 110020
Landline 011 64643453
wwwakoshacom
Design by Radhika Dutt
All rights reserved
First Edition September 2013
For the sake of repetition This book does not constitute legal advice 25
infoakoshacomwwwakoshacominfoakoshacom
Chapter 1 The basics
This chapter covers some of the basics of approaching the consumer forum Some aspects might vary from one State to another
Can I file my complaint with the consumer court
Anyone who is a consumer can file a complaint with a consumer forum A
consumer is defined by the Consumer Protection Act as anybody who
buys goods or avails services with consent of the seller or the service
provider in return of a consideration
Even if someone has paid only a part of the amount for the goods or
services he can still file a complaint against the seller or service provider
in a consumer court in case of a deficiency
What can I do to avoid going to the consumer court
If you have approached the seller or service provider with a reasonable
solution to your complaint and if such person refuses to resolve your
issue then approaching consumer forums may be a good option
However before approaching the consumer court you may want to
consider the following options which donlsquot involve intervention of
consumer forums or consumer courts
1 Try to approach the customer care cells of the company via
telephone and email both
5
2 Alternatively you can register your complaint on online forums like
Akosha (which escalates your complaint to the company) or tweet
about it on Twitter Several brands are active on online forums and
social media and you might get a prompt response with this
method
Donrsquot confuse online complaint forums with the actual real world
consumer courts These forums trick you into believing that you are filing
the complaint with a government sanctioned consumer court
3 If you have a complaint in a sector which has a ombudsman (like
banking or insurance) or other authorities (like TRAI for telecom
sector) you could first approach such authorities for redressal of the
complaint before approaching a consumer forum It is important to
note that different geographical sectors may have different
Ombudsmen and hence make sure you are addressing the correct
Ombudsman
The main point is that consumer forums are a consumerlsquos last resort and
should be approached after every other source and method of redressal
is exhausted
6
Chapter 2 How to
How long will it take for my complaint to get resolved
The estimate of time for granting relief given by the district consumer
courts is generally between six months to 18 months
The time taken for resolution of a complaint can vary a great deal
depending on
the nature of the case attitude of the companylsquos lawyers
smooth working of the consumer forum (judges have been
appointed etc) existing backlog in that consumer court
quality of documentation produced at the time of filing the case etc
What happens after I file my complaint with the consumer forum
Broadly the lifetime of a consumer complaint while it is being filed and
after it is actually filed with a consumer court can be summarized as
follows
Send a notice
7
You should send a letter to the company informing that if they are unable
to resolve your complaint youlsquod be forced to approach a consumer forum
It is ideal to specify a time limit within which youlsquod like them to settle your
grievance (usually 15 days is considered adequate)
Donrsquot threaten or abuse and state what you would like them to do exactly
Everybody loves compensation but be practical ndash in India no one will
agree to a disproportionate amount
Approach the consumer court
To approach the consumer court you need to take the following steps
1 Identify the correct consumer court to approach
2 Prepare the consumer complaint in the required format (see the
checklist of essentials of a consumer complaint below)
3 Get the complaint affidavit notarized through a notary
4 Make the required number of photocopies after notarizing that
is 1+3 sets of the entire complaint + Number of sets equal to the
number of companies you are complaining against
5 Prepare a bank draft from a nationalized bank to pay court fee
(see the table below for details of court fees)
While all this seems fairly legalistic and scary donrsquot despair ndash you donrsquot
need a lawyer to approach a consumer forum Hundreds of consumers
approach consumer courts themselves or with some assistance from us at
Akosha
8
6 Submit the complaint and court fee to the receiving clerk in the
consumer court who will give you a date for the admission hearing
and a complaint reference number
7 At the admission hearing you will be informed whether your case
is fit for acceptance or not If accepted you will be given a date for
the next hearing of your case
8 The court will send a notice with a copy of your complaint to the
opposite party stating that the opposite party must reply within 30
days and asking them to attend the hearing
9 The hearings will continue till the matter is decided
10 The courtlsquos final order will be sent to all the parties by registered
post
It is important to attend the hearings else the matter may be decided ex-
parte meaning in the absence of the party which could leave you at a
big disadvantage
What is the court fee
At the consumer forum the complainant is required to pay a nominal fee
to the court at the time of admission of a complaint
The court fee is fixed according to the value of goods or services which
form the core of the dispute and the compensation claimed The court fee
is generally nominal and affordable
Rule 9A of the Consumer Protection Rules 1987 provides the following
table setting out the amount of court fees payable in consumer forums
9
Total value of goods or services and the Fee
compensation claimed payable
District Forum
(1) Up to Rs 1 lakh Rs100
(2) Rs 1 lakh ndash up to Rs 5 lakhs Rs200
(3) Above Rs 5 lakhs ndash up to Rs 10 lakhs Rs400
(4) Above Rs 10 lakhs - up to Rs 20 lakhs Rs500
State Commission
(5) Above Rs 20 lakhs - up to Rs 50 lakhs Rs2000
(6) Above Rs 50 lakhs - up to Rs 1 crore Rs4000
National Commission
(7) Above Rs 1 crore Rs5000
How do I pay the court fee
You can pay the court fee by way of
1 a Crossed Demand Draft drawn on a nationalized bank or
2 a Crossed Indian Postal Order
These should be drawn in favour of the President of the District
ForumRegistrar of the State Commissionthe Registrar of the National
Commission (as the case may be) and should be payable at the place
where the District ForumState CommissionNational Commission is
situated (depending on where you have filed your complaint)
10
The Consumer Protection Rules 1987 provides for two ways of payment
of court fees but the situation in the forums across the country varies in
terms of practice
Different consumer courts might insist on different ways of paying of
consumer court fee It is advisable to call the court and check which
method they prefer to avoid repeated trips delays and frustration
For example the Central Delhi District Forum insists that customers pay
only using a Postal Order (so if you went in there with a DD there is a high
chance youlsquod be disappointed ndash even though the law gives you the right
to pay using a DD)
Some courts may even allow the payment of court fees in form of a challan
available at the forum or even cash So before preparing a draft or postal
order do check on the payments accepted by the consumer forum where
you are filing your complaint
What is the format of a consumer complaint to be filed in a consumer court
There is no defined or mandatory format for a consumer complaint ndash this
is to make it easier for a lay person to file a simple complaint without the
(expensive) assistance of a lawyer However there are certain essentials
that should be included in a complaint Below is a checklist of all these
essentials that must be taken care of at various stages of filing a complaint
11
Stage Checklist I DRAFTING OF COMPLAINT
Verify the details of the company such as its legal name address phone no etc
Prepare the statement of DisputeComplaint (this should
contain the facts of the complaint for example details of the
productservice bought details of the deficiency and
correspondence with the seller)
The DefectDeficiency in services should be stated clearly
Check whether your complaint is within 2 years from the
date when the cause of action arose if it is more than 2 years
then prepare a statement explaining why the delay should
be excused
Check the jurisdiction (pecuniaryoriginal) of the forum before which the complaint is to be filed (jurisdiction of the forum has been explained below)
Collect copies of LettersDocumentsCommunications between the partiesinvoices and attach these with your complaint
II DOCUMENTS TO BE ATTACHED ALONG WITH THE PETITION
Copies of Invoicedelivery challanlettersdocuments referred to or relied upon in your complaint
If you have relied on an expertlsquos opinion this should be attached
If you have relied on any technical literature or referred to
any articles etc in your complaint these should be attached
12
Check that the Annexures are page numbered
Check that an Affidavit by the complainant attested by an oath commissioner has been attached
Consumer Complaint should be signed by the complainant and supported
by a notarised attested affidavit with 1+3 sets + Number of Opposite
Parties (with File cover)
While it is true that drafting a complaint is not technical and can be done
by a consumer without professional assistance a professional lawyer or
someone on the team at Akosha may be more adept and efficient at
drafting such a complaint - this may be a good option if you want to save
yourself some hassle and time
Donrsquot be intimidated by the drafting of consumer complaint If you donrsquot have the time seek help
13
Chapter 3 The devilish details
The previous chapter answers some of the basic questions that will arise
when you want to file a complaint at a consumer forum
However there are a few more technical questions that you need to know
about
Where can I file my complaint (the jurisdiction issue)
Jurisdiction basically refers to the scope of the authority of the courts The
Consumer Protection Act provides for a three tiered system of courts
National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission
State Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission
District Consumer Dispute Redressal Forum
National Commission is the apex consumer dispute redressal body The
consumers can approach these forums based on
Territorial Jurisdiction- The consumers can approach the
consumer court located in the place where the companylsquos office is
or where it carries on business or where the ―cause of action arose
Pecuniary Jurisdiction- The consumers have to approach the consumer courts based on the monetary value of their suit which
14
usually refers to the amount involved in dispute This jurisdiction is
decided as follows
Where the value of goods or services and the compensation
Forum claimed is
District Forum Upto Rs 2000000
State Commission Rs2000000-Rs10000000
National Commission Exceeds Rs10000000
The companylsquos head office is in Mumbai but I live in Delhi What can I do
If the company you want to complain against is situated in your city that
would make matters simple ndash you would have to file your complaint at the
District Forum under whom the companylsquos office falls
However a lot of times this is not true For example
Anita a resident of Gurgaon who wanted to file a complaint against
an auto-maker (which is based out of Aurangabad) went at the
District Forum in Gurgaon The people at the District Forum told her
that she would not be able to get the complaint admitted in Gurgaon
unless one of the opposite parties was in Gurgaon Therefore the only
practical option left to her was to also name the local Skoda service
center in Gurgaon as a party to the complaint and got her complaint
admitted in Gurgaon itself
15
What do I do if the company has no branch office
or related entity in my city
Despair not
This is where the second criteria for jurisdiction comes to your rescue
―the cause of action Cause of action simply means the actual event
which has lead to you to having a complaint ie which has given you the
―cause to take legal action (ie file a complaint) against the company
Wherever the ―cause of action wholly or partly arose ndash that arealsquos District
Consumer Forum would have valid jurisdiction
For instance a complainant purchases a flight ticket in Shimla for a
journey which is to start from Delhi to another city In case a
complaint arises the complainant can file a complaint at a consumer
forum in Shimla This is because the ticket was purchased in Shimla
and hence the cause of action arose in Shimla even though the
journey was to commence from Delhi
As an easy rule of thumb the place of occurrence of any of the following
shall be considered the place where cause of action arose
(a) where goods are purchased
(b) where goods are supplied
(c) where services are rendered
(d) where the contract was made
The issue of jurisdiction is fairly complicated and in our experience it is
always better to seek expert advice
Even though the law clearly provides the option for you to file a complaint
where the ldquocause of actionrdquo arose on a practical level sometimes district
consumer forums refuse to admit the complaint if the companyrsquos office is
not within their area You should fight and escalate the matter at the
district forum if this happens
16
What if a complaint is against more than one
parties
If you are filing your complaint against more than one person (or
company) then you can file this complaint in the forum of the place where
ALL the opposite parties (companies) reside or carry on business or have
a branch office or personally work for gain
If all the opposite parties do not reside or carry on business or have a
branch office in the same area then you can file the complaint where ANY
of them reside or carry on business or have a branch office provided
you obtain
permission of the Forum where you intend to file the complaint or
the opposite parties who do not reside or carry on business in the place you intend to file agree to the jurisdiction of this forum
As we have mentioned earlier jurisdiction tends to get complicated for
more reasons than one and hence enlisting professional help is always a
good idea
Do I need to send a notice to the company before
filling a complaint against it
It is not compulsory to send a notice to the company before filing the
complaint with the District Forum There is no statutory requirement for
the same under the Consumer Protection Act In urgent circumstances the
consumers can directly file a complaint in the Consumer Court However
as best practice one should send a notice to the company informing it
about the grievance before filing a formal complaint against the company
17
What is the time period within which a complaint
can be filed in a consumer forum
As per the Consumer Protection Act the District Forum the State
Commission or the National Commission cannot admit a complaint unless
it is filed within two years from the date on which the cause of action has
arisen Otherwise a complaint is barred by limitation and cannot be filed
in a consumer forum
However such a delay can be condoned if the complainant shows that he
had sufficient cause for not filing the complaint within such period Of
course you should file your complaint as promptly as possible once it
becomes clear that all other means of its resolution have been exhausted
Can I appeal against the decision of the consumer
court
In case a complainant is not satisfied with the verdict delivered by a
consumer forum he or she may file an appeal with the State Commission
(if the original verdict was delivered by District Forum) or National
Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission (if the complainant is aggrieved
by a verdict delivered by a State Commission) The appeal must be filed
within 30 days of the receipt of the order In case a complainant is not
satisfied with the verdict of the National Commission he can approach the
Supreme Court for review
In our experience professional advice becomes mandatory for the
consumers if a complaint advances to the appeal stage and it is better to
enlist a lawyer for the same
18
Chapter 4 A photo tour
To get a real flavor of what it is like we sent an intern out to the K G
Marg District Consumer Forum in New Delhi
To read more go to
httpinfoakoshacomconsumer-complaintsconsumer-protectiona-
day-at-the-k-g-marg-new-delhi-district-consumer-forum
19
Chapter 5 The e-
commerce complaints
problem
This chapter first appeared as ldquoMake consumer law e-com-friendlyrdquo
The Hindu Business Line May 7 2013 Wersquove included it in this e-book
to give you a sense of the challenges you might face if you have a problem
against an ecommerce player
Anita (name changed) who lives in Bengaluru had ordered a mobile
phone from online electronics retailer Timtara but it was never
delivered despite the full payment being made
She then filed a complaint at the local consumer forum in Bengaluru
which however refused to admit it Instead she was asked to file it in
Noida Uttar Pradesh where Timtararsquos registered office is located
Anita had to forego the idea not only of filing the complaint (there
was no way she could have gone to Noida for that) but also
recovering the money she had paid to Timtara
The rise and fall of Timtara culminating in the arrest of its founder and
CEO just over a month ago has opened a can of worms as far as the e-
commerce sector is concerned It has even generated a debate on all what
is wrong with this ecosystem
However amidst all this there is one major concern that has been
overlooked mdash the application of the Consumer Protection Act with respect
to e-commerce transactions especially pertaining to the jurisdiction
clause
20
The case illustrated above is just one of the hundreds of complaints
against Timtara that were filed with Akosha alone In all such cases
whenever buyers approached the concerned local consumer forum they
were more often than not told to file their complaint in Noida which is
where Timtaralsquos registered office happened to be located
The story does not differ drastically in cases involving other e-commerce
players either Whenever a consumer faces an issue with an e-commerce
company and wishes to file a complaint at a consumer forum shehe very
often ends up confronting this dilemma of jurisdiction Where to file the
complaint
Virtual Jurisdiction
With e-commerce in India growing annually by over 57 per cent and
expected to touch $88 billion by 2016 mdash as per projections by Forrester
Research Inc a leading global research and advisory firm mdash one should
not be surprised to find the growth rate of complaints also keeping pace
From our own analysis of e-commerce complaints received on the Akosha
platform these are growing by 19 per cent quarter on quarter
Out of the 11980 complaints received by Akosha for the e-commerce
sector in the January-March 2013 quarter about 58 per cent related to
deficiency in delivery while 29 per cent had to do with refunds the
balance 13 per cent concerning other issues
The bulk of these were registered by consumers in the metros with Delhi
topping the list However despite the urban tilt the geographical
distribution of the complaints is diverse enough to validate concerns
regarding the misapplication of the jurisdiction clause
The Consumer Protection Act by itself is not very ambiguous though It
clearly lays down that a consumer has to file a complaint in the place
where the company resides or carries on business
21
Alternatively shehe can also file it in the place where the cause of action
arose that is where the issue or grievance arose
However ―cause of action is a complicated legal concept mdash something
that is difficult to understand or simply inconvenient to grapple with for
the consumer forum registrars and judges
In the case of the e-commerce sector which caters to consumers across
the country irrespective of an online retailerlsquos geographical location this
becomes hugely problematic A lot of consumers are told by the relevant
registrar or the judges that their complaints cannot be accepted because
the companylsquos office does not lie within the said jurisdiction That is quite
similar to the police refusing to register an FIR because it falls outside their
―jurisdiction
One practical expedient that some consumers use is to make a local
branch service centre or even a warehouse (in the case of an e-commerce
company) party to the complaint and then get it admitted at the local
consumer forum
When the legislature drafted the jurisdiction clause in the Consumer
Protection Act they tried to balance the burden on the companies with
that on the consumers
While it would be unaffordable for a company to represent itself
everywhere ndash thereby justifying the customer having to file the complaint
in the place where it did business ndash the ―cause of action concept at the
same time allowed wriggle room for consumers
It is this wriggle room that is now squeezed by non-application of mind
by consumer forums
Lost Opportunity
22
The Consumer Protection Amendment Bill 2011 which was introduced in
the Lok Sabha last December could have proposed an amendment to
Section 11 of the Act that deals with jurisdiction
This would have incorporated a separate jurisdiction clause directed at the
e-commerce sector taking into consideration its unique non-territorial
nature
Such a clause should have clearly laid down that in e-commerce cases a
complaint should be filed where the cause of action arises irrespective of the
physical location of the company concerned This would have been a perfect
even though overly legislative redressal of an issue that is already a major
problem for Indian consumers making online purchases
Unfortunately the Bill has already been tabled and referred to the
Standing Committee ndash and it looks as though e-commerce consumer
hopes have been dashed
Another way out could be to have the National Consumer Disputes
Redressal Commission lay down clear directives in this regard clarifying
that ―cause of action be given precedence when dealing with
jurisdiction issues specific to e-commerce complaints
In the absence of these Indian e-commerce consumers will have little to
look forward to in terms of redressal of their complaints
(The author is founder of wwwakoshacom an online consumer complaints
resolution platform)
23
Chapter 6 Conclusion
While we have tried to address the basics in as much detail as possible
every consumer complaint is unique and may have issues that need to be
addressed individually
However this guide shall give every consumer a fair idea on how to get
started and things that should be kept in mind when planning to file a
complaint with a consumer forum If you have suggestions on improving this e-book please write
to feedbackakoshacom
If you liked this e-book please share copiously
If you have a complaint give us a try ndash just file your complaint on
wwwakoshacom
24
About Akosha
350000+ Complaints
1000000+ Updates
1250+ Daily customers 185+Brands
80+ Team
2010 Founded
Address
E-407 Second Floor Coraza Technologies Private Limited
Okhla Industrial Area Phase 2 New Delhi - 110020
Landline 011 64643453
wwwakoshacom
Design by Radhika Dutt
All rights reserved
First Edition September 2013
For the sake of repetition This book does not constitute legal advice 25
infoakoshacomwwwakoshacominfoakoshacom
2 Alternatively you can register your complaint on online forums like
Akosha (which escalates your complaint to the company) or tweet
about it on Twitter Several brands are active on online forums and
social media and you might get a prompt response with this
method
Donrsquot confuse online complaint forums with the actual real world
consumer courts These forums trick you into believing that you are filing
the complaint with a government sanctioned consumer court
3 If you have a complaint in a sector which has a ombudsman (like
banking or insurance) or other authorities (like TRAI for telecom
sector) you could first approach such authorities for redressal of the
complaint before approaching a consumer forum It is important to
note that different geographical sectors may have different
Ombudsmen and hence make sure you are addressing the correct
Ombudsman
The main point is that consumer forums are a consumerlsquos last resort and
should be approached after every other source and method of redressal
is exhausted
6
Chapter 2 How to
How long will it take for my complaint to get resolved
The estimate of time for granting relief given by the district consumer
courts is generally between six months to 18 months
The time taken for resolution of a complaint can vary a great deal
depending on
the nature of the case attitude of the companylsquos lawyers
smooth working of the consumer forum (judges have been
appointed etc) existing backlog in that consumer court
quality of documentation produced at the time of filing the case etc
What happens after I file my complaint with the consumer forum
Broadly the lifetime of a consumer complaint while it is being filed and
after it is actually filed with a consumer court can be summarized as
follows
Send a notice
7
You should send a letter to the company informing that if they are unable
to resolve your complaint youlsquod be forced to approach a consumer forum
It is ideal to specify a time limit within which youlsquod like them to settle your
grievance (usually 15 days is considered adequate)
Donrsquot threaten or abuse and state what you would like them to do exactly
Everybody loves compensation but be practical ndash in India no one will
agree to a disproportionate amount
Approach the consumer court
To approach the consumer court you need to take the following steps
1 Identify the correct consumer court to approach
2 Prepare the consumer complaint in the required format (see the
checklist of essentials of a consumer complaint below)
3 Get the complaint affidavit notarized through a notary
4 Make the required number of photocopies after notarizing that
is 1+3 sets of the entire complaint + Number of sets equal to the
number of companies you are complaining against
5 Prepare a bank draft from a nationalized bank to pay court fee
(see the table below for details of court fees)
While all this seems fairly legalistic and scary donrsquot despair ndash you donrsquot
need a lawyer to approach a consumer forum Hundreds of consumers
approach consumer courts themselves or with some assistance from us at
Akosha
8
6 Submit the complaint and court fee to the receiving clerk in the
consumer court who will give you a date for the admission hearing
and a complaint reference number
7 At the admission hearing you will be informed whether your case
is fit for acceptance or not If accepted you will be given a date for
the next hearing of your case
8 The court will send a notice with a copy of your complaint to the
opposite party stating that the opposite party must reply within 30
days and asking them to attend the hearing
9 The hearings will continue till the matter is decided
10 The courtlsquos final order will be sent to all the parties by registered
post
It is important to attend the hearings else the matter may be decided ex-
parte meaning in the absence of the party which could leave you at a
big disadvantage
What is the court fee
At the consumer forum the complainant is required to pay a nominal fee
to the court at the time of admission of a complaint
The court fee is fixed according to the value of goods or services which
form the core of the dispute and the compensation claimed The court fee
is generally nominal and affordable
Rule 9A of the Consumer Protection Rules 1987 provides the following
table setting out the amount of court fees payable in consumer forums
9
Total value of goods or services and the Fee
compensation claimed payable
District Forum
(1) Up to Rs 1 lakh Rs100
(2) Rs 1 lakh ndash up to Rs 5 lakhs Rs200
(3) Above Rs 5 lakhs ndash up to Rs 10 lakhs Rs400
(4) Above Rs 10 lakhs - up to Rs 20 lakhs Rs500
State Commission
(5) Above Rs 20 lakhs - up to Rs 50 lakhs Rs2000
(6) Above Rs 50 lakhs - up to Rs 1 crore Rs4000
National Commission
(7) Above Rs 1 crore Rs5000
How do I pay the court fee
You can pay the court fee by way of
1 a Crossed Demand Draft drawn on a nationalized bank or
2 a Crossed Indian Postal Order
These should be drawn in favour of the President of the District
ForumRegistrar of the State Commissionthe Registrar of the National
Commission (as the case may be) and should be payable at the place
where the District ForumState CommissionNational Commission is
situated (depending on where you have filed your complaint)
10
The Consumer Protection Rules 1987 provides for two ways of payment
of court fees but the situation in the forums across the country varies in
terms of practice
Different consumer courts might insist on different ways of paying of
consumer court fee It is advisable to call the court and check which
method they prefer to avoid repeated trips delays and frustration
For example the Central Delhi District Forum insists that customers pay
only using a Postal Order (so if you went in there with a DD there is a high
chance youlsquod be disappointed ndash even though the law gives you the right
to pay using a DD)
Some courts may even allow the payment of court fees in form of a challan
available at the forum or even cash So before preparing a draft or postal
order do check on the payments accepted by the consumer forum where
you are filing your complaint
What is the format of a consumer complaint to be filed in a consumer court
There is no defined or mandatory format for a consumer complaint ndash this
is to make it easier for a lay person to file a simple complaint without the
(expensive) assistance of a lawyer However there are certain essentials
that should be included in a complaint Below is a checklist of all these
essentials that must be taken care of at various stages of filing a complaint
11
Stage Checklist I DRAFTING OF COMPLAINT
Verify the details of the company such as its legal name address phone no etc
Prepare the statement of DisputeComplaint (this should
contain the facts of the complaint for example details of the
productservice bought details of the deficiency and
correspondence with the seller)
The DefectDeficiency in services should be stated clearly
Check whether your complaint is within 2 years from the
date when the cause of action arose if it is more than 2 years
then prepare a statement explaining why the delay should
be excused
Check the jurisdiction (pecuniaryoriginal) of the forum before which the complaint is to be filed (jurisdiction of the forum has been explained below)
Collect copies of LettersDocumentsCommunications between the partiesinvoices and attach these with your complaint
II DOCUMENTS TO BE ATTACHED ALONG WITH THE PETITION
Copies of Invoicedelivery challanlettersdocuments referred to or relied upon in your complaint
If you have relied on an expertlsquos opinion this should be attached
If you have relied on any technical literature or referred to
any articles etc in your complaint these should be attached
12
Check that the Annexures are page numbered
Check that an Affidavit by the complainant attested by an oath commissioner has been attached
Consumer Complaint should be signed by the complainant and supported
by a notarised attested affidavit with 1+3 sets + Number of Opposite
Parties (with File cover)
While it is true that drafting a complaint is not technical and can be done
by a consumer without professional assistance a professional lawyer or
someone on the team at Akosha may be more adept and efficient at
drafting such a complaint - this may be a good option if you want to save
yourself some hassle and time
Donrsquot be intimidated by the drafting of consumer complaint If you donrsquot have the time seek help
