With NEW Consumer Protection Act, 2019 File Consumer Complaint without Lawyer 29 A Solid Guide to Contest, Resolve & Win Your Consumer Court Case like a Pro in India. a cCMS El nes WhatsApp 2nd Edition - 2020 Support InsideCopyright © Copyright© 2016-2020 By Karnav Shah First Edition - 2016 Second Edition - 2020 All rights reserved. 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The target reader of this book can be both male and female. Wherever you read word Consumer Court or fora is equal to Consumer Commission. For the sake of easy handy one-click access to some in- formation from Table of Content, some information might have repeated. The author or publishers do not accept any liability arising out of the use of this Book information. Users are advised to apply their thoughts and experience in the above case.Dedication I dedicate this book to the consumer of India, read- ers, and layman who strives hard to empower, se- cure, protect and advocate their rights. This book contains a few solid information which is a work of several other social worker and advocates, who have posted it online, shared their knowledge with me, and they deserve honour for their devoted- ness and writing in the field of consumer empower- ment. Without the blessing of parents, support of Meera, and love of kids, this book would not have been pos- sible. So the credit goes to them for motivating me.Table Of contents A Solid Guide to Contest, Resolve & Win Your Consumer Court Case like a Pro in India. By Karnav Shah Copyright © Disclaimer Dedication Table Of contents Preface Introduction Focused, Precise & Practical Guide How to file a Case in a Consumer court? low _t llect_and record Solid Evidence to wi Consumer Case How to deal with Unjust policy and one-sided Agreement Who Is Consumer as per the Law? Commercial Purpose What is a Consideration? Consumer Complaint Resolution Stage STAGE 1: Escalation & Negotiation STAGE 2: Notice & CCPA Escalation CONSUMER NOTICE FORMAT SCPA/CCPA - State/Central Consumer Protection Authority STAGE 3: Filing of Case - Mediation - Hearing of Case - Appeal District Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission State Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission National Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission NNCDRC)Practically Court Complaint ission and Admitting Case Consumer Court Complaint Instructions CONSUMER COURT COMPLAINT FORMAT FORMAT FOR AUTHORISATION Appeal (if not satisfied with Court Order) lurisdiction Territorial Jurisdiction Pecuniary Jurisdiction Cause of Action Time Limitation to File a Complaint Alternate Dispute Resolution E-Complaints Court Fees Know Your Consumer Rights E-commerce Complaint Be aware of posting a complaint_on Online Consumer Commission How to Resolve Complaint without approaching Consumer Court Important Law related to consumer protection What Remedy/ Solution is available under consumer Protection Act Power of Consumer Commission & New Consumer Protection Act, 2019 Penalty for misleading Advertisements Product Liability & Penal Consequences How to speedy trial (resolve complaint) in consumer court, if court delays your matter or give dates. Consumer Court need not follow Civil Procedure Code Consumer Commission to__avoid too _much technicality Indian Evidence Act are not applicable to the consumer CommissionPrincipal of natural justice Execution proceeding in the consumer court (What to do if court order is not obeyed by opposite part) What to do if Lawyer of Opposite Party is not appearing/ Delay case? Working Hours/ Hearing Hours of Consumer Court How many sets of complaint to be submitted before acourt? Issue of notice by Court Adjournment (When, Why and How Court Gives Date and what to do when opposite party ask for next date Arguments Procedure in Court Appearance of Voluntary Consumer Organizations. (NGOs How to obtain certify copy of various document from Court? Filing of criminal complaint in Consumer Court Consumer Commission should not insist_on any parties to hire an advocate/ lawyer How non advocate _person_can ht case i consumer court? Fee for making complaints before District Commission (Section 9(a) of CP Rule) Against whom you can file complaint as under as a consumer? Notice and Complaint Petition Formats, Detail Instructions Arbitration Act Vs Consumer Protection Act Important Terminology & Resources Free Email, WhatsApp for further Question related to your complaint/case Preface You can skip this section if you are not inter-ested in learning how an MBA guy ended up writing a book on a legal subject and in fact how he started his first Start-up NGO in the field of Victim Support Service i.e. to advocate, defend and protect the rights of Consumer and Citizen of India. For brevity, this section is written as short as possible manner, hence it will skip many incidents, facts, and information. The objective of this chapter is to demonstrate my experience and competency on the subject of resolv- ing consumer complaints. Returning from Australia, (I am a drop out of one of world’s top 100 Universities for a career change reason inspired due to personal experience and to pursue a path that satisfies my ambition) I started working with one private yet reputed national level company. Their primary business was to sell insur- ance products and my purpose was to work with that company to understand the sales and market- ing industry of India before I launch my startup. The journey of my practical experience towards the legal system of Indian started from 2004 when I first started counselling services to guide and coach can- didates for the betterment of theirs interpersonal, entrepreneur and image building, and secondly, I fell in love with one young girl of my age. Those were great days, but it had a short span of life. I was cheated, fooled, abused and dumped by people in both episodes. My abusive marriage later, triggered an awakening of my soul, transition in my life and career directions and suddenly I became interested in the application and accurately use of the law. The second incident of love and breakup was also to some extent responsible for my dropout from