The Ernakulam District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has ordered the Jaisalmer-based Rajasthan Handloom and Handicraft to refund and compensate a customer for failure to deliver the purchased items as per the agreement thus committing deficiency in service and unfair trade practices.
The Commission comprising president D.B. Binu and members V. Ramachandran and Sreevidhia T.N. issued the verdict on a petition filed by Rinu Aswan of Kaloor. The complaint related to the purchase of two items — a Rajoi Quilt and a saree, collectively amounting to ₹6,350.
These items were supposed to be delivered to his address within two weeks from the purchase, as per the agreement. The complainant alleged that he had received the wrong item instead of the quilt he had purchased, which was of low quality, old, dirty, and defective. Moreover, the saree was not delivered at all. Attempts to contact the store through the provided phone numbers were unsuccessful, and the store eventually blocked the complainant’s and his family’s phone numbers. After sending a legal notice to the opposite party, which was refused and went unanswered, the complainant filed a complaint before the Commission.
“The opposite parties’ conscious failure to file their written version in spite of having received the Commission’s notice to that effect amounts to an admission of the allegations levelled against them. We have no reason to disbelieve the words of the complainant as against the opposite party,” the Commission observed.
“The receipt of wrong and inferior quality goods and non-delivery of one item coupled with the inability to contact the opposite party or receive a response to a legal notice unequivocally demonstrate a deficiency in service as defined under Section 2(11) of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019. Furthermore, the actions of the opposite party align with the definition of unfair trade practice under Section 2(47) of the same Act.”
Consequently, the Commission directed the opposite party to refund the entire amount, compensate the consumer to the tune of ₹20,000 and another ₹8,000 towards meeting the cost of litigation.