13
Chapter 3 The devilish details
The previous chapter answers some of the basic questions that will arise
when you want to file a complaint at a consumer forum
However there are a few more technical questions that you need to know
about
Where can I file my complaint (the jurisdiction issue)
Jurisdiction basically refers to the scope of the authority of the courts The
Consumer Protection Act provides for a three tiered system of courts
National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission
State Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission
District Consumer Dispute Redressal Forum
National Commission is the apex consumer dispute redressal body The
consumers can approach these forums based on
Territorial Jurisdiction- The consumers can approach the
consumer court located in the place where the companylsquos office is
or where it carries on business or where the ―cause of action arose
Pecuniary Jurisdiction- The consumers have to approach the consumer courts based on the monetary value of their suit which
14
usually refers to the amount involved in dispute This jurisdiction is
decided as follows
Where the value of goods or services and the compensation
Forum claimed is
District Forum Upto Rs 2000000
State Commission Rs2000000-Rs10000000
National Commission Exceeds Rs10000000
The companylsquos head office is in Mumbai but I live in Delhi What can I do
If the company you want to complain against is situated in your city that
would make matters simple ndash you would have to file your complaint at the
District Forum under whom the companylsquos office falls
However a lot of times this is not true For example
Anita a resident of Gurgaon who wanted to file a complaint against
an auto-maker (which is based out of Aurangabad) went at the
District Forum in Gurgaon The people at the District Forum told her
that she would not be able to get the complaint admitted in Gurgaon
unless one of the opposite parties was in Gurgaon Therefore the only
practical option left to her was to also name the local Skoda service
center in Gurgaon as a party to the complaint and got her complaint
admitted in Gurgaon itself
15
What do I do if the company has no branch office
or related entity in my city
Despair not
This is where the second criteria for jurisdiction comes to your rescue
―the cause of action Cause of action simply means the actual event
which has lead to you to having a complaint ie which has given you the
―cause to take legal action (ie file a complaint) against the company
Wherever the ―cause of action wholly or partly arose ndash that arealsquos District
Consumer Forum would have valid jurisdiction
For instance a complainant purchases a flight ticket in Shimla for a
journey which is to start from Delhi to another city In case a
complaint arises the complainant can file a complaint at a consumer
forum in Shimla This is because the ticket was purchased in Shimla
and hence the cause of action arose in Shimla even though the
journey was to commence from Delhi
As an easy rule of thumb the place of occurrence of any of the following
shall be considered the place where cause of action arose
(a) where goods are purchased
(b) where goods are supplied
(c) where services are rendered
(d) where the contract was made
The issue of jurisdiction is fairly complicated and in our experience it is
always better to seek expert advice
Even though the law clearly provides the option for you to file a complaint
where the ldquocause of actionrdquo arose on a practical level sometimes district
consumer forums refuse to admit the complaint if the companyrsquos office is
not within their area You should fight and escalate the matter at the
district forum if this happens
16
What if a complaint is against more than one
parties
If you are filing your complaint against more than one person (or
company) then you can file this complaint in the forum of the place where
ALL the opposite parties (companies) reside or carry on business or have
a branch office or personally work for gain
If all the opposite parties do not reside or carry on business or have a
branch office in the same area then you can file the complaint where ANY
of them reside or carry on business or have a branch office provided
you obtain
permission of the Forum where you intend to file the complaint or
the opposite parties who do not reside or carry on business in the place you intend to file agree to the jurisdiction of this forum
As we have mentioned earlier jurisdiction tends to get complicated for
more reasons than one and hence enlisting professional help is always a
good idea
Do I need to send a notice to the company before
filling a complaint against it
It is not compulsory to send a notice to the company before filing the
complaint with the District Forum There is no statutory requirement for
the same under the Consumer Protection Act In urgent circumstances the
consumers can directly file a complaint in the Consumer Court However
as best practice one should send a notice to the company informing it
about the grievance before filing a formal complaint against the company
17
What is the time period within which a complaint
can be filed in a consumer forum
As per the Consumer Protection Act the District Forum the State
Commission or the National Commission cannot admit a complaint unless
it is filed within two years from the date on which the cause of action has
arisen Otherwise a complaint is barred by limitation and cannot be filed
in a consumer forum
However such a delay can be condoned if the complainant shows that he
had sufficient cause for not filing the complaint within such period Of
course you should file your complaint as promptly as possible once it
becomes clear that all other means of its resolution have been exhausted
Can I appeal against the decision of the consumer
court
In case a complainant is not satisfied with the verdict delivered by a
consumer forum he or she may file an appeal with the State Commission
(if the original verdict was delivered by District Forum) or National
Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission (if the complainant is aggrieved
by a verdict delivered by a State Commission) The appeal must be filed
within 30 days of the receipt of the order In case a complainant is not
satisfied with the verdict of the National Commission he can approach the
Supreme Court for review
In our experience professional advice becomes mandatory for the
consumers if a complaint advances to the appeal stage and it is better to
enlist a lawyer for the same
18
Chapter 4 A photo tour
To get a real flavor of what it is like we sent an intern out to the K G
Marg District Consumer Forum in New Delhi
To read more go to
httpinfoakoshacomconsumer-complaintsconsumer-protectiona-
day-at-the-k-g-marg-new-delhi-district-consumer-forum
19
Chapter 5 The e-
commerce complaints
problem
This chapter first appeared as ldquoMake consumer law e-com-friendlyrdquo
The Hindu Business Line May 7 2013 Wersquove included it in this e-book
to give you a sense of the challenges you might face if you have a problem
against an ecommerce player
Anita (name changed) who lives in Bengaluru had ordered a mobile
phone from online electronics retailer Timtara but it was never
delivered despite the full payment being made
She then filed a complaint at the local consumer forum in Bengaluru
which however refused to admit it Instead she was asked to file it in
Noida Uttar Pradesh where Timtararsquos registered office is located
Anita had to forego the idea not only of filing the complaint (there
was no way she could have gone to Noida for that) but also
recovering the money she had paid to Timtara
The rise and fall of Timtara culminating in the arrest of its founder and
CEO just over a month ago has opened a can of worms as far as the e-
commerce sector is concerned It has even generated a debate on all what
is wrong with this ecosystem
However amidst all this there is one major concern that has been
overlooked mdash the application of the Consumer Protection Act with respect
to e-commerce transactions especially pertaining to the jurisdiction
clause
20
The case illustrated above is just one of the hundreds of complaints
against Timtara that were filed with Akosha alone In all such cases
whenever buyers approached the concerned local consumer forum they
were more often than not told to file their complaint in Noida which is
where Timtaralsquos registered office happened to be located
The story does not differ drastically in cases involving other e-commerce
players either Whenever a consumer faces an issue with an e-commerce
company and wishes to file a complaint at a consumer forum shehe very
often ends up confronting this dilemma of jurisdiction Where to file the
complaint
Virtual Jurisdiction
With e-commerce in India growing annually by over 57 per cent and
expected to touch $88 billion by 2016 mdash as per projections by Forrester
Research Inc a leading global research and advisory firm mdash one should
not be surprised to find the growth rate of complaints also keeping pace
From our own analysis of e-commerce complaints received on the Akosha
platform these are growing by 19 per cent quarter on quarter
Out of the 11980 complaints received by Akosha for the e-commerce
sector in the January-March 2013 quarter about 58 per cent related to
deficiency in delivery while 29 per cent had to do with refunds the
balance 13 per cent concerning other issues
The bulk of these were registered by consumers in the metros with Delhi
topping the list However despite the urban tilt the geographical
distribution of the complaints is diverse enough to validate concerns
regarding the misapplication of the jurisdiction clause
The Consumer Protection Act by itself is not very ambiguous though It
clearly lays down that a consumer has to file a complaint in the place
where the company resides or carries on business
21
Alternatively shehe can also file it in the place where the cause of action
arose that is where the issue or grievance arose
However ―cause of action is a complicated legal concept mdash something
that is difficult to understand or simply inconvenient to grapple with for
the consumer forum registrars and judges
In the case of the e-commerce sector which caters to consumers across
the country irrespective of an online retailerlsquos geographical location this
becomes hugely problematic A lot of consumers are told by the relevant
registrar or the judges that their complaints cannot be accepted because
the companylsquos office does not lie within the said jurisdiction That is quite
similar to the police refusing to register an FIR because it falls outside their
―jurisdiction
One practical expedient that some consumers use is to make a local
branch service centre or even a warehouse (in the case of an e-commerce
company) party to the complaint and then get it admitted at the local
consumer forum
When the legislature drafted the jurisdiction clause in the Consumer
Protection Act they tried to balance the burden on the companies with
that on the consumers
While it would be unaffordable for a company to represent itself
everywhere ndash thereby justifying the customer having to file the complaint
in the place where it did business ndash the ―cause of action concept at the
same time allowed wriggle room for consumers
It is this wriggle room that is now squeezed by non-application of mind
by consumer forums
Lost Opportunity
22
The Consumer Protection Amendment Bill 2011 which was introduced in
the Lok Sabha last December could have proposed an amendment to
Section 11 of the Act that deals with jurisdiction
This would have incorporated a separate jurisdiction clause directed at the
e-commerce sector taking into consideration its unique non-territorial
nature
Such a clause should have clearly laid down that in e-commerce cases a
complaint should be filed where the cause of action arises irrespective of the
physical location of the company concerned This would have been a perfect
even though overly legislative redressal of an issue that is already a major
problem for Indian consumers making online purchases
Unfortunately the Bill has already been tabled and referred to the
Standing Committee ndash and it looks as though e-commerce consumer
hopes have been dashed
Another way out could be to have the National Consumer Disputes
Redressal Commission lay down clear directives in this regard clarifying
that ―cause of action be given precedence when dealing with
jurisdiction issues specific to e-commerce complaints
In the absence of these Indian e-commerce consumers will have little to
look forward to in terms of redressal of their complaints
(The author is founder of wwwakoshacom an online consumer complaints
resolution platform)
23
Chapter 6 Conclusion
While we have tried to address the basics in as much detail as possible
every consumer complaint is unique and may have issues that need to be
addressed individually
However this guide shall give every consumer a fair idea on how to get
started and things that should be kept in mind when planning to file a
complaint with a consumer forum If you have suggestions on improving this e-book please write
to feedbackakoshacom
If you liked this e-book please share copiously
If you have a complaint give us a try ndash just file your complaint on
wwwakoshacom
24
About Akosha
350000+ Complaints
1000000+ Updates
1250+ Daily customers 185+Brands
80+ Team
2010 Founded
Address
E-407 Second Floor Coraza Technologies Private Limited
Okhla Industrial Area Phase 2 New Delhi - 110020
Landline 011 64643453
wwwakoshacom
Design by Radhika Dutt
All rights reserved
First Edition September 2013
For the sake of repetition This book does not constitute legal advice 25
infoakoshacomwwwakoshacominfoakoshacom
Chapter 2 How to
How long will it take for my complaint to get resolved
The estimate of time for granting relief given by the district consumer
courts is generally between six months to 18 months
The time taken for resolution of a complaint can vary a great deal
depending on
the nature of the case attitude of the companylsquos lawyers
smooth working of the consumer forum (judges have been
appointed etc) existing backlog in that consumer court
quality of documentation produced at the time of filing the case etc
What happens after I file my complaint with the consumer forum
Broadly the lifetime of a consumer complaint while it is being filed and
after it is actually filed with a consumer court can be summarized as
follows
Send a notice
7
You should send a letter to the company informing that if they are unable
to resolve your complaint youlsquod be forced to approach a consumer forum
It is ideal to specify a time limit within which youlsquod like them to settle your
grievance (usually 15 days is considered adequate)
Donrsquot threaten or abuse and state what you would like them to do exactly
Everybody loves compensation but be practical ndash in India no one will
agree to a disproportionate amount
Approach the consumer court
To approach the consumer court you need to take the following steps
1 Identify the correct consumer court to approach
2 Prepare the consumer complaint in the required format (see the
checklist of essentials of a consumer complaint below)
3 Get the complaint affidavit notarized through a notary
4 Make the required number of photocopies after notarizing that
is 1+3 sets of the entire complaint + Number of sets equal to the
number of companies you are complaining against
5 Prepare a bank draft from a nationalized bank to pay court fee
(see the table below for details of court fees)
While all this seems fairly legalistic and scary donrsquot despair ndash you donrsquot
need a lawyer to approach a consumer forum Hundreds of consumers
approach consumer courts themselves or with some assistance from us at
Akosha
8
6 Submit the complaint and court fee to the receiving clerk in the
consumer court who will give you a date for the admission hearing
and a complaint reference number
7 At the admission hearing you will be informed whether your case
is fit for acceptance or not If accepted you will be given a date for
the next hearing of your case
8 The court will send a notice with a copy of your complaint to the
opposite party stating that the opposite party must reply within 30
days and asking them to attend the hearing
9 The hearings will continue till the matter is decided
10 The courtlsquos final order will be sent to all the parties by registered
post
It is important to attend the hearings else the matter may be decided ex-
parte meaning in the absence of the party which could leave you at a
big disadvantage
What is the court fee
At the consumer forum the complainant is required to pay a nominal fee
to the court at the time of admission of a complaint
The court fee is fixed according to the value of goods or services which
form the core of the dispute and the compensation claimed The court fee
is generally nominal and affordable
Rule 9A of the Consumer Protection Rules 1987 provides the following
table setting out the amount of court fees payable in consumer forums
9
Total value of goods or services and the Fee
compensation claimed payable
District Forum
(1) Up to Rs 1 lakh Rs100
(2) Rs 1 lakh ndash up to Rs 5 lakhs Rs200
(3) Above Rs 5 lakhs ndash up to Rs 10 lakhs Rs400
(4) Above Rs 10 lakhs - up to Rs 20 lakhs Rs500
State Commission
(5) Above Rs 20 lakhs - up to Rs 50 lakhs Rs2000
(6) Above Rs 50 lakhs - up to Rs 1 crore Rs4000
National Commission
(7) Above Rs 1 crore Rs5000
How do I pay the court fee
You can pay the court fee by way of
1 a Crossed Demand Draft drawn on a nationalized bank or
2 a Crossed Indian Postal Order
These should be drawn in favour of the President of the District
ForumRegistrar of the State Commissionthe Registrar of the National
Commission (as the case may be) and should be payable at the place
where the District ForumState CommissionNational Commission is
situated (depending on where you have filed your complaint)
10
The Consumer Protection Rules 1987 provides for two ways of payment
of court fees but the situation in the forums across the country varies in
terms of practice
Different consumer courts might insist on different ways of paying of
consumer court fee It is advisable to call the court and check which
method they prefer to avoid repeated trips delays and frustration
For example the Central Delhi District Forum insists that customers pay
only using a Postal Order (so if you went in there with a DD there is a high
chance youlsquod be disappointed ndash even though the law gives you the right
to pay using a DD)
Some courts may even allow the payment of court fees in form of a challan
available at the forum or even cash So before preparing a draft or postal
order do check on the payments accepted by the consumer forum where
you are filing your complaint
What is the format of a consumer complaint to be filed in a consumer court
There is no defined or mandatory format for a consumer complaint ndash this
is to make it easier for a lay person to file a simple complaint without the
(expensive) assistance of a lawyer However there are certain essentials
that should be included in a complaint Below is a checklist of all these
essentials that must be taken care of at various stages of filing a complaint
11
Stage Checklist I DRAFTING OF COMPLAINT
Verify the details of the company such as its legal name address phone no etc
Prepare the statement of DisputeComplaint (this should
contain the facts of the complaint for example details of the
productservice bought details of the deficiency and
correspondence with the seller)
The DefectDeficiency in services should be stated clearly
Check whether your complaint is within 2 years from the
date when the cause of action arose if it is more than 2 years
then prepare a statement explaining why the delay should
be excused
Check the jurisdiction (pecuniaryoriginal) of the forum before which the complaint is to be filed (jurisdiction of the forum has been explained below)
Collect copies of LettersDocumentsCommunications between the partiesinvoices and attach these with your complaint
II DOCUMENTS TO BE ATTACHED ALONG WITH THE PETITION
Copies of Invoicedelivery challanlettersdocuments referred to or relied upon in your complaint
If you have relied on an expertlsquos opinion this should be attached
If you have relied on any technical literature or referred to
any articles etc in your complaint these should be attached
12
Check that the Annexures are page numbered
Check that an Affidavit by the complainant attested by an oath commissioner has been attached
Consumer Complaint should be signed by the complainant and supported
by a notarised attested affidavit with 1+3 sets + Number of Opposite
Parties (with File cover)
While it is true that drafting a complaint is not technical and can be done
by a consumer without professional assistance a professional lawyer or
someone on the team at Akosha may be more adept and efficient at
drafting such a complaint - this may be a good option if you want to save
yourself some hassle and time
Donrsquot be intimidated by the drafting of consumer complaint If you donrsquot have the time seek help
13
Chapter 3 The devilish details
The previous chapter answers some of the basic questions that will arise
when you want to file a complaint at a consumer forum
However there are a few more technical questions that you need to know
about
Where can I file my complaint (the jurisdiction issue)
Jurisdiction basically refers to the scope of the authority of the courts The
Consumer Protection Act provides for a three tiered system of courts
National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission
State Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission
District Consumer Dispute Redressal Forum
National Commission is the apex consumer dispute redressal body The
consumers can approach these forums based on
Territorial Jurisdiction- The consumers can approach the
consumer court located in the place where the companylsquos office is
or where it carries on business or where the ―cause of action arose
Pecuniary Jurisdiction- The consumers have to approach the consumer courts based on the monetary value of their suit which
14
usually refers to the amount involved in dispute This jurisdiction is
decided as follows
Where the value of goods or services and the compensation
Forum claimed is
District Forum Upto Rs 2000000
State Commission Rs2000000-Rs10000000
National Commission Exceeds Rs10000000
The companylsquos head office is in Mumbai but I live in Delhi What can I do
If the company you want to complain against is situated in your city that
would make matters simple ndash you would have to file your complaint at the
District Forum under whom the companylsquos office falls
However a lot of times this is not true For example
Anita a resident of Gurgaon who wanted to file a complaint against
an auto-maker (which is based out of Aurangabad) went at the
District Forum in Gurgaon The people at the District Forum told her
that she would not be able to get the complaint admitted in Gurgaon
unless one of the opposite parties was in Gurgaon Therefore the only
practical option left to her was to also name the local Skoda service
center in Gurgaon as a party to the complaint and got her complaint
admitted in Gurgaon itself
15
What do I do if the company has no branch office
or related entity in my city
Despair not
This is where the second criteria for jurisdiction comes to your rescue
―the cause of action Cause of action simply means the actual event
which has lead to you to having a complaint ie which has given you the
―cause to take legal action (ie file a complaint) against the company
Wherever the ―cause of action wholly or partly arose ndash that arealsquos District
Consumer Forum would have valid jurisdiction
For instance a complainant purchases a flight ticket in Shimla for a
journey which is to start from Delhi to another city In case a
complaint arises the complainant can file a complaint at a consumer
forum in Shimla This is because the ticket was purchased in Shimla
and hence the cause of action arose in Shimla even though the
journey was to commence from Delhi
As an easy rule of thumb the place of occurrence of any of the following
shall be considered the place where cause of action arose
(a) where goods are purchased
(b) where goods are supplied
(c) where services are rendered
(d) where the contract was made
The issue of jurisdiction is fairly complicated and in our experience it is
always better to seek expert advice
Even though the law clearly provides the option for you to file a complaint
where the ldquocause of actionrdquo arose on a practical level sometimes district
consumer forums refuse to admit the complaint if the companyrsquos office is
not within their area You should fight and escalate the matter at the
district forum if this happens
16
What if a complaint is against more than one
parties
If you are filing your complaint against more than one person (or
company) then you can file this complaint in the forum of the place where
ALL the opposite parties (companies) reside or carry on business or have
a branch office or personally work for gain
If all the opposite parties do not reside or carry on business or have a
branch office in the same area then you can file the complaint where ANY
of them reside or carry on business or have a branch office provided
you obtain
permission of the Forum where you intend to file the complaint or
the opposite parties who do not reside or carry on business in the place you intend to file agree to the jurisdiction of this forum
As we have mentioned earlier jurisdiction tends to get complicated for
more reasons than one and hence enlisting professional help is always a
good idea
Do I need to send a notice to the company before
filling a complaint against it
It is not compulsory to send a notice to the company before filing the
complaint with the District Forum There is no statutory requirement for
the same under the Consumer Protection Act In urgent circumstances the
consumers can directly file a complaint in the Consumer Court However
as best practice one should send a notice to the company informing it
about the grievance before filing a formal complaint against the company
17
What is the time period within which a complaint
can be filed in a consumer forum
As per the Consumer Protection Act the District Forum the State
Commission or the National Commission cannot admit a complaint unless
it is filed within two years from the date on which the cause of action has
arisen Otherwise a complaint is barred by limitation and cannot be filed
in a consumer forum
However such a delay can be condoned if the complainant shows that he
had sufficient cause for not filing the complaint within such period Of
course you should file your complaint as promptly as possible once it
becomes clear that all other means of its resolution have been exhausted
Can I appeal against the decision of the consumer
court
In case a complainant is not satisfied with the verdict delivered by a
consumer forum he or she may file an appeal with the State Commission
(if the original verdict was delivered by District Forum) or National
Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission (if the complainant is aggrieved
by a verdict delivered by a State Commission) The appeal must be filed
within 30 days of the receipt of the order In case a complainant is not
satisfied with the verdict of the National Commission he can approach the
Supreme Court for review
In our experience professional advice becomes mandatory for the
consumers if a complaint advances to the appeal stage and it is better to
enlist a lawyer for the same
18
Chapter 4 A photo tour
To get a real flavor of what it is like we sent an intern out to the K G
Marg District Consumer Forum in New Delhi
To read more go to
httpinfoakoshacomconsumer-complaintsconsumer-protectiona-
day-at-the-k-g-marg-new-delhi-district-consumer-forum
19
Chapter 5 The e-
commerce complaints
problem
This chapter first appeared as ldquoMake consumer law e-com-friendlyrdquo
The Hindu Business Line May 7 2013 Wersquove included it in this e-book
to give you a sense of the challenges you might face if you have a problem
against an ecommerce player
Anita (name changed) who lives in Bengaluru had ordered a mobile
phone from online electronics retailer Timtara but it was never
delivered despite the full payment being made
She then filed a complaint at the local consumer forum in Bengaluru
which however refused to admit it Instead she was asked to file it in
Noida Uttar Pradesh where Timtararsquos registered office is located
Anita had to forego the idea not only of filing the complaint (there
was no way she could have gone to Noida for that) but also
recovering the money she had paid to Timtara
The rise and fall of Timtara culminating in the arrest of its founder and
CEO just over a month ago has opened a can of worms as far as the e-
commerce sector is concerned It has even generated a debate on all what
is wrong with this ecosystem
However amidst all this there is one major concern that has been
overlooked mdash the application of the Consumer Protection Act with respect
to e-commerce transactions especially pertaining to the jurisdiction
clause
20
The case illustrated above is just one of the hundreds of complaints
against Timtara that were filed with Akosha alone In all such cases
whenever buyers approached the concerned local consumer forum they
were more often than not told to file their complaint in Noida which is
where Timtaralsquos registered office happened to be located
The story does not differ drastically in cases involving other e-commerce
players either Whenever a consumer faces an issue with an e-commerce
company and wishes to file a complaint at a consumer forum shehe very
often ends up confronting this dilemma of jurisdiction Where to file the
complaint
Virtual Jurisdiction
With e-commerce in India growing annually by over 57 per cent and
expected to touch $88 billion by 2016 mdash as per projections by Forrester
Research Inc a leading global research and advisory firm mdash one should
not be surprised to find the growth rate of complaints also keeping pace
From our own analysis of e-commerce complaints received on the Akosha
platform these are growing by 19 per cent quarter on quarter
Out of the 11980 complaints received by Akosha for the e-commerce
sector in the January-March 2013 quarter about 58 per cent related to
deficiency in delivery while 29 per cent had to do with refunds the
balance 13 per cent concerning other issues
The bulk of these were registered by consumers in the metros with Delhi
topping the list However despite the urban tilt the geographical
distribution of the complaints is diverse enough to validate concerns
regarding the misapplication of the jurisdiction clause
The Consumer Protection Act by itself is not very ambiguous though It
clearly lays down that a consumer has to file a complaint in the place
where the company resides or carries on business
21
Alternatively shehe can also file it in the place where the cause of action
arose that is where the issue or grievance arose
However ―cause of action is a complicated legal concept mdash something
that is difficult to understand or simply inconvenient to grapple with for
the consumer forum registrars and judges
In the case of the e-commerce sector which caters to consumers across
the country irrespective of an online retailerlsquos geographical location this
becomes hugely problematic A lot of consumers are told by the relevant
registrar or the judges that their complaints cannot be accepted because
the companylsquos office does not lie within the said jurisdiction That is quite
similar to the police refusing to register an FIR because it falls outside their
―jurisdiction
One practical expedient that some consumers use is to make a local