the best university in Australia. That is not a justifi- able act, though. One should keep his personal life separate from career and professional life. That the broken marriage (third Episode) was pushed me to initiate nonprofit venture www.jivanamasteya.org (I will supply you link for the third episode of my life here that will redirect you to Quora, where I wrote ananswer, which later became popular among similar victims. As it is not the subject of this book to write all of that here, hence if you wish to read and know how emotionally and legally I fought and won it, you can refer the link here) 1 wanted to be expert in management and I had extraordinary career plans for that and ambi- tions for a stress-free happy life, however, every- thing was devastated by the mala fide act of people who were of great importance and influence, at that point in my life. I never made them (those who cause me grave emotional, social and legal damage) respon- sible for damages, but through my own experience and learning, I started to master about human psy- chology, why people commit a heinous crime, why they hurt others, ethics of the society, how busi- nesses do their practices and defend their unethical practices. I have experienced much more difficulties apart from above Three episodes while dealing with different departments of government, Police, and brand for various task and work as a consumer and citizen that is out of scope to write in this book. For brevity, I will discuss two episodes that changed me, shortly. (for the third episode, that changed my com- pletely, click here) I had been financially and emotionally ex- hausted during my young age because of two episodes which I have mentioned in the begin- ning. After the end of the first episode (counselling Services) and during the good days of the second episode, I went to Australia for a better life, the suffering never ended there too. I am a person who cannot tolerate his right being violated and I have faith in law and relevant proceeding to secure jus- tice. Because, fundamentally speaking our laws are flawless however executive agency and law profes- sional make use of it for their benefits(that is where the law is possibly abused or misinterpreted some- times) and if one study law effectively, he should be Page 10 of 89 7%able to use it in the interest of justice efficiently. I later realize in Australia through the credible source and evidence that a girl whom I loved and whose ca- reer and success I sponsored (I paid most of her fees for craft and design degree, leverage my network for her top-notch internship, various career and personal expenses and the list is endless), cheated on me by the way of abusing my resources for her malign benefits and I wasted precious time of my life. I decided to get justice because she used me for her professional enhancement knowing the fact that I am quite re- sourceful. Later, I was able to secure rights through penal action against her which I learned through books, observation and interviewing other victims and helpful NGO guides. However, I could never fully recover from the memories, the pain of such a relationship where I was hopeful, genuine, hon- est and emotional. However, passing through all the odds, I become a sensible yet conscious person. We all fall in love at some point in our life. Sometimes it is too early, less mature. It was kind of that. In a counselling service that I was essen- tially doing to meet my educational expenses, I was once called unethical person because I was engaged. in affiliation business (people used to know less about this type of business models) where I used to affiliate with education and service provider of another country through internet network and used to offer their services to the member of my society. in India, charging small fees in return for the train- ing, services etc., that I was offering them. The un- derlying reason for allegations was that they (a Few Relatives) didn't like me deserving reputation and money at a younger age so they rumoured about me that how could such affiliation be possible from a distant place (that was a time when people used to know limited about the potential of the internet in India) and started misleading people I was working with. Frankly speaking, later I learnt this is also one aspect of psychological behaviour of society, where Page 11 of 89 9%people tend to believe other people who have wealth and good position in society. Despite I offered legal, proper and transparent services, people were never interested in investigating the reality and putting al- legation on me. It never had other damage in my life except for fort mental trauma that led me to get treatment from a psychiatrist and later this episode of social trauma caused me a spinal injury. That happened because I was exploited by my relative, a society member who had upheaval my family envi- ronment and in fact attitude of my family members towards me which ended up with the allegation and mocking at me, at the age of roughly 23. I likewise began to understand in later years the value of practical learning, book reading, ob- serving chronology of events to find the root cause, meeting the real victim, studying from their experi- ences, legal, historical and social research, and as on. Soon I started to conceive that I must learn to pro- tect, advocate and defend my legal rights and peo- ple who infringe my rights should be stopped. Next, I ended up learning that violation of consumer, human, and citizen rights are more prevalent in India and the world and those are important issues than mine. I began participating in constitutional research including the study of Indian penal code, evidence act, consumer act, criminal procedure code, police manual and much more, and meeting NGO's founder, social worker and advocate to debate important issues of the nation, and after the third episode of my life, which led me to form an NGO (www.JivanamAsteya.org) that has many goals, hav- ing one goal concentrating on Consumer Citizen Empowerment. Under that NGO, I started an experimental unnamed (Name of the project was not given at that time) project