Consumer Complaint: What Is It And Where To File It?
An unjust experience of the consumer that is reported to the jurisdiction is a consumer complaint. When a product that is bought for end-use is found to be unworthy or unsafe, the consumer can seek a compensation from the seller.
A person who has bought a faulty product is not the only person who can file a consumer complaint. Any person with a rightful intent of stopping a flawed product or a service being sold to the market can take this initiative.
There have been popular instances of famous brands being taken to justice by consumers. The much famous chips brand, Lays, being forced to pay a fine of Rs. 50,000 to the Consumer Welfare Refund of India is a case in point.
The consumer complaint from Mr. Krishnan Kumar Bajaj pointed to the stark difference in the net weight mentioned on the cover and the net weight actually delivered to the consumers. Apparently, his previous complaints to the company were met with jolly disdain.
He was a clear winner in this case. PepsiCo, the parent company was asked to pay Rs. 5,000 for the mental agony’ he faced and Rs. 2,000 for the legal charges, apart from the Rs. 50,000 PepsiCo coughed up as fine to the tribunal.
Where to file a Consumer Complaint?
Consumers who file a complaint are known to find favor with the court most times. The price of the product however big or small does not matter while filing a consumer complaint as the redressal procedure is sorted for multiple price brackets ranging from Rs. 1.
Consumer complaints are probed with the following structure:
- Claims with value up to Rs.20 lac: District Consumers Dispute Redressal Forum (DCDRF)
- Value from Rs.20 lac to Rs.1 crore: State Consumers Dispute Redressal Forum (SCDRF)
- Value above Rs.1 crore: National Consumers Dispute Redressal Forum (NCDRF)
A nominal fee is charged to file a consumer complaint in correlation to the value of the claim. However, no fee is charged to complainants who are Below the Poverty Line claiming no more than one lac rupees.
While the fees to file a consumer complaint is kept nominal, the government has made the process easy in the following ways:
- The aggrieved can file the complaint on a white paper. A stamp paper is not necessary
- The aggrieved do not even have to appoint a lawyer, most cases are represented by the complainants’ themselves.
- The complaint can be made in person, by an authorized agent or by a mail/post to the redressal committee.
Limitations to a Consumer Complaint
To encourage a healthy economy, the government caters well to all consumer complaints. However, there are a few limitations to this facility.
- The complaint has to be presented within 2 years from the date on which the problem arises. An exemption to this may be made should there be a valid reason as to why there was a delay of more than 2 years.
- Any appeal made against an order from the redressal committee must be made within 30 days of receiving such an order.
From writing poetry to defame a product because the prose is too mainstream to cold-calling the CEO’s mom to get their complaints solved, there have been wide-ranging responses from distressed consumers across the world.