branch service centre or even a warehouse (in the case of an e-commerce
company) party to the complaint and then get it admitted at the local
consumer forum
When the legislature drafted the jurisdiction clause in the Consumer
Protection Act they tried to balance the burden on the companies with
that on the consumers
While it would be unaffordable for a company to represent itself
everywhere ndash thereby justifying the customer having to file the complaint
in the place where it did business ndash the ―cause of action concept at the
same time allowed wriggle room for consumers
It is this wriggle room that is now squeezed by non-application of mind
by consumer forums
Lost Opportunity
22
The Consumer Protection Amendment Bill 2011 which was introduced in
the Lok Sabha last December could have proposed an amendment to
Section 11 of the Act that deals with jurisdiction
This would have incorporated a separate jurisdiction clause directed at the
e-commerce sector taking into consideration its unique non-territorial
nature
Such a clause should have clearly laid down that in e-commerce cases a
complaint should be filed where the cause of action arises irrespective of the
physical location of the company concerned This would have been a perfect
even though overly legislative redressal of an issue that is already a major
problem for Indian consumers making online purchases
Unfortunately the Bill has already been tabled and referred to the
Standing Committee ndash and it looks as though e-commerce consumer
hopes have been dashed
Another way out could be to have the National Consumer Disputes
Redressal Commission lay down clear directives in this regard clarifying
that ―cause of action be given precedence when dealing with
jurisdiction issues specific to e-commerce complaints
In the absence of these Indian e-commerce consumers will have little to
look forward to in terms of redressal of their complaints
(The author is founder of wwwakoshacom an online consumer complaints
resolution platform)
23
Chapter 6 Conclusion
While we have tried to address the basics in as much detail as possible
every consumer complaint is unique and may have issues that need to be
addressed individually
However this guide shall give every consumer a fair idea on how to get
started and things that should be kept in mind when planning to file a
complaint with a consumer forum If you have suggestions on improving this e-book please write
to feedbackakoshacom
If you liked this e-book please share copiously
If you have a complaint give us a try ndash just file your complaint on
wwwakoshacom
24
About Akosha
350000+ Complaints
1000000+ Updates
1250+ Daily customers 185+Brands
80+ Team
2010 Founded
Address
E-407 Second Floor Coraza Technologies Private Limited
Okhla Industrial Area Phase 2 New Delhi - 110020
Landline 011 64643453
wwwakoshacom
Design by Radhika Dutt
All rights reserved
First Edition September 2013
For the sake of repetition This book does not constitute legal advice 25
infoakoshacomwwwakoshacominfoakoshacom
You should send a letter to the company informing that if they are unable
to resolve your complaint youlsquod be forced to approach a consumer forum
It is ideal to specify a time limit within which youlsquod like them to settle your
grievance (usually 15 days is considered adequate)
Donrsquot threaten or abuse and state what you would like them to do exactly
Everybody loves compensation but be practical ndash in India no one will
agree to a disproportionate amount
Approach the consumer court
To approach the consumer court you need to take the following steps
1 Identify the correct consumer court to approach
2 Prepare the consumer complaint in the required format (see the
checklist of essentials of a consumer complaint below)
3 Get the complaint affidavit notarized through a notary
4 Make the required number of photocopies after notarizing that
is 1+3 sets of the entire complaint + Number of sets equal to the
number of companies you are complaining against
5 Prepare a bank draft from a nationalized bank to pay court fee
(see the table below for details of court fees)
While all this seems fairly legalistic and scary donrsquot despair ndash you donrsquot
need a lawyer to approach a consumer forum Hundreds of consumers
approach consumer courts themselves or with some assistance from us at
Akosha
8
6 Submit the complaint and court fee to the receiving clerk in the
consumer court who will give you a date for the admission hearing
and a complaint reference number
7 At the admission hearing you will be informed whether your case
is fit for acceptance or not If accepted you will be given a date for
the next hearing of your case
8 The court will send a notice with a copy of your complaint to the
opposite party stating that the opposite party must reply within 30
days and asking them to attend the hearing
9 The hearings will continue till the matter is decided
10 The courtlsquos final order will be sent to all the parties by registered
post
It is important to attend the hearings else the matter may be decided ex-
parte meaning in the absence of the party which could leave you at a
big disadvantage
What is the court fee
At the consumer forum the complainant is required to pay a nominal fee
to the court at the time of admission of a complaint
The court fee is fixed according to the value of goods or services which
form the core of the dispute and the compensation claimed The court fee
is generally nominal and affordable
Rule 9A of the Consumer Protection Rules 1987 provides the following
table setting out the amount of court fees payable in consumer forums
9
Total value of goods or services and the Fee
compensation claimed payable
District Forum
(1) Up to Rs 1 lakh Rs100
(2) Rs 1 lakh ndash up to Rs 5 lakhs Rs200
(3) Above Rs 5 lakhs ndash up to Rs 10 lakhs Rs400
(4) Above Rs 10 lakhs - up to Rs 20 lakhs Rs500
State Commission
(5) Above Rs 20 lakhs - up to Rs 50 lakhs Rs2000
(6) Above Rs 50 lakhs - up to Rs 1 crore Rs4000
National Commission
(7) Above Rs 1 crore Rs5000
How do I pay the court fee
You can pay the court fee by way of
1 a Crossed Demand Draft drawn on a nationalized bank or
2 a Crossed Indian Postal Order
These should be drawn in favour of the President of the District
ForumRegistrar of the State Commissionthe Registrar of the National
Commission (as the case may be) and should be payable at the place
where the District ForumState CommissionNational Commission is
situated (depending on where you have filed your complaint)
10
The Consumer Protection Rules 1987 provides for two ways of payment
of court fees but the situation in the forums across the country varies in
terms of practice
Different consumer courts might insist on different ways of paying of
consumer court fee It is advisable to call the court and check which
method they prefer to avoid repeated trips delays and frustration
For example the Central Delhi District Forum insists that customers pay
only using a Postal Order (so if you went in there with a DD there is a high
chance youlsquod be disappointed ndash even though the law gives you the right
to pay using a DD)
Some courts may even allow the payment of court fees in form of a challan
available at the forum or even cash So before preparing a draft or postal
order do check on the payments accepted by the consumer forum where
you are filing your complaint
What is the format of a consumer complaint to be filed in a consumer court
There is no defined or mandatory format for a consumer complaint ndash this
is to make it easier for a lay person to file a simple complaint without the
(expensive) assistance of a lawyer However there are certain essentials
that should be included in a complaint Below is a checklist of all these
essentials that must be taken care of at various stages of filing a complaint
11
Stage Checklist I DRAFTING OF COMPLAINT
Verify the details of the company such as its legal name address phone no etc
Prepare the statement of DisputeComplaint (this should
contain the facts of the complaint for example details of the
productservice bought details of the deficiency and
correspondence with the seller)
The DefectDeficiency in services should be stated clearly
Check whether your complaint is within 2 years from the
date when the cause of action arose if it is more than 2 years
then prepare a statement explaining why the delay should
be excused
Check the jurisdiction (pecuniaryoriginal) of the forum before which the complaint is to be filed (jurisdiction of the forum has been explained below)
Collect copies of LettersDocumentsCommunications between the partiesinvoices and attach these with your complaint
II DOCUMENTS TO BE ATTACHED ALONG WITH THE PETITION
Copies of Invoicedelivery challanlettersdocuments referred to or relied upon in your complaint
If you have relied on an expertlsquos opinion this should be attached
If you have relied on any technical literature or referred to
any articles etc in your complaint these should be attached
12
Check that the Annexures are page numbered
Check that an Affidavit by the complainant attested by an oath commissioner has been attached
Consumer Complaint should be signed by the complainant and supported
by a notarised attested affidavit with 1+3 sets + Number of Opposite
Parties (with File cover)
While it is true that drafting a complaint is not technical and can be done
by a consumer without professional assistance a professional lawyer or
someone on the team at Akosha may be more adept and efficient at
drafting such a complaint - this may be a good option if you want to save
yourself some hassle and time
Donrsquot be intimidated by the drafting of consumer complaint If you donrsquot have the time seek help
13
Chapter 3 The devilish details
The previous chapter answers some of the basic questions that will arise
when you want to file a complaint at a consumer forum
However there are a few more technical questions that you need to know
about
Where can I file my complaint (the jurisdiction issue)
Jurisdiction basically refers to the scope of the authority of the courts The
Consumer Protection Act provides for a three tiered system of courts
National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission
State Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission
District Consumer Dispute Redressal Forum
National Commission is the apex consumer dispute redressal body The
consumers can approach these forums based on
Territorial Jurisdiction- The consumers can approach the
consumer court located in the place where the companylsquos office is
or where it carries on business or where the ―cause of action arose
Pecuniary Jurisdiction- The consumers have to approach the consumer courts based on the monetary value of their suit which
14
usually refers to the amount involved in dispute This jurisdiction is
decided as follows
Where the value of goods or services and the compensation
Forum claimed is
District Forum Upto Rs 2000000
State Commission Rs2000000-Rs10000000
National Commission Exceeds Rs10000000
The companylsquos head office is in Mumbai but I live in Delhi What can I do
If the company you want to complain against is situated in your city that
would make matters simple ndash you would have to file your complaint at the
District Forum under whom the companylsquos office falls
However a lot of times this is not true For example
Anita a resident of Gurgaon who wanted to file a complaint against
an auto-maker (which is based out of Aurangabad) went at the
District Forum in Gurgaon The people at the District Forum told her
that she would not be able to get the complaint admitted in Gurgaon
unless one of the opposite parties was in Gurgaon Therefore the only
practical option left to her was to also name the local Skoda service
center in Gurgaon as a party to the complaint and got her complaint
admitted in Gurgaon itself
15
What do I do if the company has no branch office
or related entity in my city
Despair not
This is where the second criteria for jurisdiction comes to your rescue
―the cause of action Cause of action simply means the actual event
which has lead to you to having a complaint ie which has given you the
―cause to take legal action (ie file a complaint) against the company
Wherever the ―cause of action wholly or partly arose ndash that arealsquos District
Consumer Forum would have valid jurisdiction
For instance a complainant purchases a flight ticket in Shimla for a
journey which is to start from Delhi to another city In case a
complaint arises the complainant can file a complaint at a consumer
forum in Shimla This is because the ticket was purchased in Shimla
and hence the cause of action arose in Shimla even though the
journey was to commence from Delhi
As an easy rule of thumb the place of occurrence of any of the following
shall be considered the place where cause of action arose
(a) where goods are purchased
(b) where goods are supplied
(c) where services are rendered
(d) where the contract was made
The issue of jurisdiction is fairly complicated and in our experience it is
always better to seek expert advice
Even though the law clearly provides the option for you to file a complaint
where the ldquocause of actionrdquo arose on a practical level sometimes district
consumer forums refuse to admit the complaint if the companyrsquos office is
not within their area You should fight and escalate the matter at the
district forum if this happens
16
What if a complaint is against more than one
parties
If you are filing your complaint against more than one person (or
company) then you can file this complaint in the forum of the place where
ALL the opposite parties (companies) reside or carry on business or have
a branch office or personally work for gain
If all the opposite parties do not reside or carry on business or have a
branch office in the same area then you can file the complaint where ANY
of them reside or carry on business or have a branch office provided
you obtain
permission of the Forum where you intend to file the complaint or
the opposite parties who do not reside or carry on business in the place you intend to file agree to the jurisdiction of this forum
As we have mentioned earlier jurisdiction tends to get complicated for
more reasons than one and hence enlisting professional help is always a
good idea
Do I need to send a notice to the company before
filling a complaint against it
It is not compulsory to send a notice to the company before filing the
complaint with the District Forum There is no statutory requirement for
the same under the Consumer Protection Act In urgent circumstances the
consumers can directly file a complaint in the Consumer Court However
as best practice one should send a notice to the company informing it
about the grievance before filing a formal complaint against the company
17
What is the time period within which a complaint
can be filed in a consumer forum
As per the Consumer Protection Act the District Forum the State
Commission or the National Commission cannot admit a complaint unless
it is filed within two years from the date on which the cause of action has
arisen Otherwise a complaint is barred by limitation and cannot be filed
in a consumer forum
However such a delay can be condoned if the complainant shows that he
had sufficient cause for not filing the complaint within such period Of
course you should file your complaint as promptly as possible once it
becomes clear that all other means of its resolution have been exhausted
Can I appeal against the decision of the consumer
court
In case a complainant is not satisfied with the verdict delivered by a
consumer forum he or she may file an appeal with the State Commission
(if the original verdict was delivered by District Forum) or National
Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission (if the complainant is aggrieved
by a verdict delivered by a State Commission) The appeal must be filed
within 30 days of the receipt of the order In case a complainant is not
satisfied with the verdict of the National Commission he can approach the
Supreme Court for review
In our experience professional advice becomes mandatory for the
consumers if a complaint advances to the appeal stage and it is better to
enlist a lawyer for the same
18
Chapter 4 A photo tour
To get a real flavor of what it is like we sent an intern out to the K G
Marg District Consumer Forum in New Delhi
To read more go to
httpinfoakoshacomconsumer-complaintsconsumer-protectiona-
day-at-the-k-g-marg-new-delhi-district-consumer-forum
19
Chapter 5 The e-
commerce complaints
problem
This chapter first appeared as ldquoMake consumer law e-com-friendlyrdquo
The Hindu Business Line May 7 2013 Wersquove included it in this e-book
to give you a sense of the challenges you might face if you have a problem
against an ecommerce player
Anita (name changed) who lives in Bengaluru had ordered a mobile
phone from online electronics retailer Timtara but it was never
delivered despite the full payment being made
She then filed a complaint at the local consumer forum in Bengaluru
which however refused to admit it Instead she was asked to file it in
Noida Uttar Pradesh where Timtararsquos registered office is located
Anita had to forego the idea not only of filing the complaint (there
was no way she could have gone to Noida for that) but also
recovering the money she had paid to Timtara
The rise and fall of Timtara culminating in the arrest of its founder and
CEO just over a month ago has opened a can of worms as far as the e-
commerce sector is concerned It has even generated a debate on all what
is wrong with this ecosystem
However amidst all this there is one major concern that has been
overlooked mdash the application of the Consumer Protection Act with respect
to e-commerce transactions especially pertaining to the jurisdiction
clause
20
The case illustrated above is just one of the hundreds of complaints
against Timtara that were filed with Akosha alone In all such cases
whenever buyers approached the concerned local consumer forum they
were more often than not told to file their complaint in Noida which is
where Timtaralsquos registered office happened to be located
The story does not differ drastically in cases involving other e-commerce
players either Whenever a consumer faces an issue with an e-commerce
company and wishes to file a complaint at a consumer forum shehe very
often ends up confronting this dilemma of jurisdiction Where to file the
complaint
Virtual Jurisdiction
With e-commerce in India growing annually by over 57 per cent and
expected to touch $88 billion by 2016 mdash as per projections by Forrester
Research Inc a leading global research and advisory firm mdash one should
not be surprised to find the growth rate of complaints also keeping pace
From our own analysis of e-commerce complaints received on the Akosha
platform these are growing by 19 per cent quarter on quarter
Out of the 11980 complaints received by Akosha for the e-commerce
sector in the January-March 2013 quarter about 58 per cent related to
deficiency in delivery while 29 per cent had to do with refunds the
balance 13 per cent concerning other issues
The bulk of these were registered by consumers in the metros with Delhi
topping the list However despite the urban tilt the geographical
distribution of the complaints is diverse enough to validate concerns
regarding the misapplication of the jurisdiction clause
The Consumer Protection Act by itself is not very ambiguous though It
clearly lays down that a consumer has to file a complaint in the place
where the company resides or carries on business
21
Alternatively shehe can also file it in the place where the cause of action
arose that is where the issue or grievance arose
However ―cause of action is a complicated legal concept mdash something
that is difficult to understand or simply inconvenient to grapple with for
the consumer forum registrars and judges
In the case of the e-commerce sector which caters to consumers across
the country irrespective of an online retailerlsquos geographical location this
becomes hugely problematic A lot of consumers are told by the relevant
registrar or the judges that their complaints cannot be accepted because
the companylsquos office does not lie within the said jurisdiction That is quite
similar to the police refusing to register an FIR because it falls outside their
―jurisdiction
One practical expedient that some consumers use is to make a local
branch service centre or even a warehouse (in the case of an e-commerce
company) party to the complaint and then get it admitted at the local
consumer forum
When the legislature drafted the jurisdiction clause in the Consumer
Protection Act they tried to balance the burden on the companies with
that on the consumers
While it would be unaffordable for a company to represent itself
everywhere ndash thereby justifying the customer having to file the complaint
in the place where it did business ndash the ―cause of action concept at the
same time allowed wriggle room for consumers
It is this wriggle room that is now squeezed by non-application of mind
by consumer forums
Lost Opportunity
22
The Consumer Protection Amendment Bill 2011 which was introduced in
the Lok Sabha last December could have proposed an amendment to
Section 11 of the Act that deals with jurisdiction
This would have incorporated a separate jurisdiction clause directed at the
e-commerce sector taking into consideration its unique non-territorial
nature
Such a clause should have clearly laid down that in e-commerce cases a
complaint should be filed where the cause of action arises irrespective of the
physical location of the company concerned This would have been a perfect
even though overly legislative redressal of an issue that is already a major
problem for Indian consumers making online purchases
Unfortunately the Bill has already been tabled and referred to the
Standing Committee ndash and it looks as though e-commerce consumer
hopes have been dashed
Another way out could be to have the National Consumer Disputes
Redressal Commission lay down clear directives in this regard clarifying
that ―cause of action be given precedence when dealing with
jurisdiction issues specific to e-commerce complaints
In the absence of these Indian e-commerce consumers will have little to
look forward to in terms of redressal of their complaints
(The author is founder of wwwakoshacom an online consumer complaints
resolution platform)
23
Chapter 6 Conclusion
While we have tried to address the basics in as much detail as possible
every consumer complaint is unique and may have issues that need to be
addressed individually
However this guide shall give every consumer a fair idea on how to get
started and things that should be kept in mind when planning to file a
complaint with a consumer forum If you have suggestions on improving this e-book please write
to feedbackakoshacom
If you liked this e-book please share copiously
If you have a complaint give us a try ndash just file your complaint on
wwwakoshacom
24
About Akosha
350000+ Complaints
1000000+ Updates
1250+ Daily customers 185+Brands
80+ Team
2010 Founded
Address
E-407 Second Floor Coraza Technologies Private Limited
Okhla Industrial Area Phase 2 New Delhi - 110020
Landline 011 64643453
wwwakoshacom
Design by Radhika Dutt
All rights reserved
First Edition September 2013
For the sake of repetition This book does not constitute legal advice 25
infoakoshacomwwwakoshacominfoakoshacom
6 Submit the complaint and court fee to the receiving clerk in the
consumer court who will give you a date for the admission hearing
and a complaint reference number
7 At the admission hearing you will be informed whether your case
is fit for acceptance or not If accepted you will be given a date for
the next hearing of your case
8 The court will send a notice with a copy of your complaint to the
opposite party stating that the opposite party must reply within 30
days and asking them to attend the hearing
9 The hearings will continue till the matter is decided
10 The courtlsquos final order will be sent to all the parties by registered
post
It is important to attend the hearings else the matter may be decided ex-
parte meaning in the absence of the party which could leave you at a
big disadvantage
What is the court fee
At the consumer forum the complainant is required to pay a nominal fee
to the court at the time of admission of a complaint
The court fee is fixed according to the value of goods or services which
form the core of the dispute and the compensation claimed The court fee
is generally nominal and affordable
Rule 9A of the Consumer Protection Rules 1987 provides the following
table setting out the amount of court fees payable in consumer forums
9
Total value of goods or services and the Fee
compensation claimed payable
District Forum
(1) Up to Rs 1 lakh Rs100
(2) Rs 1 lakh ndash up to Rs 5 lakhs Rs200
(3) Above Rs 5 lakhs ndash up to Rs 10 lakhs Rs400
(4) Above Rs 10 lakhs - up to Rs 20 lakhs Rs500
State Commission
(5) Above Rs 20 lakhs - up to Rs 50 lakhs Rs2000
(6) Above Rs 50 lakhs - up to Rs 1 crore Rs4000
National Commission
(7) Above Rs 1 crore Rs5000
How do I pay the court fee
You can pay the court fee by way of
1 a Crossed Demand Draft drawn on a nationalized bank or
2 a Crossed Indian Postal Order
These should be drawn in favour of the President of the District
ForumRegistrar of the State Commissionthe Registrar of the National
Commission (as the case may be) and should be payable at the place
where the District ForumState CommissionNational Commission is
situated (depending on where you have filed your complaint)
10
The Consumer Protection Rules 1987 provides for two ways of payment
of court fees but the situation in the forums across the country varies in
terms of practice
Different consumer courts might insist on different ways of paying of
consumer court fee It is advisable to call the court and check which
method they prefer to avoid repeated trips delays and frustration
For example the Central Delhi District Forum insists that customers pay
only using a Postal Order (so if you went in there with a DD there is a high
chance youlsquod be disappointed ndash even though the law gives you the right
to pay using a DD)
Some courts may even allow the payment of court fees in form of a challan
available at the forum or even cash So before preparing a draft or postal
order do check on the payments accepted by the consumer forum where
you are filing your complaint
What is the format of a consumer complaint to be filed in a consumer court
There is no defined or mandatory format for a consumer complaint ndash this
is to make it easier for a lay person to file a simple complaint without the
(expensive) assistance of a lawyer However there are certain essentials
that should be included in a complaint Below is a checklist of all these
essentials that must be taken care of at various stages of filing a complaint
11
Stage Checklist I DRAFTING OF COMPLAINT
Verify the details of the company such as its legal name address phone no etc
Prepare the statement of DisputeComplaint (this should
contain the facts of the complaint for example details of the
productservice bought details of the deficiency and
correspondence with the seller)
The DefectDeficiency in services should be stated clearly
Check whether your complaint is within 2 years from the
date when the cause of action arose if it is more than 2 years
then prepare a statement explaining why the delay should
be excused
Check the jurisdiction (pecuniaryoriginal) of the forum before which the complaint is to be filed (jurisdiction of the forum has been explained below)
Collect copies of LettersDocumentsCommunications between the partiesinvoices and attach these with your complaint
II DOCUMENTS TO BE ATTACHED ALONG WITH THE PETITION
Copies of Invoicedelivery challanlettersdocuments referred to or relied upon in your complaint
If you have relied on an expertlsquos opinion this should be attached
If you have relied on any technical literature or referred to
any articles etc in your complaint these should be attached
12
Check that the Annexures are page numbered
Check that an Affidavit by the complainant attested by an oath commissioner has been attached
Consumer Complaint should be signed by the complainant and supported
by a notarised attested affidavit with 1+3 sets + Number of Opposite
Parties (with File cover)
While it is true that drafting a complaint is not technical and can be done
by a consumer without professional assistance a professional lawyer or
someone on the team at Akosha may be more adept and efficient at
drafting such a complaint - this may be a good option if you want to save
yourself some hassle and time
Donrsquot be intimidated by the drafting of consumer complaint If you donrsquot have the time seek help
13
Chapter 3 The devilish details
The previous chapter answers some of the basic questions that will arise
when you want to file a complaint at a consumer forum
However there are a few more technical questions that you need to know
about
Where can I file my complaint (the jurisdiction issue)
Jurisdiction basically refers to the scope of the authority of the courts The
Consumer Protection Act provides for a three tiered system of courts
National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission
State Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission
District Consumer Dispute Redressal Forum
National Commission is the apex consumer dispute redressal body The
consumers can approach these forums based on
Territorial Jurisdiction- The consumers can approach the
consumer court located in the place where the companylsquos office is
or where it carries on business or where the ―cause of action arose
Pecuniary Jurisdiction- The consumers have to approach the consumer courts based on the monetary value of their suit which
14
usually refers to the amount involved in dispute This jurisdiction is
decided as follows
Where the value of goods or services and the compensation
Forum claimed is
District Forum Upto Rs 2000000
State Commission Rs2000000-Rs10000000
National Commission Exceeds Rs10000000
The companylsquos head office is in Mumbai but I live in Delhi What can I do
If the company you want to complain against is situated in your city that
would make matters simple ndash you would have to file your complaint at the
District Forum under whom the companylsquos office falls
However a lot of times this is not true For example
Anita a resident of Gurgaon who wanted to file a complaint against
an auto-maker (which is based out of Aurangabad) went at the
District Forum in Gurgaon The people at the District Forum told her
that she would not be able to get the complaint admitted in Gurgaon
unless one of the opposite parties was in Gurgaon Therefore the only
practical option left to her was to also name the local Skoda service
center in Gurgaon as a party to the complaint and got her complaint
admitted in Gurgaon itself
15
What do I do if the company has no branch office
or related entity in my city
Despair not
This is where the second criteria for jurisdiction comes to your rescue
―the cause of action Cause of action simply means the actual event
which has lead to you to having a complaint ie which has given you the
―cause to take legal action (ie file a complaint) against the company
Wherever the ―cause of action wholly or partly arose ndash that arealsquos District
Consumer Forum would have valid jurisdiction
For instance a complainant purchases a flight ticket in Shimla for a
journey which is to start from Delhi to another city In case a
complaint arises the complainant can file a complaint at a consumer
forum in Shimla This is because the ticket was purchased in Shimla
and hence the cause of action arose in Shimla even though the
journey was to commence from Delhi
As an easy rule of thumb the place of occurrence of any of the following
shall be considered the place where cause of action arose