where my team and I used to help Consumer and Citizen of India to file Consumer and Criminal Complaint, assistance in registration Page 12 of 89 10%of FIR, filing Cybercrime complaint, RTI, Complaint against government and police. The help provided was free, practical and result oriented. Due to the resolution that we were able to provide to a victim, we started receiving a huge number of complaint and support request each day. However, due to a complex complaint and smart lawyer retained by opposite party and weak law enforcement agency, we required to hire experts, increase our resources and network-wide India and to some extent inter- nationally to influence lawmaker, law protector and watch-dog agency in the interest of justice. Hence we decide to initiate professionally yet nonprofit program - Chintaless Nagrik under NGO www .jivanamasteya.org, You can learn more about it here. That step was taken to meet the monetary requirement to sustain the project. We ensured to receive two types of cost while charging in this pro- gram/project, one to meet expenses and second to meet the cost to sustain the project, and we are now running project successful India wide. We decided to accept volunteer service request from a lawyer, social worker, etc., through NGO and provide that resources through Free Legal Aid - Facebook Forum. This way Chintaless Nagrik can keep their cost down and make its support affordable to its users. It is per- tinent to mention that NGO should not always mean free but their actions should be in the interest and benefits of their object and subject and to carry the activities of an NGO or any social cause, financial resources are mandatory. We do not rely on govern- ment funding so far expect we receive warranties from non-intervention from the government. That will kill the purpose of this project. We want to keep it free from politics and rich influence. For trivial complaints, support is free from our legal aid, while for complicated complaints, we seek donation-based support to meet expenses and administration of costs from the beneficiary or whoever supports the cause of beneficiaries. That’s an innovation I think 4 mins left in chapter 12%required in Indian NGO’s to work honestly, speedily and without influence. I lived in an apartment which is in the prime area of Surat, Gujarat and we bought it in 1999 however the sale deed was not registered due to non- cooperation of builder. It is pertinent to note that government declared it was their owned land on which we were living and construction was illegal, on the other side builder filed a civil complaint be- fore the court in his defence that the land is not of government and he has constructed property after the proper legal procedure, and this procedure took a hefty time. We sent a notice to builder and ne- gotiation then started. Builder expedited his process in court and eventually, an order came in favour of builder in the year of 2014 or 2015. Then the issue arises for stamp duty because stamp duty in the year of 1999 was not as big as what it is today. We were given informal notes that we are required to make a payment of 2,20,000 INR which we found quite huge compared to what we expected around 30,000 INR. We have 60 flat members in Apartment and most of them paid a huge (bribe) amount. I found sub-registrar office (who register sale deed) staff en- gaged in suspicious activities as when member go di- rectly to register their sale deed, they refused stating payment is much more to what we wanted to pay. Of course, what we wanted to pay was mere legal fees. I started using my previous learning about consumer rights. I filed an RTI and waited for the an- swer regarding correct stamp duty applicable for my flat to get its sale deed register. The cost of RTI was 20/- INR. Meanwhile, few of flat members associated themselves with an advocate and brought a proposal forward that if each member can pay 10,000 INR in addition to legal stamp duty fees (that we wanted to pay), then there is a probability that, one reputed advocate (lawyer) can get our task of registering sale deed completed easily without additional cost. That 4 mins left in chapter 12%the required stamp duty will be calculated as per the rate of the year 1999 (instead of 2014-15). Many members liked the proposal as it was saving their money relative to the demand made by sub-registrar and other corrupted people, however, I could un- derstand that (10,000/- INR * 60 Flat) commission scam by few flat member and advocate. Unfortu- nately, few members paid in that way too. Most of the members got their sale deed registered at addi- tional expenses or paying commission to advocate. It was only me who paid lawful amount after certain steps as under RTI, Consumer Notice and complaint to the collector which cost me nothing more than 100/- INR and I got my sale deed register without paying bribe or commission to any advocate, at the rate of the prevailing rate of 1999. I think awareness of law, persistence, patience and ability to initiate is essential to restore your consumer and civil rights. I am currently fighting other’s and my case in one or another way in the interest of justice and protection of our democratic and constitutional rights. If you let your right go, people start abusing it and then we become responsible for the creation of Talibanism, corruption and breach of law and order in our coun- try. Those adversely affect our family, friends, soci- ety and life. My experience about real estate incident led to think, no matter how much good information you offer but many consumers are ready to spend money to get their work done but they do not want to in- volve in time-consuming process and advantages of that are taken by the builder and government offi- cials. Patience, determination, research and faith on law are an essential ingredient to seek result through the lawful process. We need to understand that even judge and police are bound to act as according to re- spective law and having information about such law becomes an advantage for the consumer to direct those government officers who act against the inter- 3 mins left in chapter 13%est of justice. Such laws are also discussed in this Book. During my time when I was looking for a simple answer for complication law question as lay- men and I realized that straight and simple language guide for consumer complaint filing is yet to be writ- ten. Some information is available on Google how- ever information which can help on grassroots (that is practical help and guide which you can confidently utilize in the courtroom) is still missing. 