(a) where goods are purchased
(b) where goods are supplied
(c) where services are rendered
(d) where the contract was made
The issue of jurisdiction is fairly complicated and in our experience it is
always better to seek expert advice
Even though the law clearly provides the option for you to file a complaint
where the ldquocause of actionrdquo arose on a practical level sometimes district
consumer forums refuse to admit the complaint if the companyrsquos office is
not within their area You should fight and escalate the matter at the
district forum if this happens
16
What if a complaint is against more than one
parties
If you are filing your complaint against more than one person (or
company) then you can file this complaint in the forum of the place where
ALL the opposite parties (companies) reside or carry on business or have
a branch office or personally work for gain
If all the opposite parties do not reside or carry on business or have a
branch office in the same area then you can file the complaint where ANY
of them reside or carry on business or have a branch office provided
you obtain
permission of the Forum where you intend to file the complaint or
the opposite parties who do not reside or carry on business in the place you intend to file agree to the jurisdiction of this forum
As we have mentioned earlier jurisdiction tends to get complicated for
more reasons than one and hence enlisting professional help is always a
good idea
Do I need to send a notice to the company before
filling a complaint against it
It is not compulsory to send a notice to the company before filing the
complaint with the District Forum There is no statutory requirement for
the same under the Consumer Protection Act In urgent circumstances the
consumers can directly file a complaint in the Consumer Court However
as best practice one should send a notice to the company informing it
about the grievance before filing a formal complaint against the company
17
What is the time period within which a complaint
can be filed in a consumer forum
As per the Consumer Protection Act the District Forum the State
Commission or the National Commission cannot admit a complaint unless
it is filed within two years from the date on which the cause of action has
arisen Otherwise a complaint is barred by limitation and cannot be filed
in a consumer forum
However such a delay can be condoned if the complainant shows that he
had sufficient cause for not filing the complaint within such period Of
course you should file your complaint as promptly as possible once it
becomes clear that all other means of its resolution have been exhausted
Can I appeal against the decision of the consumer
court
In case a complainant is not satisfied with the verdict delivered by a
consumer forum he or she may file an appeal with the State Commission
(if the original verdict was delivered by District Forum) or National
Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission (if the complainant is aggrieved
by a verdict delivered by a State Commission) The appeal must be filed
within 30 days of the receipt of the order In case a complainant is not
satisfied with the verdict of the National Commission he can approach the
Supreme Court for review
In our experience professional advice becomes mandatory for the
consumers if a complaint advances to the appeal stage and it is better to
enlist a lawyer for the same
18
Chapter 4 A photo tour
To get a real flavor of what it is like we sent an intern out to the K G
Marg District Consumer Forum in New Delhi
To read more go to
httpinfoakoshacomconsumer-complaintsconsumer-protectiona-
day-at-the-k-g-marg-new-delhi-district-consumer-forum
19
Chapter 5 The e-
commerce complaints
problem
This chapter first appeared as ldquoMake consumer law e-com-friendlyrdquo
The Hindu Business Line May 7 2013 Wersquove included it in this e-book
to give you a sense of the challenges you might face if you have a problem
against an ecommerce player
Anita (name changed) who lives in Bengaluru had ordered a mobile
phone from online electronics retailer Timtara but it was never
delivered despite the full payment being made
She then filed a complaint at the local consumer forum in Bengaluru
which however refused to admit it Instead she was asked to file it in
Noida Uttar Pradesh where Timtararsquos registered office is located
Anita had to forego the idea not only of filing the complaint (there
was no way she could have gone to Noida for that) but also
recovering the money she had paid to Timtara
The rise and fall of Timtara culminating in the arrest of its founder and
CEO just over a month ago has opened a can of worms as far as the e-
commerce sector is concerned It has even generated a debate on all what
is wrong with this ecosystem
However amidst all this there is one major concern that has been
overlooked mdash the application of the Consumer Protection Act with respect
to e-commerce transactions especially pertaining to the jurisdiction
clause
20
The case illustrated above is just one of the hundreds of complaints
against Timtara that were filed with Akosha alone In all such cases
whenever buyers approached the concerned local consumer forum they
were more often than not told to file their complaint in Noida which is
where Timtaralsquos registered office happened to be located
The story does not differ drastically in cases involving other e-commerce
players either Whenever a consumer faces an issue with an e-commerce
company and wishes to file a complaint at a consumer forum shehe very
often ends up confronting this dilemma of jurisdiction Where to file the
complaint
Virtual Jurisdiction
With e-commerce in India growing annually by over 57 per cent and
expected to touch $88 billion by 2016 mdash as per projections by Forrester
Research Inc a leading global research and advisory firm mdash one should
not be surprised to find the growth rate of complaints also keeping pace
From our own analysis of e-commerce complaints received on the Akosha
platform these are growing by 19 per cent quarter on quarter
Out of the 11980 complaints received by Akosha for the e-commerce
sector in the January-March 2013 quarter about 58 per cent related to
deficiency in delivery while 29 per cent had to do with refunds the
balance 13 per cent concerning other issues
The bulk of these were registered by consumers in the metros with Delhi
topping the list However despite the urban tilt the geographical
distribution of the complaints is diverse enough to validate concerns
regarding the misapplication of the jurisdiction clause
The Consumer Protection Act by itself is not very ambiguous though It
clearly lays down that a consumer has to file a complaint in the place
where the company resides or carries on business
21
Alternatively shehe can also file it in the place where the cause of action
arose that is where the issue or grievance arose
However ―cause of action is a complicated legal concept mdash something
that is difficult to understand or simply inconvenient to grapple with for
the consumer forum registrars and judges
In the case of the e-commerce sector which caters to consumers across
the country irrespective of an online retailerlsquos geographical location this
becomes hugely problematic A lot of consumers are told by the relevant
registrar or the judges that their complaints cannot be accepted because
the companylsquos office does not lie within the said jurisdiction That is quite
similar to the police refusing to register an FIR because it falls outside their
―jurisdiction
One practical expedient that some consumers use is to make a local
branch service centre or even a warehouse (in the case of an e-commerce
company) party to the complaint and then get it admitted at the local
consumer forum
When the legislature drafted the jurisdiction clause in the Consumer
Protection Act they tried to balance the burden on the companies with
that on the consumers
While it would be unaffordable for a company to represent itself
everywhere ndash thereby justifying the customer having to file the complaint
in the place where it did business ndash the ―cause of action concept at the
same time allowed wriggle room for consumers
It is this wriggle room that is now squeezed by non-application of mind
by consumer forums
Lost Opportunity
22
The Consumer Protection Amendment Bill 2011 which was introduced in
the Lok Sabha last December could have proposed an amendment to
Section 11 of the Act that deals with jurisdiction
This would have incorporated a separate jurisdiction clause directed at the
e-commerce sector taking into consideration its unique non-territorial
nature
Such a clause should have clearly laid down that in e-commerce cases a
complaint should be filed where the cause of action arises irrespective of the
physical location of the company concerned This would have been a perfect
even though overly legislative redressal of an issue that is already a major
problem for Indian consumers making online purchases
Unfortunately the Bill has already been tabled and referred to the
Standing Committee ndash and it looks as though e-commerce consumer
hopes have been dashed
Another way out could be to have the National Consumer Disputes
Redressal Commission lay down clear directives in this regard clarifying
that ―cause of action be given precedence when dealing with
jurisdiction issues specific to e-commerce complaints
In the absence of these Indian e-commerce consumers will have little to
look forward to in terms of redressal of their complaints
(The author is founder of wwwakoshacom an online consumer complaints
resolution platform)
23
Chapter 6 Conclusion
While we have tried to address the basics in as much detail as possible
every consumer complaint is unique and may have issues that need to be
addressed individually
However this guide shall give every consumer a fair idea on how to get
started and things that should be kept in mind when planning to file a
complaint with a consumer forum If you have suggestions on improving this e-book please write
to feedbackakoshacom
If you liked this e-book please share copiously
If you have a complaint give us a try ndash just file your complaint on
wwwakoshacom
24
About Akosha
350000+ Complaints
1000000+ Updates
1250+ Daily customers 185+Brands
80+ Team
2010 Founded
Address
E-407 Second Floor Coraza Technologies Private Limited
Okhla Industrial Area Phase 2 New Delhi - 110020
Landline 011 64643453
wwwakoshacom
Design by Radhika Dutt
All rights reserved
First Edition September 2013
For the sake of repetition This book does not constitute legal advice 25
infoakoshacomwwwakoshacominfoakoshacom
Total value of goods or services and the Fee
compensation claimed payable
District Forum
(1) Up to Rs 1 lakh Rs100
(2) Rs 1 lakh ndash up to Rs 5 lakhs Rs200
(3) Above Rs 5 lakhs ndash up to Rs 10 lakhs Rs400
(4) Above Rs 10 lakhs - up to Rs 20 lakhs Rs500
State Commission
(5) Above Rs 20 lakhs - up to Rs 50 lakhs Rs2000
(6) Above Rs 50 lakhs - up to Rs 1 crore Rs4000
National Commission
(7) Above Rs 1 crore Rs5000
How do I pay the court fee
You can pay the court fee by way of
1 a Crossed Demand Draft drawn on a nationalized bank or
2 a Crossed Indian Postal Order
These should be drawn in favour of the President of the District
ForumRegistrar of the State Commissionthe Registrar of the National
Commission (as the case may be) and should be payable at the place
where the District ForumState CommissionNational Commission is
situated (depending on where you have filed your complaint)
10
The Consumer Protection Rules 1987 provides for two ways of payment
of court fees but the situation in the forums across the country varies in
terms of practice
Different consumer courts might insist on different ways of paying of
consumer court fee It is advisable to call the court and check which
method they prefer to avoid repeated trips delays and frustration
For example the Central Delhi District Forum insists that customers pay
only using a Postal Order (so if you went in there with a DD there is a high
chance youlsquod be disappointed ndash even though the law gives you the right
to pay using a DD)
Some courts may even allow the payment of court fees in form of a challan
available at the forum or even cash So before preparing a draft or postal
order do check on the payments accepted by the consumer forum where
you are filing your complaint
What is the format of a consumer complaint to be filed in a consumer court
There is no defined or mandatory format for a consumer complaint ndash this
is to make it easier for a lay person to file a simple complaint without the
(expensive) assistance of a lawyer However there are certain essentials
that should be included in a complaint Below is a checklist of all these
essentials that must be taken care of at various stages of filing a complaint
11
Stage Checklist I DRAFTING OF COMPLAINT
Verify the details of the company such as its legal name address phone no etc
Prepare the statement of DisputeComplaint (this should
contain the facts of the complaint for example details of the
productservice bought details of the deficiency and
correspondence with the seller)
The DefectDeficiency in services should be stated clearly
Check whether your complaint is within 2 years from the
date when the cause of action arose if it is more than 2 years
then prepare a statement explaining why the delay should
be excused
Check the jurisdiction (pecuniaryoriginal) of the forum before which the complaint is to be filed (jurisdiction of the forum has been explained below)
Collect copies of LettersDocumentsCommunications between the partiesinvoices and attach these with your complaint
II DOCUMENTS TO BE ATTACHED ALONG WITH THE PETITION
Copies of Invoicedelivery challanlettersdocuments referred to or relied upon in your complaint
If you have relied on an expertlsquos opinion this should be attached
If you have relied on any technical literature or referred to
any articles etc in your complaint these should be attached
12
Check that the Annexures are page numbered
Check that an Affidavit by the complainant attested by an oath commissioner has been attached
Consumer Complaint should be signed by the complainant and supported
by a notarised attested affidavit with 1+3 sets + Number of Opposite
Parties (with File cover)
While it is true that drafting a complaint is not technical and can be done
by a consumer without professional assistance a professional lawyer or
someone on the team at Akosha may be more adept and efficient at
drafting such a complaint - this may be a good option if you want to save
yourself some hassle and time
Donrsquot be intimidated by the drafting of consumer complaint If you donrsquot have the time seek help
13
Chapter 3 The devilish details
The previous chapter answers some of the basic questions that will arise
when you want to file a complaint at a consumer forum
However there are a few more technical questions that you need to know
about
Where can I file my complaint (the jurisdiction issue)
Jurisdiction basically refers to the scope of the authority of the courts The
Consumer Protection Act provides for a three tiered system of courts
National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission
State Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission
District Consumer Dispute Redressal Forum
National Commission is the apex consumer dispute redressal body The
consumers can approach these forums based on
Territorial Jurisdiction- The consumers can approach the
consumer court located in the place where the companylsquos office is
or where it carries on business or where the ―cause of action arose
Pecuniary Jurisdiction- The consumers have to approach the consumer courts based on the monetary value of their suit which
14
usually refers to the amount involved in dispute This jurisdiction is
decided as follows
Where the value of goods or services and the compensation
Forum claimed is
District Forum Upto Rs 2000000
State Commission Rs2000000-Rs10000000
National Commission Exceeds Rs10000000
The companylsquos head office is in Mumbai but I live in Delhi What can I do
If the company you want to complain against is situated in your city that
would make matters simple ndash you would have to file your complaint at the
District Forum under whom the companylsquos office falls
However a lot of times this is not true For example
Anita a resident of Gurgaon who wanted to file a complaint against
an auto-maker (which is based out of Aurangabad) went at the
District Forum in Gurgaon The people at the District Forum told her
that she would not be able to get the complaint admitted in Gurgaon
unless one of the opposite parties was in Gurgaon Therefore the only
practical option left to her was to also name the local Skoda service
center in Gurgaon as a party to the complaint and got her complaint
admitted in Gurgaon itself
15
What do I do if the company has no branch office
or related entity in my city
Despair not
This is where the second criteria for jurisdiction comes to your rescue
―the cause of action Cause of action simply means the actual event
which has lead to you to having a complaint ie which has given you the
―cause to take legal action (ie file a complaint) against the company
Wherever the ―cause of action wholly or partly arose ndash that arealsquos District
Consumer Forum would have valid jurisdiction
For instance a complainant purchases a flight ticket in Shimla for a
journey which is to start from Delhi to another city In case a
complaint arises the complainant can file a complaint at a consumer
forum in Shimla This is because the ticket was purchased in Shimla
and hence the cause of action arose in Shimla even though the
journey was to commence from Delhi
As an easy rule of thumb the place of occurrence of any of the following
shall be considered the place where cause of action arose
(a) where goods are purchased
(b) where goods are supplied
(c) where services are rendered
(d) where the contract was made
The issue of jurisdiction is fairly complicated and in our experience it is
always better to seek expert advice
Even though the law clearly provides the option for you to file a complaint
where the ldquocause of actionrdquo arose on a practical level sometimes district
consumer forums refuse to admit the complaint if the companyrsquos office is
not within their area You should fight and escalate the matter at the
district forum if this happens
16
What if a complaint is against more than one
parties
If you are filing your complaint against more than one person (or
company) then you can file this complaint in the forum of the place where
ALL the opposite parties (companies) reside or carry on business or have
a branch office or personally work for gain
If all the opposite parties do not reside or carry on business or have a
branch office in the same area then you can file the complaint where ANY
of them reside or carry on business or have a branch office provided
you obtain
permission of the Forum where you intend to file the complaint or
the opposite parties who do not reside or carry on business in the place you intend to file agree to the jurisdiction of this forum
As we have mentioned earlier jurisdiction tends to get complicated for
more reasons than one and hence enlisting professional help is always a
good idea
Do I need to send a notice to the company before
filling a complaint against it
It is not compulsory to send a notice to the company before filing the
complaint with the District Forum There is no statutory requirement for
the same under the Consumer Protection Act In urgent circumstances the
consumers can directly file a complaint in the Consumer Court However
as best practice one should send a notice to the company informing it
about the grievance before filing a formal complaint against the company
17
What is the time period within which a complaint
can be filed in a consumer forum
As per the Consumer Protection Act the District Forum the State
Commission or the National Commission cannot admit a complaint unless
it is filed within two years from the date on which the cause of action has
arisen Otherwise a complaint is barred by limitation and cannot be filed
in a consumer forum
However such a delay can be condoned if the complainant shows that he
had sufficient cause for not filing the complaint within such period Of
course you should file your complaint as promptly as possible once it
becomes clear that all other means of its resolution have been exhausted
Can I appeal against the decision of the consumer
court
In case a complainant is not satisfied with the verdict delivered by a
consumer forum he or she may file an appeal with the State Commission
(if the original verdict was delivered by District Forum) or National
Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission (if the complainant is aggrieved
by a verdict delivered by a State Commission) The appeal must be filed
within 30 days of the receipt of the order In case a complainant is not
satisfied with the verdict of the National Commission he can approach the
Supreme Court for review
In our experience professional advice becomes mandatory for the
consumers if a complaint advances to the appeal stage and it is better to
enlist a lawyer for the same
18
Chapter 4 A photo tour
To get a real flavor of what it is like we sent an intern out to the K G
Marg District Consumer Forum in New Delhi
To read more go to
httpinfoakoshacomconsumer-complaintsconsumer-protectiona-
day-at-the-k-g-marg-new-delhi-district-consumer-forum
19
Chapter 5 The e-
commerce complaints
problem
This chapter first appeared as ldquoMake consumer law e-com-friendlyrdquo
The Hindu Business Line May 7 2013 Wersquove included it in this e-book
to give you a sense of the challenges you might face if you have a problem
against an ecommerce player
Anita (name changed) who lives in Bengaluru had ordered a mobile
phone from online electronics retailer Timtara but it was never
delivered despite the full payment being made
She then filed a complaint at the local consumer forum in Bengaluru
which however refused to admit it Instead she was asked to file it in
Noida Uttar Pradesh where Timtararsquos registered office is located
Anita had to forego the idea not only of filing the complaint (there
was no way she could have gone to Noida for that) but also
recovering the money she had paid to Timtara
The rise and fall of Timtara culminating in the arrest of its founder and
CEO just over a month ago has opened a can of worms as far as the e-
commerce sector is concerned It has even generated a debate on all what
is wrong with this ecosystem
However amidst all this there is one major concern that has been
overlooked mdash the application of the Consumer Protection Act with respect
to e-commerce transactions especially pertaining to the jurisdiction
clause
20
The case illustrated above is just one of the hundreds of complaints
against Timtara that were filed with Akosha alone In all such cases
whenever buyers approached the concerned local consumer forum they
were more often than not told to file their complaint in Noida which is
where Timtaralsquos registered office happened to be located
The story does not differ drastically in cases involving other e-commerce
players either Whenever a consumer faces an issue with an e-commerce
company and wishes to file a complaint at a consumer forum shehe very
often ends up confronting this dilemma of jurisdiction Where to file the
complaint
Virtual Jurisdiction
With e-commerce in India growing annually by over 57 per cent and
expected to touch $88 billion by 2016 mdash as per projections by Forrester
Research Inc a leading global research and advisory firm mdash one should
not be surprised to find the growth rate of complaints also keeping pace
From our own analysis of e-commerce complaints received on the Akosha
platform these are growing by 19 per cent quarter on quarter
Out of the 11980 complaints received by Akosha for the e-commerce
sector in the January-March 2013 quarter about 58 per cent related to
deficiency in delivery while 29 per cent had to do with refunds the
balance 13 per cent concerning other issues
The bulk of these were registered by consumers in the metros with Delhi
topping the list However despite the urban tilt the geographical
distribution of the complaints is diverse enough to validate concerns
regarding the misapplication of the jurisdiction clause
The Consumer Protection Act by itself is not very ambiguous though It
clearly lays down that a consumer has to file a complaint in the place
where the company resides or carries on business
21
Alternatively shehe can also file it in the place where the cause of action
arose that is where the issue or grievance arose
However ―cause of action is a complicated legal concept mdash something
that is difficult to understand or simply inconvenient to grapple with for
the consumer forum registrars and judges
In the case of the e-commerce sector which caters to consumers across
the country irrespective of an online retailerlsquos geographical location this
becomes hugely problematic A lot of consumers are told by the relevant
registrar or the judges that their complaints cannot be accepted because
the companylsquos office does not lie within the said jurisdiction That is quite
similar to the police refusing to register an FIR because it falls outside their
―jurisdiction
One practical expedient that some consumers use is to make a local
branch service centre or even a warehouse (in the case of an e-commerce
company) party to the complaint and then get it admitted at the local
consumer forum
When the legislature drafted the jurisdiction clause in the Consumer
Protection Act they tried to balance the burden on the companies with
that on the consumers
While it would be unaffordable for a company to represent itself
everywhere ndash thereby justifying the customer having to file the complaint
in the place where it did business ndash the ―cause of action concept at the
same time allowed wriggle room for consumers
It is this wriggle room that is now squeezed by non-application of mind
by consumer forums
Lost Opportunity
22
The Consumer Protection Amendment Bill 2011 which was introduced in
the Lok Sabha last December could have proposed an amendment to
Section 11 of the Act that deals with jurisdiction
This would have incorporated a separate jurisdiction clause directed at the
e-commerce sector taking into consideration its unique non-territorial
nature
Such a clause should have clearly laid down that in e-commerce cases a
complaint should be filed where the cause of action arises irrespective of the
physical location of the company concerned This would have been a perfect
even though overly legislative redressal of an issue that is already a major
problem for Indian consumers making online purchases
Unfortunately the Bill has already been tabled and referred to the
Standing Committee ndash and it looks as though e-commerce consumer
hopes have been dashed
Another way out could be to have the National Consumer Disputes
Redressal Commission lay down clear directives in this regard clarifying
that ―cause of action be given precedence when dealing with
jurisdiction issues specific to e-commerce complaints
In the absence of these Indian e-commerce consumers will have little to
look forward to in terms of redressal of their complaints
(The author is founder of wwwakoshacom an online consumer complaints
resolution platform)
23
Chapter 6 Conclusion
While we have tried to address the basics in as much detail as possible
every consumer complaint is unique and may have issues that need to be
addressed individually
However this guide shall give every consumer a fair idea on how to get
started and things that should be kept in mind when planning to file a
complaint with a consumer forum If you have suggestions on improving this e-book please write
to feedbackakoshacom
If you liked this e-book please share copiously
If you have a complaint give us a try ndash just file your complaint on
wwwakoshacom
24
About Akosha
350000+ Complaints
1000000+ Updates
1250+ Daily customers 185+Brands
80+ Team
2010 Founded
Address
E-407 Second Floor Coraza Technologies Private Limited
Okhla Industrial Area Phase 2 New Delhi - 110020
Landline 011 64643453
wwwakoshacom
Design by Radhika Dutt
All rights reserved
First Edition September 2013
For the sake of repetition This book does not constitute legal advice 25
infoakoshacomwwwakoshacominfoakoshacom
The Consumer Protection Rules 1987 provides for two ways of payment
of court fees but the situation in the forums across the country varies in
terms of practice
Different consumer courts might insist on different ways of paying of
consumer court fee It is advisable to call the court and check which
method they prefer to avoid repeated trips delays and frustration
For example the Central Delhi District Forum insists that customers pay
only using a Postal Order (so if you went in there with a DD there is a high
chance youlsquod be disappointed ndash even though the law gives you the right
to pay using a DD)
Some courts may even allow the payment of court fees in form of a challan
available at the forum or even cash So before preparing a draft or postal
order do check on the payments accepted by the consumer forum where
you are filing your complaint
What is the format of a consumer complaint to be filed in a consumer court
There is no defined or mandatory format for a consumer complaint ndash this
is to make it easier for a lay person to file a simple complaint without the
(expensive) assistance of a lawyer However there are certain essentials
that should be included in a complaint Below is a checklist of all these
essentials that must be taken care of at various stages of filing a complaint
11
Stage Checklist I DRAFTING OF COMPLAINT
Verify the details of the company such as its legal name address phone no etc
Prepare the statement of DisputeComplaint (this should
contain the facts of the complaint for example details of the
productservice bought details of the deficiency and
correspondence with the seller)
The DefectDeficiency in services should be stated clearly
Check whether your complaint is within 2 years from the
date when the cause of action arose if it is more than 2 years
then prepare a statement explaining why the delay should
be excused
Check the jurisdiction (pecuniaryoriginal) of the forum before which the complaint is to be filed (jurisdiction of the forum has been explained below)
Collect copies of LettersDocumentsCommunications between the partiesinvoices and attach these with your complaint
II DOCUMENTS TO BE ATTACHED ALONG WITH THE PETITION
Copies of Invoicedelivery challanlettersdocuments referred to or relied upon in your complaint
If you have relied on an expertlsquos opinion this should be attached
If you have relied on any technical literature or referred to
any articles etc in your complaint these should be attached
12
Check that the Annexures are page numbered
Check that an Affidavit by the complainant attested by an oath commissioner has been attached
Consumer Complaint should be signed by the complainant and supported
by a notarised attested affidavit with 1+3 sets + Number of Opposite
Parties (with File cover)
While it is true that drafting a complaint is not technical and can be done
by a consumer without professional assistance a professional lawyer or
someone on the team at Akosha may be more adept and efficient at
drafting such a complaint - this may be a good option if you want to save
yourself some hassle and time
Donrsquot be intimidated by the drafting of consumer complaint If you donrsquot have the time seek help
13
Chapter 3 The devilish details
The previous chapter answers some of the basic questions that will arise
when you want to file a complaint at a consumer forum
However there are a few more technical questions that you need to know
about
Where can I file my complaint (the jurisdiction issue)
Jurisdiction basically refers to the scope of the authority of the courts The
Consumer Protection Act provides for a three tiered system of courts
National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission
State Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission
District Consumer Dispute Redressal Forum
National Commission is the apex consumer dispute redressal body The
consumers can approach these forums based on
Territorial Jurisdiction- The consumers can approach the
consumer court located in the place where the companylsquos office is
or where it carries on business or where the ―cause of action arose
Pecuniary Jurisdiction- The consumers have to approach the consumer courts based on the monetary value of their suit which
14
usually refers to the amount involved in dispute This jurisdiction is
decided as follows
Where the value of goods or services and the compensation
Forum claimed is
District Forum Upto Rs 2000000
State Commission Rs2000000-Rs10000000
National Commission Exceeds Rs10000000
The companylsquos head office is in Mumbai but I live in Delhi What can I do
If the company you want to complain against is situated in your city that
would make matters simple ndash you would have to file your complaint at the
District Forum under whom the companylsquos office falls
However a lot of times this is not true For example
Anita a resident of Gurgaon who wanted to file a complaint against
an auto-maker (which is based out of Aurangabad) went at the
District Forum in Gurgaon The people at the District Forum told her
that she would not be able to get the complaint admitted in Gurgaon
unless one of the opposite parties was in Gurgaon Therefore the only
practical option left to her was to also name the local Skoda service
center in Gurgaon as a party to the complaint and got her complaint
admitted in Gurgaon itself
15
What do I do if the company has no branch office
or related entity in my city
Despair not
This is where the second criteria for jurisdiction comes to your rescue
―the cause of action Cause of action simply means the actual event
which has lead to you to having a complaint ie which has given you the
―cause to take legal action (ie file a complaint) against the company
Wherever the ―cause of action wholly or partly arose ndash that arealsquos District
Consumer Forum would have valid jurisdiction
For instance a complainant purchases a flight ticket in Shimla for a
journey which is to start from Delhi to another city In case a
complaint arises the complainant can file a complaint at a consumer
forum in Shimla This is because the ticket was purchased in Shimla
and hence the cause of action arose in Shimla even though the
journey was to commence from Delhi
As an easy rule of thumb the place of occurrence of any of the following
shall be considered the place where cause of action arose
(a) where goods are purchased
(b) where goods are supplied
(c) where services are rendered
(d) where the contract was made
The issue of jurisdiction is fairly complicated and in our experience it is
always better to seek expert advice
Even though the law clearly provides the option for you to file a complaint
where the ldquocause of actionrdquo arose on a practical level sometimes district
consumer forums refuse to admit the complaint if the companyrsquos office is
not within their area You should fight and escalate the matter at the
district forum if this happens
16
What if a complaint is against more than one
parties
If you are filing your complaint against more than one person (or
company) then you can file this complaint in the forum of the place where
ALL the opposite parties (companies) reside or carry on business or have
a branch office or personally work for gain
If all the opposite parties do not reside or carry on business or have a
branch office in the same area then you can file the complaint where ANY
of them reside or carry on business or have a branch office provided
you obtain
permission of the Forum where you intend to file the complaint or
the opposite parties who do not reside or carry on business in the place you intend to file agree to the jurisdiction of this forum
As we have mentioned earlier jurisdiction tends to get complicated for
more reasons than one and hence enlisting professional help is always a
good idea
Do I need to send a notice to the company before
filling a complaint against it
It is not compulsory to send a notice to the company before filing the
complaint with the District Forum There is no statutory requirement for
the same under the Consumer Protection Act In urgent circumstances the
consumers can directly file a complaint in the Consumer Court However
as best practice one should send a notice to the company informing it
about the grievance before filing a formal complaint against the company
17
What is the time period within which a complaint
can be filed in a consumer forum
As per the Consumer Protection Act the District Forum the State
Commission or the National Commission cannot admit a complaint unless
it is filed within two years from the date on which the cause of action has
arisen Otherwise a complaint is barred by limitation and cannot be filed
in a consumer forum
However such a delay can be condoned if the complainant shows that he
had sufficient cause for not filing the complaint within such period Of
course you should file your complaint as promptly as possible once it
becomes clear that all other means of its resolution have been exhausted
Can I appeal against the decision of the consumer
court
In case a complainant is not satisfied with the verdict delivered by a
consumer forum he or she may file an appeal with the State Commission
(if the original verdict was delivered by District Forum) or National
Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission (if the complainant is aggrieved
by a verdict delivered by a State Commission) The appeal must be filed
within 30 days of the receipt of the order In case a complainant is not
satisfied with the verdict of the National Commission he can approach the
Supreme Court for review
In our experience professional advice becomes mandatory for the
consumers if a complaint advances to the appeal stage and it is better to
enlist a lawyer for the same
18
Chapter 4 A photo tour
To get a real flavor of what it is like we sent an intern out to the K G
Marg District Consumer Forum in New Delhi
To read more go to
httpinfoakoshacomconsumer-complaintsconsumer-protectiona-
day-at-the-k-g-marg-new-delhi-district-consumer-forum
19
Chapter 5 The e-
commerce complaints
problem
This chapter first appeared as ldquoMake consumer law e-com-friendlyrdquo
The Hindu Business Line May 7 2013 Wersquove included it in this e-book
to give you a sense of the challenges you might face if you have a problem
against an ecommerce player
Anita (name changed) who lives in Bengaluru had ordered a mobile
phone from online electronics retailer Timtara but it was never
delivered despite the full payment being made
She then filed a complaint at the local consumer forum in Bengaluru
which however refused to admit it Instead she was asked to file it in
Noida Uttar Pradesh where Timtararsquos registered office is located
Anita had to forego the idea not only of filing the complaint (there
was no way she could have gone to Noida for that) but also
recovering the money she had paid to Timtara
The rise and fall of Timtara culminating in the arrest of its founder and
CEO just over a month ago has opened a can of worms as far as the e-
commerce sector is concerned It has even generated a debate on all what
is wrong with this ecosystem
However amidst all this there is one major concern that has been
overlooked mdash the application of the Consumer Protection Act with respect
to e-commerce transactions especially pertaining to the jurisdiction
clause
20
The case illustrated above is just one of the hundreds of complaints
against Timtara that were filed with Akosha alone In all such cases
whenever buyers approached the concerned local consumer forum they
were more often than not told to file their complaint in Noida which is
where Timtaralsquos registered office happened to be located
The story does not differ drastically in cases involving other e-commerce
players either Whenever a consumer faces an issue with an e-commerce
company and wishes to file a complaint at a consumer forum shehe very
often ends up confronting this dilemma of jurisdiction Where to file the
complaint
Virtual Jurisdiction
With e-commerce in India growing annually by over 57 per cent and
expected to touch $88 billion by 2016 mdash as per projections by Forrester
Research Inc a leading global research and advisory firm mdash one should
not be surprised to find the growth rate of complaints also keeping pace
From our own analysis of e-commerce complaints received on the Akosha
platform these are growing by 19 per cent quarter on quarter
Out of the 11980 complaints received by Akosha for the e-commerce
sector in the January-March 2013 quarter about 58 per cent related to
deficiency in delivery while 29 per cent had to do with refunds the
balance 13 per cent concerning other issues
The bulk of these were registered by consumers in the metros with Delhi
topping the list However despite the urban tilt the geographical
distribution of the complaints is diverse enough to validate concerns
regarding the misapplication of the jurisdiction clause
The Consumer Protection Act by itself is not very ambiguous though It
clearly lays down that a consumer has to file a complaint in the place
where the company resides or carries on business
21
Alternatively shehe can also file it in the place where the cause of action
arose that is where the issue or grievance arose
However ―cause of action is a complicated legal concept mdash something
that is difficult to understand or simply inconvenient to grapple with for
the consumer forum registrars and judges
In the case of the e-commerce sector which caters to consumers across
the country irrespective of an online retailerlsquos geographical location this
becomes hugely problematic A lot of consumers are told by the relevant
registrar or the judges that their complaints cannot be accepted because
the companylsquos office does not lie within the said jurisdiction That is quite
similar to the police refusing to register an FIR because it falls outside their
―jurisdiction
One practical expedient that some consumers use is to make a local
branch service centre or even a warehouse (in the case of an e-commerce
company) party to the complaint and then get it admitted at the local
consumer forum
When the legislature drafted the jurisdiction clause in the Consumer
Protection Act they tried to balance the burden on the companies with
that on the consumers
While it would be unaffordable for a company to represent itself
everywhere ndash thereby justifying the customer having to file the complaint
in the place where it did business ndash the ―cause of action concept at the
same time allowed wriggle room for consumers
It is this wriggle room that is now squeezed by non-application of mind
by consumer forums
Lost Opportunity
22
The Consumer Protection Amendment Bill 2011 which was introduced in
the Lok Sabha last December could have proposed an amendment to
Section 11 of the Act that deals with jurisdiction
This would have incorporated a separate jurisdiction clause directed at the
e-commerce sector taking into consideration its unique non-territorial
nature
Such a clause should have clearly laid down that in e-commerce cases a
complaint should be filed where the cause of action arises irrespective of the
physical location of the company concerned This would have been a perfect
even though overly legislative redressal of an issue that is already a major
problem for Indian consumers making online purchases
Unfortunately the Bill has already been tabled and referred to the
Standing Committee ndash and it looks as though e-commerce consumer
hopes have been dashed
Another way out could be to have the National Consumer Disputes
Redressal Commission lay down clear directives in this regard clarifying
that ―cause of action be given precedence when dealing with
jurisdiction issues specific to e-commerce complaints
In the absence of these Indian e-commerce consumers will have little to
look forward to in terms of redressal of their complaints
(The author is founder of wwwakoshacom an online consumer complaints
resolution platform)
23
Chapter 6 Conclusion
While we have tried to address the basics in as much detail as possible
every consumer complaint is unique and may have issues that need to be
addressed individually
However this guide shall give every consumer a fair idea on how to get
started and things that should be kept in mind when planning to file a
complaint with a consumer forum If you have suggestions on improving this e-book please write
to feedbackakoshacom
If you liked this e-book please share copiously
If you have a complaint give us a try ndash just file your complaint on
wwwakoshacom
24
About Akosha
350000+ Complaints
1000000+ Updates
1250+ Daily customers 185+Brands
80+ Team
2010 Founded
Address
E-407 Second Floor Coraza Technologies Private Limited
Okhla Industrial Area Phase 2 New Delhi - 110020
Landline 011 64643453
wwwakoshacom
Design by Radhika Dutt
All rights reserved
First Edition September 2013
For the sake of repetition This book does not constitute legal advice 25
infoakoshacomwwwakoshacominfoakoshacom
Stage Checklist I DRAFTING OF COMPLAINT
Verify the details of the company such as its legal name address phone no etc
Prepare the statement of DisputeComplaint (this should
contain the facts of the complaint for example details of the
productservice bought details of the deficiency and
correspondence with the seller)
The DefectDeficiency in services should be stated clearly
Check whether your complaint is within 2 years from the
date when the cause of action arose if it is more than 2 years
then prepare a statement explaining why the delay should
be excused
Check the jurisdiction (pecuniaryoriginal) of the forum before which the complaint is to be filed (jurisdiction of the forum has been explained below)
Collect copies of LettersDocumentsCommunications between the partiesinvoices and attach these with your complaint
II DOCUMENTS TO BE ATTACHED ALONG WITH THE PETITION
Copies of Invoicedelivery challanlettersdocuments referred to or relied upon in your complaint
If you have relied on an expertlsquos opinion this should be attached
If you have relied on any technical literature or referred to
any articles etc in your complaint these should be attached
12
Check that the Annexures are page numbered
Check that an Affidavit by the complainant attested by an oath commissioner has been attached
Consumer Complaint should be signed by the complainant and supported
by a notarised attested affidavit with 1+3 sets + Number of Opposite
Parties (with File cover)
While it is true that drafting a complaint is not technical and can be done
by a consumer without professional assistance a professional lawyer or
someone on the team at Akosha may be more adept and efficient at
drafting such a complaint - this may be a good option if you want to save
yourself some hassle and time
Donrsquot be intimidated by the drafting of consumer complaint If you donrsquot have the time seek help
13
Chapter 3 The devilish details
The previous chapter answers some of the basic questions that will arise
when you want to file a complaint at a consumer forum
However there are a few more technical questions that you need to know
about
Where can I file my complaint (the jurisdiction issue)
Jurisdiction basically refers to the scope of the authority of the courts The
Consumer Protection Act provides for a three tiered system of courts
National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission
State Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission
District Consumer Dispute Redressal Forum
National Commission is the apex consumer dispute redressal body The
consumers can approach these forums based on
Territorial Jurisdiction- The consumers can approach the
consumer court located in the place where the companylsquos office is
or where it carries on business or where the ―cause of action arose
Pecuniary Jurisdiction- The consumers have to approach the consumer courts based on the monetary value of their suit which
14
usually refers to the amount involved in dispute This jurisdiction is
decided as follows
Where the value of goods or services and the compensation
Forum claimed is
District Forum Upto Rs 2000000
State Commission Rs2000000-Rs10000000
National Commission Exceeds Rs10000000
The companylsquos head office is in Mumbai but I live in Delhi What can I do
If the company you want to complain against is situated in your city that
would make matters simple ndash you would have to file your complaint at the
District Forum under whom the companylsquos office falls
However a lot of times this is not true For example
Anita a resident of Gurgaon who wanted to file a complaint against
an auto-maker (which is based out of Aurangabad) went at the
District Forum in Gurgaon The people at the District Forum told her
that she would not be able to get the complaint admitted in Gurgaon
unless one of the opposite parties was in Gurgaon Therefore the only
practical option left to her was to also name the local Skoda service
center in Gurgaon as a party to the complaint and got her complaint
admitted in Gurgaon itself
15
What do I do if the company has no branch office
or related entity in my city
Despair not
This is where the second criteria for jurisdiction comes to your rescue
―the cause of action Cause of action simply means the actual event
which has lead to you to having a complaint ie which has given you the
―cause to take legal action (ie file a complaint) against the company
Wherever the ―cause of action wholly or partly arose ndash that arealsquos District
Consumer Forum would have valid jurisdiction
For instance a complainant purchases a flight ticket in Shimla for a
journey which is to start from Delhi to another city In case a
complaint arises the complainant can file a complaint at a consumer
forum in Shimla This is because the ticket was purchased in Shimla
and hence the cause of action arose in Shimla even though the
journey was to commence from Delhi
As an easy rule of thumb the place of occurrence of any of the following
shall be considered the place where cause of action arose
(a) where goods are purchased
(b) where goods are supplied
(c) where services are rendered
(d) where the contract was made
The issue of jurisdiction is fairly complicated and in our experience it is
always better to seek expert advice
Even though the law clearly provides the option for you to file a complaint
where the ldquocause of actionrdquo arose on a practical level sometimes district
consumer forums refuse to admit the complaint if the companyrsquos office is
not within their area You should fight and escalate the matter at the
district forum if this happens
16
What if a complaint is against more than one
parties
If you are filing your complaint against more than one person (or
company) then you can file this complaint in the forum of the place where
ALL the opposite parties (companies) reside or carry on business or have
a branch office or personally work for gain
If all the opposite parties do not reside or carry on business or have a
branch office in the same area then you can file the complaint where ANY
of them reside or carry on business or have a branch office provided
you obtain
permission of the Forum where you intend to file the complaint or
the opposite parties who do not reside or carry on business in the place you intend to file agree to the jurisdiction of this forum
As we have mentioned earlier jurisdiction tends to get complicated for
more reasons than one and hence enlisting professional help is always a
good idea
Do I need to send a notice to the company before
filling a complaint against it
It is not compulsory to send a notice to the company before filing the
complaint with the District Forum There is no statutory requirement for
the same under the Consumer Protection Act In urgent circumstances the
consumers can directly file a complaint in the Consumer Court However
as best practice one should send a notice to the company informing it
about the grievance before filing a formal complaint against the company
17
What is the time period within which a complaint
can be filed in a consumer forum
As per the Consumer Protection Act the District Forum the State
Commission or the National Commission cannot admit a complaint unless
it is filed within two years from the date on which the cause of action has
arisen Otherwise a complaint is barred by limitation and cannot be filed
in a consumer forum
However such a delay can be condoned if the complainant shows that he
had sufficient cause for not filing the complaint within such period Of
course you should file your complaint as promptly as possible once it
becomes clear that all other means of its resolution have been exhausted
Can I appeal against the decision of the consumer
court
In case a complainant is not satisfied with the verdict delivered by a
consumer forum he or she may file an appeal with the State Commission
(if the original verdict was delivered by District Forum) or National
Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission (if the complainant is aggrieved
by a verdict delivered by a State Commission) The appeal must be filed
within 30 days of the receipt of the order In case a complainant is not
satisfied with the verdict of the National Commission he can approach the
Supreme Court for review
In our experience professional advice becomes mandatory for the
consumers if a complaint advances to the appeal stage and it is better to
enlist a lawyer for the same
18
Chapter 4 A photo tour
To get a real flavor of what it is like we sent an intern out to the K G
Marg District Consumer Forum in New Delhi
To read more go to
httpinfoakoshacomconsumer-complaintsconsumer-protectiona-
day-at-the-k-g-marg-new-delhi-district-consumer-forum
19
Chapter 5 The e-
commerce complaints
problem
This chapter first appeared as ldquoMake consumer law e-com-friendlyrdquo
The Hindu Business Line May 7 2013 Wersquove included it in this e-book
to give you a sense of the challenges you might face if you have a problem
against an ecommerce player
Anita (name changed) who lives in Bengaluru had ordered a mobile
phone from online electronics retailer Timtara but it was never
delivered despite the full payment being made
She then filed a complaint at the local consumer forum in Bengaluru
which however refused to admit it Instead she was asked to file it in
Noida Uttar Pradesh where Timtararsquos registered office is located
Anita had to forego the idea not only of filing the complaint (there
was no way she could have gone to Noida for that) but also
recovering the money she had paid to Timtara
The rise and fall of Timtara culminating in the arrest of its founder and
CEO just over a month ago has opened a can of worms as far as the e-
commerce sector is concerned It has even generated a debate on all what
is wrong with this ecosystem
However amidst all this there is one major concern that has been
overlooked mdash the application of the Consumer Protection Act with respect
to e-commerce transactions especially pertaining to the jurisdiction
clause
20
The case illustrated above is just one of the hundreds of complaints
against Timtara that were filed with Akosha alone In all such cases
whenever buyers approached the concerned local consumer forum they
were more often than not told to file their complaint in Noida which is
where Timtaralsquos registered office happened to be located
The story does not differ drastically in cases involving other e-commerce
players either Whenever a consumer faces an issue with an e-commerce
company and wishes to file a complaint at a consumer forum shehe very
often ends up confronting this dilemma of jurisdiction Where to file the
complaint
Virtual Jurisdiction
With e-commerce in India growing annually by over 57 per cent and
expected to touch $88 billion by 2016 mdash as per projections by Forrester
Research Inc a leading global research and advisory firm mdash one should
not be surprised to find the growth rate of complaints also keeping pace
From our own analysis of e-commerce complaints received on the Akosha
platform these are growing by 19 per cent quarter on quarter
Out of the 11980 complaints received by Akosha for the e-commerce
sector in the January-March 2013 quarter about 58 per cent related to
deficiency in delivery while 29 per cent had to do with refunds the
balance 13 per cent concerning other issues
The bulk of these were registered by consumers in the metros with Delhi
topping the list However despite the urban tilt the geographical
distribution of the complaints is diverse enough to validate concerns
regarding the misapplication of the jurisdiction clause
The Consumer Protection Act by itself is not very ambiguous though It
clearly lays down that a consumer has to file a complaint in the place
where the company resides or carries on business
21
Alternatively shehe can also file it in the place where the cause of action
arose that is where the issue or grievance arose
However ―cause of action is a complicated legal concept mdash something
that is difficult to understand or simply inconvenient to grapple with for
the consumer forum registrars and judges
In the case of the e-commerce sector which caters to consumers across
the country irrespective of an online retailerlsquos geographical location this
becomes hugely problematic A lot of consumers are told by the relevant
registrar or the judges that their complaints cannot be accepted because
the companylsquos office does not lie within the said jurisdiction That is quite
similar to the police refusing to register an FIR because it falls outside their
―jurisdiction
One practical expedient that some consumers use is to make a local
branch service centre or even a warehouse (in the case of an e-commerce
company) party to the complaint and then get it admitted at the local
consumer forum
When the legislature drafted the jurisdiction clause in the Consumer
Protection Act they tried to balance the burden on the companies with
that on the consumers
While it would be unaffordable for a company to represent itself
everywhere ndash thereby justifying the customer having to file the complaint
in the place where it did business ndash the ―cause of action concept at the
same time allowed wriggle room for consumers
It is this wriggle room that is now squeezed by non-application of mind
by consumer forums
Lost Opportunity
22
The Consumer Protection Amendment Bill 2011 which was introduced in
the Lok Sabha last December could have proposed an amendment to
Section 11 of the Act that deals with jurisdiction
This would have incorporated a separate jurisdiction clause directed at the
e-commerce sector taking into consideration its unique non-territorial
nature
Such a clause should have clearly laid down that in e-commerce cases a
complaint should be filed where the cause of action arises irrespective of the
physical location of the company concerned This would have been a perfect
even though overly legislative redressal of an issue that is already a major
problem for Indian consumers making online purchases
Unfortunately the Bill has already been tabled and referred to the
Standing Committee ndash and it looks as though e-commerce consumer
hopes have been dashed
Another way out could be to have the National Consumer Disputes
Redressal Commission lay down clear directives in this regard clarifying
that ―cause of action be given precedence when dealing with
jurisdiction issues specific to e-commerce complaints
In the absence of these Indian e-commerce consumers will have little to
look forward to in terms of redressal of their complaints
(The author is founder of wwwakoshacom an online consumer complaints
resolution platform)
23
Chapter 6 Conclusion
While we have tried to address the basics in as much detail as possible
every consumer complaint is unique and may have issues that need to be
addressed individually
However this guide shall give every consumer a fair idea on how to get
started and things that should be kept in mind when planning to file a
complaint with a consumer forum If you have suggestions on improving this e-book please write
to feedbackakoshacom
If you liked this e-book please share copiously
If you have a complaint give us a try ndash just file your complaint on
wwwakoshacom
24
About Akosha
350000+ Complaints
1000000+ Updates
1250+ Daily customers 185+Brands
80+ Team
2010 Founded
Address
E-407 Second Floor Coraza Technologies Private Limited
Okhla Industrial Area Phase 2 New Delhi - 110020
Landline 011 64643453
wwwakoshacom
Design by Radhika Dutt
All rights reserved
First Edition September 2013
For the sake of repetition This book does not constitute legal advice 25
infoakoshacomwwwakoshacominfoakoshacom
Check that the Annexures are page numbered
Check that an Affidavit by the complainant attested by an oath commissioner has been attached
Consumer Complaint should be signed by the complainant and supported
by a notarised attested affidavit with 1+3 sets + Number of Opposite
Parties (with File cover)
While it is true that drafting a complaint is not technical and can be done
by a consumer without professional assistance a professional lawyer or
someone on the team at Akosha may be more adept and efficient at
drafting such a complaint - this may be a good option if you want to save
yourself some hassle and time
Donrsquot be intimidated by the drafting of consumer complaint If you donrsquot have the time seek help
13
Chapter 3 The devilish details
The previous chapter answers some of the basic questions that will arise
when you want to file a complaint at a consumer forum
However there are a few more technical questions that you need to know
about
Where can I file my complaint (the jurisdiction issue)
Jurisdiction basically refers to the scope of the authority of the courts The
Consumer Protection Act provides for a three tiered system of courts
National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission
State Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission
District Consumer Dispute Redressal Forum
National Commission is the apex consumer dispute redressal body The
consumers can approach these forums based on
Territorial Jurisdiction- The consumers can approach the
consumer court located in the place where the companylsquos office is
or where it carries on business or where the ―cause of action arose
Pecuniary Jurisdiction- The consumers have to approach the consumer courts based on the monetary value of their suit which
14
usually refers to the amount involved in dispute This jurisdiction is
decided as follows
Where the value of goods or services and the compensation
Forum claimed is
District Forum Upto Rs 2000000
State Commission Rs2000000-Rs10000000
National Commission Exceeds Rs10000000
The companylsquos head office is in Mumbai but I live in Delhi What can I do
If the company you want to complain against is situated in your city that
would make matters simple ndash you would have to file your complaint at the
District Forum under whom the companylsquos office falls
However a lot of times this is not true For example
Anita a resident of Gurgaon who wanted to file a complaint against
an auto-maker (which is based out of Aurangabad) went at the
District Forum in Gurgaon The people at the District Forum told her
that she would not be able to get the complaint admitted in Gurgaon
unless one of the opposite parties was in Gurgaon Therefore the only
practical option left to her was to also name the local Skoda service
center in Gurgaon as a party to the complaint and got her complaint
admitted in Gurgaon itself
15
What do I do if the company has no branch office
or related entity in my city
Despair not
This is where the second criteria for jurisdiction comes to your rescue
―the cause of action Cause of action simply means the actual event
which has lead to you to having a complaint ie which has given you the
―cause to take legal action (ie file a complaint) against the company
Wherever the ―cause of action wholly or partly arose ndash that arealsquos District
Consumer Forum would have valid jurisdiction
For instance a complainant purchases a flight ticket in Shimla for a
journey which is to start from Delhi to another city In case a
complaint arises the complainant can file a complaint at a consumer
forum in Shimla This is because the ticket was purchased in Shimla
and hence the cause of action arose in Shimla even though the
journey was to commence from Delhi
As an easy rule of thumb the place of occurrence of any of the following
shall be considered the place where cause of action arose
(a) where goods are purchased
(b) where goods are supplied
(c) where services are rendered
(d) where the contract was made
The issue of jurisdiction is fairly complicated and in our experience it is
always better to seek expert advice
Even though the law clearly provides the option for you to file a complaint
where the ldquocause of actionrdquo arose on a practical level sometimes district
consumer forums refuse to admit the complaint if the companyrsquos office is
not within their area You should fight and escalate the matter at the
district forum if this happens
16
What if a complaint is against more than one
parties
If you are filing your complaint against more than one person (or
company) then you can file this complaint in the forum of the place where
ALL the opposite parties (companies) reside or carry on business or have
a branch office or personally work for gain
If all the opposite parties do not reside or carry on business or have a
branch office in the same area then you can file the complaint where ANY
of them reside or carry on business or have a branch office provided
you obtain
permission of the Forum where you intend to file the complaint or
the opposite parties who do not reside or carry on business in the place you intend to file agree to the jurisdiction of this forum
As we have mentioned earlier jurisdiction tends to get complicated for
more reasons than one and hence enlisting professional help is always a
good idea
Do I need to send a notice to the company before
filling a complaint against it
It is not compulsory to send a notice to the company before filing the
complaint with the District Forum There is no statutory requirement for
the same under the Consumer Protection Act In urgent circumstances the
consumers can directly file a complaint in the Consumer Court However
as best practice one should send a notice to the company informing it
about the grievance before filing a formal complaint against the company
17
What is the time period within which a complaint
can be filed in a consumer forum
As per the Consumer Protection Act the District Forum the State
Commission or the National Commission cannot admit a complaint unless
it is filed within two years from the date on which the cause of action has
arisen Otherwise a complaint is barred by limitation and cannot be filed
in a consumer forum
However such a delay can be condoned if the complainant shows that he
had sufficient cause for not filing the complaint within such period Of
course you should file your complaint as promptly as possible once it
becomes clear that all other means of its resolution have been exhausted
Can I appeal against the decision of the consumer
court
In case a complainant is not satisfied with the verdict delivered by a
consumer forum he or she may file an appeal with the State Commission
(if the original verdict was delivered by District Forum) or National
Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission (if the complainant is aggrieved
by a verdict delivered by a State Commission) The appeal must be filed
within 30 days of the receipt of the order In case a complainant is not
satisfied with the verdict of the National Commission he can approach the
Supreme Court for review
In our experience professional advice becomes mandatory for the
consumers if a complaint advances to the appeal stage and it is better to
enlist a lawyer for the same
18
Chapter 4 A photo tour
To get a real flavor of what it is like we sent an intern out to the K G
Marg District Consumer Forum in New Delhi
To read more go to
httpinfoakoshacomconsumer-complaintsconsumer-protectiona-
day-at-the-k-g-marg-new-delhi-district-consumer-forum
19
Chapter 5 The e-
commerce complaints
problem
This chapter first appeared as ldquoMake consumer law e-com-friendlyrdquo
The Hindu Business Line May 7 2013 Wersquove included it in this e-book
to give you a sense of the challenges you might face if you have a problem
against an ecommerce player
Anita (name changed) who lives in Bengaluru had ordered a mobile
phone from online electronics retailer Timtara but it was never
delivered despite the full payment being made
She then filed a complaint at the local consumer forum in Bengaluru
which however refused to admit it Instead she was asked to file it in
Noida Uttar Pradesh where Timtararsquos registered office is located
Anita had to forego the idea not only of filing the complaint (there
was no way she could have gone to Noida for that) but also
recovering the money she had paid to Timtara
The rise and fall of Timtara culminating in the arrest of its founder and
CEO just over a month ago has opened a can of worms as far as the e-
commerce sector is concerned It has even generated a debate on all what
is wrong with this ecosystem
However amidst all this there is one major concern that has been
overlooked mdash the application of the Consumer Protection Act with respect
to e-commerce transactions especially pertaining to the jurisdiction
clause
20
The case illustrated above is just one of the hundreds of complaints
against Timtara that were filed with Akosha alone In all such cases
whenever buyers approached the concerned local consumer forum they
were more often than not told to file their complaint in Noida which is
where Timtaralsquos registered office happened to be located
The story does not differ drastically in cases involving other e-commerce
players either Whenever a consumer faces an issue with an e-commerce
company and wishes to file a complaint at a consumer forum shehe very
often ends up confronting this dilemma of jurisdiction Where to file the
complaint
Virtual Jurisdiction
With e-commerce in India growing annually by over 57 per cent and
expected to touch $88 billion by 2016 mdash as per projections by Forrester
Research Inc a leading global research and advisory firm mdash one should
not be surprised to find the growth rate of complaints also keeping pace
From our own analysis of e-commerce complaints received on the Akosha
platform these are growing by 19 per cent quarter on quarter
Out of the 11980 complaints received by Akosha for the e-commerce
sector in the January-March 2013 quarter about 58 per cent related to
deficiency in delivery while 29 per cent had to do with refunds the
balance 13 per cent concerning other issues
The bulk of these were registered by consumers in the metros with Delhi
topping the list However despite the urban tilt the geographical
distribution of the complaints is diverse enough to validate concerns
regarding the misapplication of the jurisdiction clause
The Consumer Protection Act by itself is not very ambiguous though It
clearly lays down that a consumer has to file a complaint in the place
where the company resides or carries on business
21
Alternatively shehe can also file it in the place where the cause of action
arose that is where the issue or grievance arose
However ―cause of action is a complicated legal concept mdash something
that is difficult to understand or simply inconvenient to grapple with for
the consumer forum registrars and judges
In the case of the e-commerce sector which caters to consumers across
the country irrespective of an online retailerlsquos geographical location this
becomes hugely problematic A lot of consumers are told by the relevant
registrar or the judges that their complaints cannot be accepted because
the companylsquos office does not lie within the said jurisdiction That is quite
similar to the police refusing to register an FIR because it falls outside their
―jurisdiction
One practical expedient that some consumers use is to make a local
branch service centre or even a warehouse (in the case of an e-commerce
company) party to the complaint and then get it admitted at the local
consumer forum
When the legislature drafted the jurisdiction clause in the Consumer
Protection Act they tried to balance the burden on the companies with
that on the consumers
While it would be unaffordable for a company to represent itself
everywhere ndash thereby justifying the customer having to file the complaint
in the place where it did business ndash the ―cause of action concept at the
same time allowed wriggle room for consumers
It is this wriggle room that is now squeezed by non-application of mind
by consumer forums
Lost Opportunity
22
The Consumer Protection Amendment Bill 2011 which was introduced in
the Lok Sabha last December could have proposed an amendment to
Section 11 of the Act that deals with jurisdiction
This would have incorporated a separate jurisdiction clause directed at the
e-commerce sector taking into consideration its unique non-territorial
nature
Such a clause should have clearly laid down that in e-commerce cases a
complaint should be filed where the cause of action arises irrespective of the
physical location of the company concerned This would have been a perfect
even though overly legislative redressal of an issue that is already a major
problem for Indian consumers making online purchases
Unfortunately the Bill has already been tabled and referred to the
Standing Committee ndash and it looks as though e-commerce consumer
hopes have been dashed
Another way out could be to have the National Consumer Disputes
Redressal Commission lay down clear directives in this regard clarifying
that ―cause of action be given precedence when dealing with
jurisdiction issues specific to e-commerce complaints
In the absence of these Indian e-commerce consumers will have little to
look forward to in terms of redressal of their complaints
(The author is founder of wwwakoshacom an online consumer complaints
resolution platform)
23
Chapter 6 Conclusion
While we have tried to address the basics in as much detail as possible
every consumer complaint is unique and may have issues that need to be
addressed individually
However this guide shall give every consumer a fair idea on how to get
started and things that should be kept in mind when planning to file a
complaint with a consumer forum If you have suggestions on improving this e-book please write
to feedbackakoshacom
If you liked this e-book please share copiously
If you have a complaint give us a try ndash just file your complaint on
wwwakoshacom
24
About Akosha
350000+ Complaints
1000000+ Updates
1250+ Daily customers 185+Brands
80+ Team
2010 Founded
Address
E-407 Second Floor Coraza Technologies Private Limited
Okhla Industrial Area Phase 2 New Delhi - 110020
Landline 011 64643453
wwwakoshacom
Design by Radhika Dutt
All rights reserved
First Edition September 2013
For the sake of repetition This book does not constitute legal advice 25
infoakoshacomwwwakoshacominfoakoshacom
Chapter 3 The devilish details
The previous chapter answers some of the basic questions that will arise
when you want to file a complaint at a consumer forum
However there are a few more technical questions that you need to know
about
Where can I file my complaint (the jurisdiction issue)
Jurisdiction basically refers to the scope of the authority of the courts The
Consumer Protection Act provides for a three tiered system of courts
National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission
State Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission
District Consumer Dispute Redressal Forum
National Commission is the apex consumer dispute redressal body The
consumers can approach these forums based on
Territorial Jurisdiction- The consumers can approach the
consumer court located in the place where the companylsquos office is
or where it carries on business or where the ―cause of action arose
Pecuniary Jurisdiction- The consumers have to approach the consumer courts based on the monetary value of their suit which
14
usually refers to the amount involved in dispute This jurisdiction is
decided as follows
Where the value of goods or services and the compensation
Forum claimed is
District Forum Upto Rs 2000000
State Commission Rs2000000-Rs10000000
National Commission Exceeds Rs10000000
The companylsquos head office is in Mumbai but I live in Delhi What can I do
If the company you want to complain against is situated in your city that
would make matters simple ndash you would have to file your complaint at the
District Forum under whom the companylsquos office falls
However a lot of times this is not true For example
Anita a resident of Gurgaon who wanted to file a complaint against
an auto-maker (which is based out of Aurangabad) went at the
District Forum in Gurgaon The people at the District Forum told her
that she would not be able to get the complaint admitted in Gurgaon
unless one of the opposite parties was in Gurgaon Therefore the only
practical option left to her was to also name the local Skoda service
center in Gurgaon as a party to the complaint and got her complaint
admitted in Gurgaon itself
15
What do I do if the company has no branch office
or related entity in my city
Despair not
This is where the second criteria for jurisdiction comes to your rescue
―the cause of action Cause of action simply means the actual event
which has lead to you to having a complaint ie which has given you the
―cause to take legal action (ie file a complaint) against the company
Wherever the ―cause of action wholly or partly arose ndash that arealsquos District
Consumer Forum would have valid jurisdiction
For instance a complainant purchases a flight ticket in Shimla for a
journey which is to start from Delhi to another city In case a
complaint arises the complainant can file a complaint at a consumer
forum in Shimla This is because the ticket was purchased in Shimla
and hence the cause of action arose in Shimla even though the
journey was to commence from Delhi
As an easy rule of thumb the place of occurrence of any of the following
shall be considered the place where cause of action arose
(a) where goods are purchased
(b) where goods are supplied
(c) where services are rendered
(d) where the contract was made
The issue of jurisdiction is fairly complicated and in our experience it is
always better to seek expert advice
Even though the law clearly provides the option for you to file a complaint
where the ldquocause of actionrdquo arose on a practical level sometimes district
consumer forums refuse to admit the complaint if the companyrsquos office is
not within their area You should fight and escalate the matter at the
district forum if this happens
16
What if a complaint is against more than one
parties
If you are filing your complaint against more than one person (or
company) then you can file this complaint in the forum of the place where
ALL the opposite parties (companies) reside or carry on business or have
a branch office or personally work for gain
If all the opposite parties do not reside or carry on business or have a
branch office in the same area then you can file the complaint where ANY
of them reside or carry on business or have a branch office provided
you obtain
permission of the Forum where you intend to file the complaint or
the opposite parties who do not reside or carry on business in the place you intend to file agree to the jurisdiction of this forum
As we have mentioned earlier jurisdiction tends to get complicated for
more reasons than one and hence enlisting professional help is always a
good idea
Do I need to send a notice to the company before
filling a complaint against it
It is not compulsory to send a notice to the company before filing the
complaint with the District Forum There is no statutory requirement for
the same under the Consumer Protection Act In urgent circumstances the
consumers can directly file a complaint in the Consumer Court However
as best practice one should send a notice to the company informing it
about the grievance before filing a formal complaint against the company
17
What is the time period within which a complaint
can be filed in a consumer forum
As per the Consumer Protection Act the District Forum the State
Commission or the National Commission cannot admit a complaint unless
it is filed within two years from the date on which the cause of action has
arisen Otherwise a complaint is barred by limitation and cannot be filed
in a consumer forum
However such a delay can be condoned if the complainant shows that he
had sufficient cause for not filing the complaint within such period Of
course you should file your complaint as promptly as possible once it
becomes clear that all other means of its resolution have been exhausted
Can I appeal against the decision of the consumer
court
In case a complainant is not satisfied with the verdict delivered by a
consumer forum he or she may file an appeal with the State Commission
(if the original verdict was delivered by District Forum) or National
Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission (if the complainant is aggrieved
by a verdict delivered by a State Commission) The appeal must be filed
within 30 days of the receipt of the order In case a complainant is not
satisfied with the verdict of the National Commission he can approach the
Supreme Court for review
In our experience professional advice becomes mandatory for the
consumers if a complaint advances to the appeal stage and it is better to
enlist a lawyer for the same
18
Chapter 4 A photo tour
To get a real flavor of what it is like we sent an intern out to the K G
Marg District Consumer Forum in New Delhi
To read more go to
httpinfoakoshacomconsumer-complaintsconsumer-protectiona-
day-at-the-k-g-marg-new-delhi-district-consumer-forum
19
Chapter 5 The e-
commerce complaints
problem
This chapter first appeared as ldquoMake consumer law e-com-friendlyrdquo
The Hindu Business Line May 7 2013 Wersquove included it in this e-book
to give you a sense of the challenges you might face if you have a problem
against an ecommerce player
Anita (name changed) who lives in Bengaluru had ordered a mobile
phone from online electronics retailer Timtara but it was never
delivered despite the full payment being made
She then filed a complaint at the local consumer forum in Bengaluru
which however refused to admit it Instead she was asked to file it in
Noida Uttar Pradesh where Timtararsquos registered office is located
Anita had to forego the idea not only of filing the complaint (there
was no way she could have gone to Noida for that) but also
recovering the money she had paid to Timtara
The rise and fall of Timtara culminating in the arrest of its founder and
CEO just over a month ago has opened a can of worms as far as the e-
commerce sector is concerned It has even generated a debate on all what
is wrong with this ecosystem
However amidst all this there is one major concern that has been
overlooked mdash the application of the Consumer Protection Act with respect
to e-commerce transactions especially pertaining to the jurisdiction
clause
20
The case illustrated above is just one of the hundreds of complaints
against Timtara that were filed with Akosha alone In all such cases
whenever buyers approached the concerned local consumer forum they
were more often than not told to file their complaint in Noida which is
where Timtaralsquos registered office happened to be located
The story does not differ drastically in cases involving other e-commerce
players either Whenever a consumer faces an issue with an e-commerce
company and wishes to file a complaint at a consumer forum shehe very
often ends up confronting this dilemma of jurisdiction Where to file the
complaint
Virtual Jurisdiction
With e-commerce in India growing annually by over 57 per cent and
expected to touch $88 billion by 2016 mdash as per projections by Forrester
Research Inc a leading global research and advisory firm mdash one should
not be surprised to find the growth rate of complaints also keeping pace
From our own analysis of e-commerce complaints received on the Akosha
platform these are growing by 19 per cent quarter on quarter
Out of the 11980 complaints received by Akosha for the e-commerce
sector in the January-March 2013 quarter about 58 per cent related to
deficiency in delivery while 29 per cent had to do with refunds the
balance 13 per cent concerning other issues
The bulk of these were registered by consumers in the metros with Delhi
topping the list However despite the urban tilt the geographical
distribution of the complaints is diverse enough to validate concerns
regarding the misapplication of the jurisdiction clause
The Consumer Protection Act by itself is not very ambiguous though It
clearly lays down that a consumer has to file a complaint in the place
where the company resides or carries on business
21
Alternatively shehe can also file it in the place where the cause of action
arose that is where the issue or grievance arose
However ―cause of action is a complicated legal concept mdash something
that is difficult to understand or simply inconvenient to grapple with for
the consumer forum registrars and judges
In the case of the e-commerce sector which caters to consumers across
the country irrespective of an online retailerlsquos geographical location this
becomes hugely problematic A lot of consumers are told by the relevant
registrar or the judges that their complaints cannot be accepted because
the companylsquos office does not lie within the said jurisdiction That is quite
similar to the police refusing to register an FIR because it falls outside their
―jurisdiction
One practical expedient that some consumers use is to make a local
branch service centre or even a warehouse (in the case of an e-commerce
company) party to the complaint and then get it admitted at the local
consumer forum
When the legislature drafted the jurisdiction clause in the Consumer
Protection Act they tried to balance the burden on the companies with
that on the consumers
While it would be unaffordable for a company to represent itself
everywhere ndash thereby justifying the customer having to file the complaint
in the place where it did business ndash the ―cause of action concept at the
same time allowed wriggle room for consumers
It is this wriggle room that is now squeezed by non-application of mind
by consumer forums
Lost Opportunity
22
The Consumer Protection Amendment Bill 2011 which was introduced in
the Lok Sabha last December could have proposed an amendment to
Section 11 of the Act that deals with jurisdiction
This would have incorporated a separate jurisdiction clause directed at the
e-commerce sector taking into consideration its unique non-territorial
nature
Such a clause should have clearly laid down that in e-commerce cases a
complaint should be filed where the cause of action arises irrespective of the
physical location of the company concerned This would have been a perfect
even though overly legislative redressal of an issue that is already a major
problem for Indian consumers making online purchases
Unfortunately the Bill has already been tabled and referred to the
Standing Committee ndash and it looks as though e-commerce consumer
hopes have been dashed
Another way out could be to have the National Consumer Disputes
Redressal Commission lay down clear directives in this regard clarifying
that ―cause of action be given precedence when dealing with
jurisdiction issues specific to e-commerce complaints
In the absence of these Indian e-commerce consumers will have little to
look forward to in terms of redressal of their complaints
(The author is founder of wwwakoshacom an online consumer complaints
resolution platform)
23
Chapter 6 Conclusion
While we have tried to address the basics in as much detail as possible
every consumer complaint is unique and may have issues that need to be
addressed individually
However this guide shall give every consumer a fair idea on how to get
started and things that should be kept in mind when planning to file a
complaint with a consumer forum If you have suggestions on improving this e-book please write
to feedbackakoshacom
If you liked this e-book please share copiously
If you have a complaint give us a try ndash just file your complaint on
wwwakoshacom
24
About Akosha
350000+ Complaints
1000000+ Updates
1250+ Daily customers 185+Brands
80+ Team
2010 Founded
Address
E-407 Second Floor Coraza Technologies Private Limited
Okhla Industrial Area Phase 2 New Delhi - 110020
Landline 011 64643453
wwwakoshacom
Design by Radhika Dutt
All rights reserved
First Edition September 2013
For the sake of repetition This book does not constitute legal advice 25
infoakoshacomwwwakoshacominfoakoshacom
usually refers to the amount involved in dispute This jurisdiction is
decided as follows
Where the value of goods or services and the compensation
Forum claimed is
District Forum Upto Rs 2000000
State Commission Rs2000000-Rs10000000
National Commission Exceeds Rs10000000
The companylsquos head office is in Mumbai but I live in Delhi What can I do
If the company you want to complain against is situated in your city that
would make matters simple ndash you would have to file your complaint at the
District Forum under whom the companylsquos office falls
However a lot of times this is not true For example
Anita a resident of Gurgaon who wanted to file a complaint against
an auto-maker (which is based out of Aurangabad) went at the
District Forum in Gurgaon The people at the District Forum told her
that she would not be able to get the complaint admitted in Gurgaon
unless one of the opposite parties was in Gurgaon Therefore the only
practical option left to her was to also name the local Skoda service
center in Gurgaon as a party to the complaint and got her complaint
admitted in Gurgaon itself
15
What do I do if the company has no branch office
or related entity in my city
Despair not
This is where the second criteria for jurisdiction comes to your rescue
―the cause of action Cause of action simply means the actual event
which has lead to you to having a complaint ie which has given you the
―cause to take legal action (ie file a complaint) against the company
Wherever the ―cause of action wholly or partly arose ndash that arealsquos District
Consumer Forum would have valid jurisdiction
For instance a complainant purchases a flight ticket in Shimla for a
journey which is to start from Delhi to another city In case a
complaint arises the complainant can file a complaint at a consumer
forum in Shimla This is because the ticket was purchased in Shimla
and hence the cause of action arose in Shimla even though the
journey was to commence from Delhi
As an easy rule of thumb the place of occurrence of any of the following
shall be considered the place where cause of action arose
(a) where goods are purchased
(b) where goods are supplied
(c) where services are rendered
(d) where the contract was made
The issue of jurisdiction is fairly complicated and in our experience it is
always better to seek expert advice
Even though the law clearly provides the option for you to file a complaint
where the ldquocause of actionrdquo arose on a practical level sometimes district
consumer forums refuse to admit the complaint if the companyrsquos office is
not within their area You should fight and escalate the matter at the
district forum if this happens
16
What if a complaint is against more than one
parties
If you are filing your complaint against more than one person (or
company) then you can file this complaint in the forum of the place where
ALL the opposite parties (companies) reside or carry on business or have
a branch office or personally work for gain
If all the opposite parties do not reside or carry on business or have a
branch office in the same area then you can file the complaint where ANY
of them reside or carry on business or have a branch office provided
you obtain
permission of the Forum where you intend to file the complaint or
the opposite parties who do not reside or carry on business in the place you intend to file agree to the jurisdiction of this forum
As we have mentioned earlier jurisdiction tends to get complicated for
more reasons than one and hence enlisting professional help is always a
good idea
Do I need to send a notice to the company before
filling a complaint against it
It is not compulsory to send a notice to the company before filing the
complaint with the District Forum There is no statutory requirement for
the same under the Consumer Protection Act In urgent circumstances the
consumers can directly file a complaint in the Consumer Court However
as best practice one should send a notice to the company informing it
about the grievance before filing a formal complaint against the company
17
What is the time period within which a complaint
can be filed in a consumer forum
As per the Consumer Protection Act the District Forum the State
Commission or the National Commission cannot admit a complaint unless
it is filed within two years from the date on which the cause of action has
arisen Otherwise a complaint is barred by limitation and cannot be filed
in a consumer forum
However such a delay can be condoned if the complainant shows that he
had sufficient cause for not filing the complaint within such period Of
course you should file your complaint as promptly as possible once it
becomes clear that all other means of its resolution have been exhausted
Can I appeal against the decision of the consumer
court
In case a complainant is not satisfied with the verdict delivered by a
consumer forum he or she may file an appeal with the State Commission
(if the original verdict was delivered by District Forum) or National
Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission (if the complainant is aggrieved
by a verdict delivered by a State Commission) The appeal must be filed
within 30 days of the receipt of the order In case a complainant is not
satisfied with the verdict of the National Commission he can approach the
Supreme Court for review
In our experience professional advice becomes mandatory for the
consumers if a complaint advances to the appeal stage and it is better to
enlist a lawyer for the same
18
Chapter 4 A photo tour
To get a real flavor of what it is like we sent an intern out to the K G
Marg District Consumer Forum in New Delhi
To read more go to
httpinfoakoshacomconsumer-complaintsconsumer-protectiona-
day-at-the-k-g-marg-new-delhi-district-consumer-forum
19
Chapter 5 The e-
commerce complaints
problem
This chapter first appeared as ldquoMake consumer law e-com-friendlyrdquo
The Hindu Business Line May 7 2013 Wersquove included it in this e-book
to give you a sense of the challenges you might face if you have a problem
against an ecommerce player
Anita (name changed) who lives in Bengaluru had ordered a mobile
phone from online electronics retailer Timtara but it was never
delivered despite the full payment being made
She then filed a complaint at the local consumer forum in Bengaluru
which however refused to admit it Instead she was asked to file it in
Noida Uttar Pradesh where Timtararsquos registered office is located
Anita had to forego the idea not only of filing the complaint (there
was no way she could have gone to Noida for that) but also
recovering the money she had paid to Timtara
The rise and fall of Timtara culminating in the arrest of its founder and
CEO just over a month ago has opened a can of worms as far as the e-
commerce sector is concerned It has even generated a debate on all what
is wrong with this ecosystem
However amidst all this there is one major concern that has been
overlooked mdash the application of the Consumer Protection Act with respect
to e-commerce transactions especially pertaining to the jurisdiction
clause
20
The case illustrated above is just one of the hundreds of complaints
against Timtara that were filed with Akosha alone In all such cases
whenever buyers approached the concerned local consumer forum they
were more often than not told to file their complaint in Noida which is
where Timtaralsquos registered office happened to be located
The story does not differ drastically in cases involving other e-commerce
players either Whenever a consumer faces an issue with an e-commerce
company and wishes to file a complaint at a consumer forum shehe very
often ends up confronting this dilemma of jurisdiction Where to file the
complaint
Virtual Jurisdiction
With e-commerce in India growing annually by over 57 per cent and
expected to touch $88 billion by 2016 mdash as per projections by Forrester
Research Inc a leading global research and advisory firm mdash one should
not be surprised to find the growth rate of complaints also keeping pace
From our own analysis of e-commerce complaints received on the Akosha
platform these are growing by 19 per cent quarter on quarter
Out of the 11980 complaints received by Akosha for the e-commerce
sector in the January-March 2013 quarter about 58 per cent related to
deficiency in delivery while 29 per cent had to do with refunds the
balance 13 per cent concerning other issues
The bulk of these were registered by consumers in the metros with Delhi
topping the list However despite the urban tilt the geographical
distribution of the complaints is diverse enough to validate concerns
regarding the misapplication of the jurisdiction clause
The Consumer Protection Act by itself is not very ambiguous though It
clearly lays down that a consumer has to file a complaint in the place
where the company resides or carries on business
21
Alternatively shehe can also file it in the place where the cause of action
arose that is where the issue or grievance arose
However ―cause of action is a complicated legal concept mdash something
that is difficult to understand or simply inconvenient to grapple with for
the consumer forum registrars and judges
In the case of the e-commerce sector which caters to consumers across
the country irrespective of an online retailerlsquos geographical location this
becomes hugely problematic A lot of consumers are told by the relevant
registrar or the judges that their complaints cannot be accepted because
the companylsquos office does not lie within the said jurisdiction That is quite
similar to the police refusing to register an FIR because it falls outside their
―jurisdiction
One practical expedient that some consumers use is to make a local
branch service centre or even a warehouse (in the case of an e-commerce
company) party to the complaint and then get it admitted at the local
consumer forum
When the legislature drafted the jurisdiction clause in the Consumer
Protection Act they tried to balance the burden on the companies with
that on the consumers
While it would be unaffordable for a company to represent itself
everywhere ndash thereby justifying the customer having to file the complaint
in the place where it did business ndash the ―cause of action concept at the
same time allowed wriggle room for consumers
It is this wriggle room that is now squeezed by non-application of mind
by consumer forums
Lost Opportunity
22
The Consumer Protection Amendment Bill 2011 which was introduced in
the Lok Sabha last December could have proposed an amendment to
Section 11 of the Act that deals with jurisdiction
This would have incorporated a separate jurisdiction clause directed at the
e-commerce sector taking into consideration its unique non-territorial
nature
Such a clause should have clearly laid down that in e-commerce cases a
complaint should be filed where the cause of action arises irrespective of the
physical location of the company concerned This would have been a perfect
even though overly legislative redressal of an issue that is already a major
problem for Indian consumers making online purchases
Unfortunately the Bill has already been tabled and referred to the
Standing Committee ndash and it looks as though e-commerce consumer
hopes have been dashed
Another way out could be to have the National Consumer Disputes
Redressal Commission lay down clear directives in this regard clarifying
that ―cause of action be given precedence when dealing with
jurisdiction issues specific to e-commerce complaints
In the absence of these Indian e-commerce consumers will have little to
look forward to in terms of redressal of their complaints
(The author is founder of wwwakoshacom an online consumer complaints
resolution platform)
23
Chapter 6 Conclusion
While we have tried to address the basics in as much detail as possible
every consumer complaint is unique and may have issues that need to be
addressed individually
However this guide shall give every consumer a fair idea on how to get
started and things that should be kept in mind when planning to file a
complaint with a consumer forum If you have suggestions on improving this e-book please write
to feedbackakoshacom
If you liked this e-book please share copiously
If you have a complaint give us a try ndash just file your complaint on
wwwakoshacom
24
About Akosha
350000+ Complaints
1000000+ Updates
1250+ Daily customers 185+Brands
80+ Team
2010 Founded
Address
E-407 Second Floor Coraza Technologies Private Limited
Okhla Industrial Area Phase 2 New Delhi - 110020
Landline 011 64643453
wwwakoshacom
Design by Radhika Dutt
All rights reserved
First Edition September 2013
For the sake of repetition This book does not constitute legal advice 25
infoakoshacomwwwakoshacominfoakoshacom
What do I do if the company has no branch office
or related entity in my city
Despair not
This is where the second criteria for jurisdiction comes to your rescue
―the cause of action Cause of action simply means the actual event
which has lead to you to having a complaint ie which has given you the
―cause to take legal action (ie file a complaint) against the company
Wherever the ―cause of action wholly or partly arose ndash that arealsquos District
Consumer Forum would have valid jurisdiction
For instance a complainant purchases a flight ticket in Shimla for a
journey which is to start from Delhi to another city In case a
complaint arises the complainant can file a complaint at a consumer
forum in Shimla This is because the ticket was purchased in Shimla
and hence the cause of action arose in Shimla even though the
journey was to commence from Delhi
As an easy rule of thumb the place of occurrence of any of the following
shall be considered the place where cause of action arose
(a) where goods are purchased
(b) where goods are supplied
(c) where services are rendered
(d) where the contract was made
The issue of jurisdiction is fairly complicated and in our experience it is
always better to seek expert advice
Even though the law clearly provides the option for you to file a complaint
where the ldquocause of actionrdquo arose on a practical level sometimes district
consumer forums refuse to admit the complaint if the companyrsquos office is
not within their area You should fight and escalate the matter at the
district forum if this happens
16
What if a complaint is against more than one
parties
If you are filing your complaint against more than one person (or
company) then you can file this complaint in the forum of the place where
ALL the opposite parties (companies) reside or carry on business or have
a branch office or personally work for gain
If all the opposite parties do not reside or carry on business or have a
branch office in the same area then you can file the complaint where ANY
of them reside or carry on business or have a branch office provided
you obtain
permission of the Forum where you intend to file the complaint or
the opposite parties who do not reside or carry on business in the place you intend to file agree to the jurisdiction of this forum
As we have mentioned earlier jurisdiction tends to get complicated for
more reasons than one and hence enlisting professional help is always a
good idea
Do I need to send a notice to the company before
filling a complaint against it
It is not compulsory to send a notice to the company before filing the
complaint with the District Forum There is no statutory requirement for
the same under the Consumer Protection Act In urgent circumstances the
consumers can directly file a complaint in the Consumer Court However
as best practice one should send a notice to the company informing it
about the grievance before filing a formal complaint against the company
17
What is the time period within which a complaint
can be filed in a consumer forum
As per the Consumer Protection Act the District Forum the State
Commission or the National Commission cannot admit a complaint unless
it is filed within two years from the date on which the cause of action has
arisen Otherwise a complaint is barred by limitation and cannot be filed
in a consumer forum
However such a delay can be condoned if the complainant shows that he
had sufficient cause for not filing the complaint within such period Of
course you should file your complaint as promptly as possible once it
becomes clear that all other means of its resolution have been exhausted
Can I appeal against the decision of the consumer
court
In case a complainant is not satisfied with the verdict delivered by a
consumer forum he or she may file an appeal with the State Commission
(if the original verdict was delivered by District Forum) or National
Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission (if the complainant is aggrieved
by a verdict delivered by a State Commission) The appeal must be filed
within 30 days of the receipt of the order In case a complainant is not
satisfied with the verdict of the National Commission he can approach the
Supreme Court for review
In our experience professional advice becomes mandatory for the
consumers if a complaint advances to the appeal stage and it is better to
enlist a lawyer for the same
18
Chapter 4 A photo tour
To get a real flavor of what it is like we sent an intern out to the K G
Marg District Consumer Forum in New Delhi
To read more go to
httpinfoakoshacomconsumer-complaintsconsumer-protectiona-
day-at-the-k-g-marg-new-delhi-district-consumer-forum
19
Chapter 5 The e-
commerce complaints
problem
This chapter first appeared as ldquoMake consumer law e-com-friendlyrdquo
The Hindu Business Line May 7 2013 Wersquove included it in this e-book
to give you a sense of the challenges you might face if you have a problem
against an ecommerce player
Anita (name changed) who lives in Bengaluru had ordered a mobile
phone from online electronics retailer Timtara but it was never
delivered despite the full payment being made
She then filed a complaint at the local consumer forum in Bengaluru
which however refused to admit it Instead she was asked to file it in
Noida Uttar Pradesh where Timtararsquos registered office is located
Anita had to forego the idea not only of filing the complaint (there
was no way she could have gone to Noida for that) but also
recovering the money she had paid to Timtara
The rise and fall of Timtara culminating in the arrest of its founder and
CEO just over a month ago has opened a can of worms as far as the e-
commerce sector is concerned It has even generated a debate on all what
is wrong with this ecosystem
However amidst all this there is one major concern that has been
overlooked mdash the application of the Consumer Protection Act with respect
to e-commerce transactions especially pertaining to the jurisdiction
clause
20
The case illustrated above is just one of the hundreds of complaints
against Timtara that were filed with Akosha alone In all such cases
whenever buyers approached the concerned local consumer forum they
were more often than not told to file their complaint in Noida which is
where Timtaralsquos registered office happened to be located
The story does not differ drastically in cases involving other e-commerce
players either Whenever a consumer faces an issue with an e-commerce
company and wishes to file a complaint at a consumer forum shehe very
often ends up confronting this dilemma of jurisdiction Where to file the
complaint
Virtual Jurisdiction
With e-commerce in India growing annually by over 57 per cent and
expected to touch $88 billion by 2016 mdash as per projections by Forrester
Research Inc a leading global research and advisory firm mdash one should
not be surprised to find the growth rate of complaints also keeping pace
From our own analysis of e-commerce complaints received on the Akosha
platform these are growing by 19 per cent quarter on quarter
Out of the 11980 complaints received by Akosha for the e-commerce
sector in the January-March 2013 quarter about 58 per cent related to
deficiency in delivery while 29 per cent had to do with refunds the
balance 13 per cent concerning other issues
The bulk of these were registered by consumers in the metros with Delhi
topping the list However despite the urban tilt the geographical
distribution of the complaints is diverse enough to validate concerns
regarding the misapplication of the jurisdiction clause
The Consumer Protection Act by itself is not very ambiguous though It
clearly lays down that a consumer has to file a complaint in the place
where the company resides or carries on business
21
Alternatively shehe can also file it in the place where the cause of action
arose that is where the issue or grievance arose
However ―cause of action is a complicated legal concept mdash something
that is difficult to understand or simply inconvenient to grapple with for
the consumer forum registrars and judges
In the case of the e-commerce sector which caters to consumers across
the country irrespective of an online retailerlsquos geographical location this
becomes hugely problematic A lot of consumers are told by the relevant
registrar or the judges that their complaints cannot be accepted because
the companylsquos office does not lie within the said jurisdiction That is quite
similar to the police refusing to register an FIR because it falls outside their
―jurisdiction
One practical expedient that some consumers use is to make a local
branch service centre or even a warehouse (in the case of an e-commerce
company) party to the complaint and then get it admitted at the local
consumer forum
When the legislature drafted the jurisdiction clause in the Consumer
Protection Act they tried to balance the burden on the companies with
that on the consumers
While it would be unaffordable for a company to represent itself
everywhere ndash thereby justifying the customer having to file the complaint
in the place where it did business ndash the ―cause of action concept at the
same time allowed wriggle room for consumers
It is this wriggle room that is now squeezed by non-application of mind
by consumer forums
Lost Opportunity
22
The Consumer Protection Amendment Bill 2011 which was introduced in
the Lok Sabha last December could have proposed an amendment to
Section 11 of the Act that deals with jurisdiction
This would have incorporated a separate jurisdiction clause directed at the
e-commerce sector taking into consideration its unique non-territorial
nature
Such a clause should have clearly laid down that in e-commerce cases a
complaint should be filed where the cause of action arises irrespective of the
physical location of the company concerned This would have been a perfect
even though overly legislative redressal of an issue that is already a major
problem for Indian consumers making online purchases
Unfortunately the Bill has already been tabled and referred to the
Standing Committee ndash and it looks as though e-commerce consumer
hopes have been dashed
Another way out could be to have the National Consumer Disputes
Redressal Commission lay down clear directives in this regard clarifying
that ―cause of action be given precedence when dealing with
jurisdiction issues specific to e-commerce complaints
In the absence of these Indian e-commerce consumers will have little to
look forward to in terms of redressal of their complaints
(The author is founder of wwwakoshacom an online consumer complaints
resolution platform)
23
Chapter 6 Conclusion
While we have tried to address the basics in as much detail as possible
every consumer complaint is unique and may have issues that need to be
addressed individually
However this guide shall give every consumer a fair idea on how to get
started and things that should be kept in mind when planning to file a
complaint with a consumer forum If you have suggestions on improving this e-book please write
to feedbackakoshacom
If you liked this e-book please share copiously
If you have a complaint give us a try ndash just file your complaint on
wwwakoshacom
24
About Akosha
350000+ Complaints
1000000+ Updates
1250+ Daily customers 185+Brands
80+ Team
2010 Founded
Address
E-407 Second Floor Coraza Technologies Private Limited
Okhla Industrial Area Phase 2 New Delhi - 110020
Landline 011 64643453
wwwakoshacom
Design by Radhika Dutt
All rights reserved
First Edition September 2013
For the sake of repetition This book does not constitute legal advice 25
infoakoshacomwwwakoshacominfoakoshacom
What if a complaint is against more than one
parties
If you are filing your complaint against more than one person (or
company) then you can file this complaint in the forum of the place where
ALL the opposite parties (companies) reside or carry on business or have
a branch office or personally work for gain
If all the opposite parties do not reside or carry on business or have a
branch office in the same area then you can file the complaint where ANY
of them reside or carry on business or have a branch office provided
you obtain
permission of the Forum where you intend to file the complaint or
the opposite parties who do not reside or carry on business in the place you intend to file agree to the jurisdiction of this forum
As we have mentioned earlier jurisdiction tends to get complicated for
more reasons than one and hence enlisting professional help is always a
good idea
Do I need to send a notice to the company before
filling a complaint against it
It is not compulsory to send a notice to the company before filing the
complaint with the District Forum There is no statutory requirement for
the same under the Consumer Protection Act In urgent circumstances the
consumers can directly file a complaint in the Consumer Court However
as best practice one should send a notice to the company informing it
about the grievance before filing a formal complaint against the company
17
What is the time period within which a complaint
can be filed in a consumer forum
As per the Consumer Protection Act the District Forum the State
Commission or the National Commission cannot admit a complaint unless
it is filed within two years from the date on which the cause of action has
arisen Otherwise a complaint is barred by limitation and cannot be filed
in a consumer forum
However such a delay can be condoned if the complainant shows that he
had sufficient cause for not filing the complaint within such period Of
course you should file your complaint as promptly as possible once it
becomes clear that all other means of its resolution have been exhausted
Can I appeal against the decision of the consumer
court
In case a complainant is not satisfied with the verdict delivered by a
consumer forum he or she may file an appeal with the State Commission
(if the original verdict was delivered by District Forum) or National
Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission (if the complainant is aggrieved
by a verdict delivered by a State Commission) The appeal must be filed
within 30 days of the receipt of the order In case a complainant is not
satisfied with the verdict of the National Commission he can approach the
Supreme Court for review
In our experience professional advice becomes mandatory for the
consumers if a complaint advances to the appeal stage and it is better to
enlist a lawyer for the same
18
Chapter 4 A photo tour
To get a real flavor of what it is like we sent an intern out to the K G
Marg District Consumer Forum in New Delhi
To read more go to
httpinfoakoshacomconsumer-complaintsconsumer-protectiona-
day-at-the-k-g-marg-new-delhi-district-consumer-forum
19
Chapter 5 The e-
commerce complaints
problem
This chapter first appeared as ldquoMake consumer law e-com-friendlyrdquo
The Hindu Business Line May 7 2013 Wersquove included it in this e-book
to give you a sense of the challenges you might face if you have a problem
against an ecommerce player
Anita (name changed) who lives in Bengaluru had ordered a mobile
phone from online electronics retailer Timtara but it was never
delivered despite the full payment being made
She then filed a complaint at the local consumer forum in Bengaluru
which however refused to admit it Instead she was asked to file it in
Noida Uttar Pradesh where Timtararsquos registered office is located
Anita had to forego the idea not only of filing the complaint (there
was no way she could have gone to Noida for that) but also
recovering the money she had paid to Timtara
The rise and fall of Timtara culminating in the arrest of its founder and
CEO just over a month ago has opened a can of worms as far as the e-
commerce sector is concerned It has even generated a debate on all what
is wrong with this ecosystem
However amidst all this there is one major concern that has been
overlooked mdash the application of the Consumer Protection Act with respect
to e-commerce transactions especially pertaining to the jurisdiction
clause
20
The case illustrated above is just one of the hundreds of complaints
against Timtara that were filed with Akosha alone In all such cases
whenever buyers approached the concerned local consumer forum they
were more often than not told to file their complaint in Noida which is
where Timtaralsquos registered office happened to be located
The story does not differ drastically in cases involving other e-commerce
players either Whenever a consumer faces an issue with an e-commerce
company and wishes to file a complaint at a consumer forum shehe very
often ends up confronting this dilemma of jurisdiction Where to file the
complaint
Virtual Jurisdiction
With e-commerce in India growing annually by over 57 per cent and
expected to touch $88 billion by 2016 mdash as per projections by Forrester
Research Inc a leading global research and advisory firm mdash one should
not be surprised to find the growth rate of complaints also keeping pace
From our own analysis of e-commerce complaints received on the Akosha
platform these are growing by 19 per cent quarter on quarter
Out of the 11980 complaints received by Akosha for the e-commerce
sector in the January-March 2013 quarter about 58 per cent related to
deficiency in delivery while 29 per cent had to do with refunds the
balance 13 per cent concerning other issues
The bulk of these were registered by consumers in the metros with Delhi
topping the list However despite the urban tilt the geographical
distribution of the complaints is diverse enough to validate concerns
regarding the misapplication of the jurisdiction clause
The Consumer Protection Act by itself is not very ambiguous though It
clearly lays down that a consumer has to file a complaint in the place
where the company resides or carries on business
21
Alternatively shehe can also file it in the place where the cause of action
arose that is where the issue or grievance arose
However ―cause of action is a complicated legal concept mdash something
that is difficult to understand or simply inconvenient to grapple with for
the consumer forum registrars and judges
In the case of the e-commerce sector which caters to consumers across
the country irrespective of an online retailerlsquos geographical location this
becomes hugely problematic A lot of consumers are told by the relevant
registrar or the judges that their complaints cannot be accepted because
the companylsquos office does not lie within the said jurisdiction That is quite
similar to the police refusing to register an FIR because it falls outside their
―jurisdiction
One practical expedient that some consumers use is to make a local
branch service centre or even a warehouse (in the case of an e-commerce
company) party to the complaint and then get it admitted at the local
consumer forum
When the legislature drafted the jurisdiction clause in the Consumer
Protection Act they tried to balance the burden on the companies with
that on the consumers
While it would be unaffordable for a company to represent itself
everywhere ndash thereby justifying the customer having to file the complaint
in the place where it did business ndash the ―cause of action concept at the
same time allowed wriggle room for consumers
It is this wriggle room that is now squeezed by non-application of mind
by consumer forums
Lost Opportunity
22
The Consumer Protection Amendment Bill 2011 which was introduced in
the Lok Sabha last December could have proposed an amendment to
Section 11 of the Act that deals with jurisdiction
This would have incorporated a separate jurisdiction clause directed at the
e-commerce sector taking into consideration its unique non-territorial
nature
Such a clause should have clearly laid down that in e-commerce cases a
complaint should be filed where the cause of action arises irrespective of the
physical location of the company concerned This would have been a perfect
even though overly legislative redressal of an issue that is already a major
problem for Indian consumers making online purchases
Unfortunately the Bill has already been tabled and referred to the
Standing Committee ndash and it looks as though e-commerce consumer
hopes have been dashed
Another way out could be to have the National Consumer Disputes
Redressal Commission lay down clear directives in this regard clarifying
that ―cause of action be given precedence when dealing with
jurisdiction issues specific to e-commerce complaints
In the absence of these Indian e-commerce consumers will have little to
look forward to in terms of redressal of their complaints
(The author is founder of wwwakoshacom an online consumer complaints
resolution platform)
23
Chapter 6 Conclusion
While we have tried to address the basics in as much detail as possible
every consumer complaint is unique and may have issues that need to be
addressed individually
However this guide shall give every consumer a fair idea on how to get
started and things that should be kept in mind when planning to file a
complaint with a consumer forum If you have suggestions on improving this e-book please write
to feedbackakoshacom
If you liked this e-book please share copiously
If you have a complaint give us a try ndash just file your complaint on
wwwakoshacom
24
About Akosha
350000+ Complaints
1000000+ Updates
1250+ Daily customers 185+Brands
80+ Team
2010 Founded
Address
E-407 Second Floor Coraza Technologies Private Limited
Okhla Industrial Area Phase 2 New Delhi - 110020
Landline 011 64643453
wwwakoshacom
Design by Radhika Dutt
All rights reserved
First Edition September 2013
For the sake of repetition This book does not constitute legal advice 25
infoakoshacomwwwakoshacominfoakoshacom
What is the time period within which a complaint
can be filed in a consumer forum
As per the Consumer Protection Act the District Forum the State
Commission or the National Commission cannot admit a complaint unless
it is filed within two years from the date on which the cause of action has
arisen Otherwise a complaint is barred by limitation and cannot be filed
in a consumer forum
However such a delay can be condoned if the complainant shows that he
had sufficient cause for not filing the complaint within such period Of
course you should file your complaint as promptly as possible once it
becomes clear that all other means of its resolution have been exhausted
Can I appeal against the decision of the consumer
court
In case a complainant is not satisfied with the verdict delivered by a
consumer forum he or she may file an appeal with the State Commission
(if the original verdict was delivered by District Forum) or National
Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission (if the complainant is aggrieved
by a verdict delivered by a State Commission) The appeal must be filed
within 30 days of the receipt of the order In case a complainant is not
satisfied with the verdict of the National Commission he can approach the
Supreme Court for review
In our experience professional advice becomes mandatory for the
consumers if a complaint advances to the appeal stage and it is better to
enlist a lawyer for the same
18
Chapter 4 A photo tour
To get a real flavor of what it is like we sent an intern out to the K G
Marg District Consumer Forum in New Delhi
To read more go to
httpinfoakoshacomconsumer-complaintsconsumer-protectiona-
day-at-the-k-g-marg-new-delhi-district-consumer-forum
19
Chapter 5 The e-
commerce complaints
problem
This chapter first appeared as ldquoMake consumer law e-com-friendlyrdquo
The Hindu Business Line May 7 2013 Wersquove included it in this e-book
to give you a sense of the challenges you might face if you have a problem
against an ecommerce player
Anita (name changed) who lives in Bengaluru had ordered a mobile
phone from online electronics retailer Timtara but it was never
delivered despite the full payment being made
She then filed a complaint at the local consumer forum in Bengaluru
which however refused to admit it Instead she was asked to file it in
Noida Uttar Pradesh where Timtararsquos registered office is located
Anita had to forego the idea not only of filing the complaint (there
was no way she could have gone to Noida for that) but also
recovering the money she had paid to Timtara
The rise and fall of Timtara culminating in the arrest of its founder and
CEO just over a month ago has opened a can of worms as far as the e-
commerce sector is concerned It has even generated a debate on all what
is wrong with this ecosystem
However amidst all this there is one major concern that has been
overlooked mdash the application of the Consumer Protection Act with respect
to e-commerce transactions especially pertaining to the jurisdiction
clause
20
The case illustrated above is just one of the hundreds of complaints
against Timtara that were filed with Akosha alone In all such cases
whenever buyers approached the concerned local consumer forum they
were more often than not told to file their complaint in Noida which is
where Timtaralsquos registered office happened to be located
The story does not differ drastically in cases involving other e-commerce
players either Whenever a consumer faces an issue with an e-commerce
company and wishes to file a complaint at a consumer forum shehe very
often ends up confronting this dilemma of jurisdiction Where to file the
complaint
Virtual Jurisdiction
With e-commerce in India growing annually by over 57 per cent and
expected to touch $88 billion by 2016 mdash as per projections by Forrester
Research Inc a leading global research and advisory firm mdash one should
not be surprised to find the growth rate of complaints also keeping pace
From our own analysis of e-commerce complaints received on the Akosha
platform these are growing by 19 per cent quarter on quarter
Out of the 11980 complaints received by Akosha for the e-commerce
sector in the January-March 2013 quarter about 58 per cent related to
deficiency in delivery while 29 per cent had to do with refunds the
balance 13 per cent concerning other issues
The bulk of these were registered by consumers in the metros with Delhi
topping the list However despite the urban tilt the geographical
distribution of the complaints is diverse enough to validate concerns
regarding the misapplication of the jurisdiction clause
The Consumer Protection Act by itself is not very ambiguous though It
clearly lays down that a consumer has to file a complaint in the place
where the company resides or carries on business
21
Alternatively shehe can also file it in the place where the cause of action
arose that is where the issue or grievance arose
However ―cause of action is a complicated legal concept mdash something
that is difficult to understand or simply inconvenient to grapple with for
the consumer forum registrars and judges
In the case of the e-commerce sector which caters to consumers across
the country irrespective of an online retailerlsquos geographical location this
becomes hugely problematic A lot of consumers are told by the relevant
registrar or the judges that their complaints cannot be accepted because
the companylsquos office does not lie within the said jurisdiction That is quite
similar to the police refusing to register an FIR because it falls outside their
―jurisdiction
One practical expedient that some consumers use is to make a local
branch service centre or even a warehouse (in the case of an e-commerce
company) party to the complaint and then get it admitted at the local
consumer forum
When the legislature drafted the jurisdiction clause in the Consumer
Protection Act they tried to balance the burden on the companies with
that on the consumers
While it would be unaffordable for a company to represent itself
everywhere ndash thereby justifying the customer having to file the complaint
in the place where it did business ndash the ―cause of action concept at the
same time allowed wriggle room for consumers
It is this wriggle room that is now squeezed by non-application of mind
by consumer forums
Lost Opportunity
22
The Consumer Protection Amendment Bill 2011 which was introduced in
the Lok Sabha last December could have proposed an amendment to
Section 11 of the Act that deals with jurisdiction
This would have incorporated a separate jurisdiction clause directed at the
e-commerce sector taking into consideration its unique non-territorial
nature
Such a clause should have clearly laid down that in e-commerce cases a
complaint should be filed where the cause of action arises irrespective of the
physical location of the company concerned This would have been a perfect
even though overly legislative redressal of an issue that is already a major
problem for Indian consumers making online purchases
Unfortunately the Bill has already been tabled and referred to the
Standing Committee ndash and it looks as though e-commerce consumer
hopes have been dashed
Another way out could be to have the National Consumer Disputes
Redressal Commission lay down clear directives in this regard clarifying
that ―cause of action be given precedence when dealing with
jurisdiction issues specific to e-commerce complaints
In the absence of these Indian e-commerce consumers will have little to
look forward to in terms of redressal of their complaints
(The author is founder of wwwakoshacom an online consumer complaints
resolution platform)
23
Chapter 6 Conclusion
While we have tried to address the basics in as much detail as possible
every consumer complaint is unique and may have issues that need to be
addressed individually
However this guide shall give every consumer a fair idea on how to get
started and things that should be kept in mind when planning to file a
complaint with a consumer forum If you have suggestions on improving this e-book please write
to feedbackakoshacom
If you liked this e-book please share copiously
If you have a complaint give us a try ndash just file your complaint on
wwwakoshacom
24
About Akosha
350000+ Complaints
1000000+ Updates
1250+ Daily customers 185+Brands
80+ Team
2010 Founded
Address
E-407 Second Floor Coraza Technologies Private Limited
Okhla Industrial Area Phase 2 New Delhi - 110020
Landline 011 64643453
wwwakoshacom
Design by Radhika Dutt
All rights reserved
First Edition September 2013
For the sake of repetition This book does not constitute legal advice 25
infoakoshacomwwwakoshacominfoakoshacom
Chapter 4 A photo tour
To get a real flavor of what it is like we sent an intern out to the K G
Marg District Consumer Forum in New Delhi
To read more go to
httpinfoakoshacomconsumer-complaintsconsumer-protectiona-
day-at-the-k-g-marg-new-delhi-district-consumer-forum
19
Chapter 5 The e-
commerce complaints
problem
This chapter first appeared as ldquoMake consumer law e-com-friendlyrdquo
The Hindu Business Line May 7 2013 Wersquove included it in this e-book
to give you a sense of the challenges you might face if you have a problem
against an ecommerce player
Anita (name changed) who lives in Bengaluru had ordered a mobile
phone from online electronics retailer Timtara but it was never
delivered despite the full payment being made
She then filed a complaint at the local consumer forum in Bengaluru
which however refused to admit it Instead she was asked to file it in
Noida Uttar Pradesh where Timtararsquos registered office is located
Anita had to forego the idea not only of filing the complaint (there
was no way she could have gone to Noida for that) but also
recovering the money she had paid to Timtara
The rise and fall of Timtara culminating in the arrest of its founder and
CEO just over a month ago has opened a can of worms as far as the e-
commerce sector is concerned It has even generated a debate on all what
is wrong with this ecosystem
However amidst all this there is one major concern that has been
overlooked mdash the application of the Consumer Protection Act with respect
to e-commerce transactions especially pertaining to the jurisdiction
clause
20
The case illustrated above is just one of the hundreds of complaints
against Timtara that were filed with Akosha alone In all such cases
whenever buyers approached the concerned local consumer forum they
were more often than not told to file their complaint in Noida which is
where Timtaralsquos registered office happened to be located
The story does not differ drastically in cases involving other e-commerce
players either Whenever a consumer faces an issue with an e-commerce
company and wishes to file a complaint at a consumer forum shehe very
often ends up confronting this dilemma of jurisdiction Where to file the
complaint
Virtual Jurisdiction
With e-commerce in India growing annually by over 57 per cent and
expected to touch $88 billion by 2016 mdash as per projections by Forrester
Research Inc a leading global research and advisory firm mdash one should
not be surprised to find the growth rate of complaints also keeping pace
From our own analysis of e-commerce complaints received on the Akosha
platform these are growing by 19 per cent quarter on quarter
Out of the 11980 complaints received by Akosha for the e-commerce
sector in the January-March 2013 quarter about 58 per cent related to
deficiency in delivery while 29 per cent had to do with refunds the
balance 13 per cent concerning other issues
The bulk of these were registered by consumers in the metros with Delhi
topping the list However despite the urban tilt the geographical
distribution of the complaints is diverse enough to validate concerns
regarding the misapplication of the jurisdiction clause
The Consumer Protection Act by itself is not very ambiguous though It
clearly lays down that a consumer has to file a complaint in the place
where the company resides or carries on business
21
Alternatively shehe can also file it in the place where the cause of action
arose that is where the issue or grievance arose
However ―cause of action is a complicated legal concept mdash something
that is difficult to understand or simply inconvenient to grapple with for
the consumer forum registrars and judges
In the case of the e-commerce sector which caters to consumers across
the country irrespective of an online retailerlsquos geographical location this
becomes hugely problematic A lot of consumers are told by the relevant
registrar or the judges that their complaints cannot be accepted because
the companylsquos office does not lie within the said jurisdiction That is quite
similar to the police refusing to register an FIR because it falls outside their
―jurisdiction
One practical expedient that some consumers use is to make a local
branch service centre or even a warehouse (in the case of an e-commerce
company) party to the complaint and then get it admitted at the local
consumer forum
When the legislature drafted the jurisdiction clause in the Consumer
Protection Act they tried to balance the burden on the companies with
that on the consumers
While it would be unaffordable for a company to represent itself
everywhere ndash thereby justifying the customer having to file the complaint
in the place where it did business ndash the ―cause of action concept at the
same time allowed wriggle room for consumers
It is this wriggle room that is now squeezed by non-application of mind
by consumer forums
Lost Opportunity
22
The Consumer Protection Amendment Bill 2011 which was introduced in
the Lok Sabha last December could have proposed an amendment to
Section 11 of the Act that deals with jurisdiction
This would have incorporated a separate jurisdiction clause directed at the
e-commerce sector taking into consideration its unique non-territorial
nature
Such a clause should have clearly laid down that in e-commerce cases a
complaint should be filed where the cause of action arises irrespective of the
physical location of the company concerned This would have been a perfect
even though overly legislative redressal of an issue that is already a major
problem for Indian consumers making online purchases
Unfortunately the Bill has already been tabled and referred to the
Standing Committee ndash and it looks as though e-commerce consumer
hopes have been dashed
Another way out could be to have the National Consumer Disputes
Redressal Commission lay down clear directives in this regard clarifying
that ―cause of action be given precedence when dealing with
jurisdiction issues specific to e-commerce complaints
In the absence of these Indian e-commerce consumers will have little to
look forward to in terms of redressal of their complaints
(The author is founder of wwwakoshacom an online consumer complaints
resolution platform)
23
Chapter 6 Conclusion
While we have tried to address the basics in as much detail as possible
every consumer complaint is unique and may have issues that need to be
addressed individually
However this guide shall give every consumer a fair idea on how to get
started and things that should be kept in mind when planning to file a
complaint with a consumer forum If you have suggestions on improving this e-book please write
to feedbackakoshacom
If you liked this e-book please share copiously
If you have a complaint give us a try ndash just file your complaint on
wwwakoshacom
24
About Akosha
350000+ Complaints
1000000+ Updates
1250+ Daily customers 185+Brands
80+ Team
2010 Founded
Address
E-407 Second Floor Coraza Technologies Private Limited
Okhla Industrial Area Phase 2 New Delhi - 110020
Landline 011 64643453
wwwakoshacom
Design by Radhika Dutt
All rights reserved
First Edition September 2013
For the sake of repetition This book does not constitute legal advice 25
infoakoshacomwwwakoshacominfoakoshacom
Chapter 5 The e-
commerce complaints
problem
This chapter first appeared as ldquoMake consumer law e-com-friendlyrdquo
The Hindu Business Line May 7 2013 Wersquove included it in this e-book
to give you a sense of the challenges you might face if you have a problem
against an ecommerce player
Anita (name changed) who lives in Bengaluru had ordered a mobile
phone from online electronics retailer Timtara but it was never
delivered despite the full payment being made
She then filed a complaint at the local consumer forum in Bengaluru
which however refused to admit it Instead she was asked to file it in
Noida Uttar Pradesh where Timtararsquos registered office is located
Anita had to forego the idea not only of filing the complaint (there
was no way she could have gone to Noida for that) but also
recovering the money she had paid to Timtara
The rise and fall of Timtara culminating in the arrest of its founder and
CEO just over a month ago has opened a can of worms as far as the e-
commerce sector is concerned It has even generated a debate on all what
is wrong with this ecosystem
However amidst all this there is one major concern that has been
overlooked mdash the application of the Consumer Protection Act with respect
to e-commerce transactions especially pertaining to the jurisdiction
clause
20
The case illustrated above is just one of the hundreds of complaints
against Timtara that were filed with Akosha alone In all such cases
whenever buyers approached the concerned local consumer forum they
were more often than not told to file their complaint in Noida which is
where Timtaralsquos registered office happened to be located
The story does not differ drastically in cases involving other e-commerce
players either Whenever a consumer faces an issue with an e-commerce
company and wishes to file a complaint at a consumer forum shehe very
often ends up confronting this dilemma of jurisdiction Where to file the
complaint
Virtual Jurisdiction
With e-commerce in India growing annually by over 57 per cent and
expected to touch $88 billion by 2016 mdash as per projections by Forrester
Research Inc a leading global research and advisory firm mdash one should
not be surprised to find the growth rate of complaints also keeping pace
From our own analysis of e-commerce complaints received on the Akosha
platform these are growing by 19 per cent quarter on quarter
Out of the 11980 complaints received by Akosha for the e-commerce
sector in the January-March 2013 quarter about 58 per cent related to
deficiency in delivery while 29 per cent had to do with refunds the
balance 13 per cent concerning other issues
The bulk of these were registered by consumers in the metros with Delhi
topping the list However despite the urban tilt the geographical
distribution of the complaints is diverse enough to validate concerns
regarding the misapplication of the jurisdiction clause
The Consumer Protection Act by itself is not very ambiguous though It
clearly lays down that a consumer has to file a complaint in the place
where the company resides or carries on business
21
Alternatively shehe can also file it in the place where the cause of action
arose that is where the issue or grievance arose
However ―cause of action is a complicated legal concept mdash something
that is difficult to understand or simply inconvenient to grapple with for
the consumer forum registrars and judges
In the case of the e-commerce sector which caters to consumers across
the country irrespective of an online retailerlsquos geographical location this
becomes hugely problematic A lot of consumers are told by the relevant
registrar or the judges that their complaints cannot be accepted because
the companylsquos office does not lie within the said jurisdiction That is quite
similar to the police refusing to register an FIR because it falls outside their
―jurisdiction
One practical expedient that some consumers use is to make a local
branch service centre or even a warehouse (in the case of an e-commerce
company) party to the complaint and then get it admitted at the local
consumer forum
When the legislature drafted the jurisdiction clause in the Consumer
Protection Act they tried to balance the burden on the companies with
that on the consumers
While it would be unaffordable for a company to represent itself
everywhere ndash thereby justifying the customer having to file the complaint
in the place where it did business ndash the ―cause of action concept at the
same time allowed wriggle room for consumers
It is this wriggle room that is now squeezed by non-application of mind
by consumer forums
Lost Opportunity
22
The Consumer Protection Amendment Bill 2011 which was introduced in
the Lok Sabha last December could have proposed an amendment to
Section 11 of the Act that deals with jurisdiction
This would have incorporated a separate jurisdiction clause directed at the
e-commerce sector taking into consideration its unique non-territorial
nature
Such a clause should have clearly laid down that in e-commerce cases a
complaint should be filed where the cause of action arises irrespective of the
physical location of the company concerned This would have been a perfect
even though overly legislative redressal of an issue that is already a major
problem for Indian consumers making online purchases
Unfortunately the Bill has already been tabled and referred to the
Standing Committee ndash and it looks as though e-commerce consumer
hopes have been dashed
Another way out could be to have the National Consumer Disputes
Redressal Commission lay down clear directives in this regard clarifying
that ―cause of action be given precedence when dealing with
jurisdiction issues specific to e-commerce complaints
In the absence of these Indian e-commerce consumers will have little to
look forward to in terms of redressal of their complaints
(The author is founder of wwwakoshacom an online consumer complaints
resolution platform)
23
Chapter 6 Conclusion
While we have tried to address the basics in as much detail as possible
every consumer complaint is unique and may have issues that need to be
addressed individually
However this guide shall give every consumer a fair idea on how to get
started and things that should be kept in mind when planning to file a
complaint with a consumer forum If you have suggestions on improving this e-book please write
to feedbackakoshacom
If you liked this e-book please share copiously
If you have a complaint give us a try ndash just file your complaint on
wwwakoshacom
24
About Akosha
350000+ Complaints
1000000+ Updates
1250+ Daily customers 185+Brands
80+ Team
2010 Founded
Address
E-407 Second Floor Coraza Technologies Private Limited
Okhla Industrial Area Phase 2 New Delhi - 110020
Landline 011 64643453
wwwakoshacom
Design by Radhika Dutt
All rights reserved
First Edition September 2013
For the sake of repetition This book does not constitute legal advice 25
infoakoshacomwwwakoshacominfoakoshacom
The case illustrated above is just one of the hundreds of complaints
against Timtara that were filed with Akosha alone In all such cases
whenever buyers approached the concerned local consumer forum they
were more often than not told to file their complaint in Noida which is
where Timtaralsquos registered office happened to be located
The story does not differ drastically in cases involving other e-commerce
players either Whenever a consumer faces an issue with an e-commerce
company and wishes to file a complaint at a consumer forum shehe very
often ends up confronting this dilemma of jurisdiction Where to file the
complaint
Virtual Jurisdiction
With e-commerce in India growing annually by over 57 per cent and
expected to touch $88 billion by 2016 mdash as per projections by Forrester
Research Inc a leading global research and advisory firm mdash one should
not be surprised to find the growth rate of complaints also keeping pace
From our own analysis of e-commerce complaints received on the Akosha
platform these are growing by 19 per cent quarter on quarter
Out of the 11980 complaints received by Akosha for the e-commerce
sector in the January-March 2013 quarter about 58 per cent related to
deficiency in delivery while 29 per cent had to do with refunds the
balance 13 per cent concerning other issues
The bulk of these were registered by consumers in the metros with Delhi
topping the list However despite the urban tilt the geographical
distribution of the complaints is diverse enough to validate concerns
regarding the misapplication of the jurisdiction clause
The Consumer Protection Act by itself is not very ambiguous though It
clearly lays down that a consumer has to file a complaint in the place
where the company resides or carries on business
21
Alternatively shehe can also file it in the place where the cause of action
arose that is where the issue or grievance arose
However ―cause of action is a complicated legal concept mdash something
that is difficult to understand or simply inconvenient to grapple with for
the consumer forum registrars and judges
In the case of the e-commerce sector which caters to consumers across
the country irrespective of an online retailerlsquos geographical location this
becomes hugely problematic A lot of consumers are told by the relevant
registrar or the judges that their complaints cannot be accepted because
the companylsquos office does not lie within the said jurisdiction That is quite
similar to the police refusing to register an FIR because it falls outside their
―jurisdiction
One practical expedient that some consumers use is to make a local
branch service centre or even a warehouse (in the case of an e-commerce
company) party to the complaint and then get it admitted at the local
consumer forum
When the legislature drafted the jurisdiction clause in the Consumer
Protection Act they tried to balance the burden on the companies with
that on the consumers
While it would be unaffordable for a company to represent itself
everywhere ndash thereby justifying the customer having to file the complaint
in the place where it did business ndash the ―cause of action concept at the
same time allowed wriggle room for consumers
It is this wriggle room that is now squeezed by non-application of mind
by consumer forums
Lost Opportunity
22
The Consumer Protection Amendment Bill 2011 which was introduced in
the Lok Sabha last December could have proposed an amendment to
Section 11 of the Act that deals with jurisdiction
This would have incorporated a separate jurisdiction clause directed at the
e-commerce sector taking into consideration its unique non-territorial
nature
Such a clause should have clearly laid down that in e-commerce cases a
complaint should be filed where the cause of action arises irrespective of the
physical location of the company concerned This would have been a perfect
even though overly legislative redressal of an issue that is already a major
problem for Indian consumers making online purchases
Unfortunately the Bill has already been tabled and referred to the
Standing Committee ndash and it looks as though e-commerce consumer
hopes have been dashed
Another way out could be to have the National Consumer Disputes
Redressal Commission lay down clear directives in this regard clarifying
that ―cause of action be given precedence when dealing with
jurisdiction issues specific to e-commerce complaints
In the absence of these Indian e-commerce consumers will have little to
look forward to in terms of redressal of their complaints
(The author is founder of wwwakoshacom an online consumer complaints
resolution platform)
23
Chapter 6 Conclusion
While we have tried to address the basics in as much detail as possible
every consumer complaint is unique and may have issues that need to be
addressed individually
However this guide shall give every consumer a fair idea on how to get
started and things that should be kept in mind when planning to file a
complaint with a consumer forum If you have suggestions on improving this e-book please write
to feedbackakoshacom
If you liked this e-book please share copiously
If you have a complaint give us a try ndash just file your complaint on
wwwakoshacom
24
About Akosha
350000+ Complaints
1000000+ Updates
1250+ Daily customers 185+Brands
80+ Team
2010 Founded
Address
E-407 Second Floor Coraza Technologies Private Limited
Okhla Industrial Area Phase 2 New Delhi - 110020
Landline 011 64643453
wwwakoshacom
Design by Radhika Dutt
All rights reserved
First Edition September 2013
For the sake of repetition This book does not constitute legal advice 25
infoakoshacomwwwakoshacominfoakoshacom
Alternatively shehe can also file it in the place where the cause of action
arose that is where the issue or grievance arose
However ―cause of action is a complicated legal concept mdash something
that is difficult to understand or simply inconvenient to grapple with for
the consumer forum registrars and judges
In the case of the e-commerce sector which caters to consumers across
the country irrespective of an online retailerlsquos geographical location this
becomes hugely problematic A lot of consumers are told by the relevant
registrar or the judges that their complaints cannot be accepted because
the companylsquos office does not lie within the said jurisdiction That is quite
similar to the police refusing to register an FIR because it falls outside their
―jurisdiction
One practical expedient that some consumers use is to make a local
branch service centre or even a warehouse (in the case of an e-commerce
company) party to the complaint and then get it admitted at the local
consumer forum
When the legislature drafted the jurisdiction clause in the Consumer
Protection Act they tried to balance the burden on the companies with
that on the consumers
While it would be unaffordable for a company to represent itself
everywhere ndash thereby justifying the customer having to file the complaint
in the place where it did business ndash the ―cause of action concept at the
same time allowed wriggle room for consumers
It is this wriggle room that is now squeezed by non-application of mind
by consumer forums
Lost Opportunity
22
The Consumer Protection Amendment Bill 2011 which was introduced in
the Lok Sabha last December could have proposed an amendment to
Section 11 of the Act that deals with jurisdiction
This would have incorporated a separate jurisdiction clause directed at the
e-commerce sector taking into consideration its unique non-territorial
nature
Such a clause should have clearly laid down that in e-commerce cases a
complaint should be filed where the cause of action arises irrespective of the
physical location of the company concerned This would have been a perfect
even though overly legislative redressal of an issue that is already a major
problem for Indian consumers making online purchases
Unfortunately the Bill has already been tabled and referred to the
Standing Committee ndash and it looks as though e-commerce consumer
hopes have been dashed
Another way out could be to have the National Consumer Disputes
Redressal Commission lay down clear directives in this regard clarifying
that ―cause of action be given precedence when dealing with
jurisdiction issues specific to e-commerce complaints
In the absence of these Indian e-commerce consumers will have little to
look forward to in terms of redressal of their complaints
(The author is founder of wwwakoshacom an online consumer complaints
resolution platform)
23
Chapter 6 Conclusion
While we have tried to address the basics in as much detail as possible
every consumer complaint is unique and may have issues that need to be
addressed individually
However this guide shall give every consumer a fair idea on how to get
started and things that should be kept in mind when planning to file a
complaint with a consumer forum If you have suggestions on improving this e-book please write
to feedbackakoshacom
If you liked this e-book please share copiously
If you have a complaint give us a try ndash just file your complaint on
wwwakoshacom
24
About Akosha
350000+ Complaints
1000000+ Updates
1250+ Daily customers 185+Brands
80+ Team
2010 Founded
Address
E-407 Second Floor Coraza Technologies Private Limited
Okhla Industrial Area Phase 2 New Delhi - 110020
Landline 011 64643453
wwwakoshacom
Design by Radhika Dutt
All rights reserved
First Edition September 2013
For the sake of repetition This book does not constitute legal advice 25
infoakoshacomwwwakoshacominfoakoshacom
The Consumer Protection Amendment Bill 2011 which was introduced in
the Lok Sabha last December could have proposed an amendment to
Section 11 of the Act that deals with jurisdiction
This would have incorporated a separate jurisdiction clause directed at the
e-commerce sector taking into consideration its unique non-territorial
nature
Such a clause should have clearly laid down that in e-commerce cases a
complaint should be filed where the cause of action arises irrespective of the
physical location of the company concerned This would have been a perfect
even though overly legislative redressal of an issue that is already a major
problem for Indian consumers making online purchases
Unfortunately the Bill has already been tabled and referred to the
Standing Committee ndash and it looks as though e-commerce consumer
hopes have been dashed
Another way out could be to have the National Consumer Disputes
Redressal Commission lay down clear directives in this regard clarifying
that ―cause of action be given precedence when dealing with
jurisdiction issues specific to e-commerce complaints
In the absence of these Indian e-commerce consumers will have little to
look forward to in terms of redressal of their complaints
(The author is founder of wwwakoshacom an online consumer complaints
resolution platform)
23
Chapter 6 Conclusion
While we have tried to address the basics in as much detail as possible
every consumer complaint is unique and may have issues that need to be
addressed individually
However this guide shall give every consumer a fair idea on how to get
started and things that should be kept in mind when planning to file a
complaint with a consumer forum If you have suggestions on improving this e-book please write
to feedbackakoshacom
If you liked this e-book please share copiously
If you have a complaint give us a try ndash just file your complaint on
wwwakoshacom
24
About Akosha
350000+ Complaints
1000000+ Updates
1250+ Daily customers 185+Brands
80+ Team
2010 Founded
Address
E-407 Second Floor Coraza Technologies Private Limited
Okhla Industrial Area Phase 2 New Delhi - 110020
Landline 011 64643453
wwwakoshacom
Design by Radhika Dutt
All rights reserved
First Edition September 2013
For the sake of repetition This book does not constitute legal advice 25
infoakoshacomwwwakoshacominfoakoshacom
Chapter 6 Conclusion
While we have tried to address the basics in as much detail as possible
every consumer complaint is unique and may have issues that need to be
addressed individually
However this guide shall give every consumer a fair idea on how to get
started and things that should be kept in mind when planning to file a
complaint with a consumer forum If you have suggestions on improving this e-book please write
to feedbackakoshacom
If you liked this e-book please share copiously
If you have a complaint give us a try ndash just file your complaint on
wwwakoshacom
24
About Akosha
350000+ Complaints
1000000+ Updates
1250+ Daily customers 185+Brands
80+ Team
2010 Founded
Address
E-407 Second Floor Coraza Technologies Private Limited
Okhla Industrial Area Phase 2 New Delhi - 110020
Landline 011 64643453
wwwakoshacom
Design by Radhika Dutt
All rights reserved
First Edition September 2013
For the sake of repetition This book does not constitute legal advice 25
infoakoshacomwwwakoshacominfoakoshacom
About Akosha
350000+ Complaints
1000000+ Updates
1250+ Daily customers 185+Brands
80+ Team
2010 Founded
Address
E-407 Second Floor Coraza Technologies Private Limited
Okhla Industrial Area Phase 2 New Delhi - 110020
Landline 011 64643453
wwwakoshacom
Design by Radhika Dutt
All rights reserved
First Edition September 2013
For the sake of repetition This book does not constitute legal advice 25
infoakoshacomwwwakoshacominfoakoshacom