1 decided to write a Book which can aid the consumer, students, NGOs enabling them to protect, defend and advo- cate consumer rights. I will keep writing more about other aspects of law for the same audience and even for the vast readers in future. My focus remains on the applicability of law by a layman. Not all legal situation requires a lawyer to respond, and even if that requires, isn’t it wise to be educated on legal ed- ucation and awareness that affect us on day to day basis? To improve my knowledge about various as- pects of law and criminal psychology, later, stud- ied eMBA (Criminology) through credit transfer as per my requirement. However, credit for this book doesn’t go to the learning from education but to ex- posure, reading, meeting people and learning from their experiences and mistakes. I believe my under- standing of legal and psychology subject comes from my life experiences. I wish to add that I wanted to be expert in International Business, however, part of my career also land on criminology due to various experiences of life, I became curious and I made a goal to participate in national reform and influence law policy and policymaker and provide direct sup- port to the victim as much practically as possible through various activities. It is not a degree but knowledge of the subject and practical exposure that can make you advocate for your rights. 2 mins left in chapter 14%Introduction This book is revised after the amendment of Consumer Protection Act 1986 to new law Con- sumer Protection Act, 2019. Let me clarify that the Consumer Commission now Consumer Commission is unofficially known as a Consumer court. The language and informa- tion used in this Book are for the laymen, NGOs, Social worker and anyone who might be interested in filing a complaint on his own or wish to support community to enhance their consumer rights. This Book can be stored on mobile for ready use. This book is for anyone who might be interested in learn- ing the steps involved in filing consumer complaint practically. The focus of this Book is to enable an ag- grieved consumer to resolve his complaint without a lawyer on his own. The focus is not to eliminate lawyer from the process, but to empower an indi- vidual to be able to escalate, negotiate and resolve his complaint by all legal means effectively and effi- ciently. This might be the first interactive book in India focusing on resolving complaints rather than merely discussing theory and technicality involved in consumer Commission/court/commission filings and judgments. However, there is no intention to depreciate the value and need of such materials as those are essential, still, the emphasis is given on practical steps to file, fight and defend consumer grievances without involving into jargon. Some part of this book was not easy to compile as I could not find the answer to a few question and lawyers whom I met, was not even aware of the necessary informa- tion, therefore, I had to research and learn myself. It is observed that many lawyers when subscribing to law practice, disregard continuous improvement by studying and that is an injustice to their clients although their advocacy can be beneficial to their client, they can’t offer the edge of expertise require 4 mins left in chapter 15%winning complicated cases. Some information in- cludes in this Book also discusses such issues. Let me clarify that Consumer Disputes Re- dressal Commission (official name) unofficially known as a Consumer court/forum. Previously, It was officially known as Forum, but after 2019 Act, it is now called as Commission. Hence, Forum word is now replaced by the Commission. Consumer Commission is known for friendliness to its users, moreover, it is helpful and viewed as a fast-track grievance Redressal platform compares to a tradi- tional court. However, the ground reality in several instances might be surprising or more shocking. You may have heard or found that members of the Com- mission are under the influence of a company or a lawyer of the opposite party or the court adjourns more often which delays your hearing and solution process. Sometimes you are being asked to furnish irrelevant documents or your right itself disputed by the consumer court and you then need to work hard to sustain your case or argument. It is also noted that when you file a complaint with the court, lawyer of opposite party trap you in the technicality of law and so the Commission further misled. Some people have also reported false case intimidation by the op- posite party if they initiate against opponents. This book also covers such complex topics, legal tricks and tactics for speedy redressal and restoring your rights. The consumer suffers when a brand stops re- sponding to their grievance and cause them a finan- cial, mental or even social loss. It is imperative to note that consumers may want to file a complaint against brand and service provider, however, due to complex legal issues, lack of information and higher fees of a lawyer, consumer compromise with their cause, 3 mins left in chapter 16%Chintaless Nagrik is a nonprofit NGO program of www.jivanamasteya.org that addresses such issue as it resolves consumer complaint online effec- tively and efficiently using its solid global resources, strategies and support system. It eliminates many gaps and hurdles to advocate the rights of consumer and citizens. In addition to consumer services, Chin- taless Nagrik also resolves the complaint against Government, police and assist a citizen in filing FIR, RTI and Cybercrime complaint online and render full support to consumer and citizen to protect their legal rights. The project initially started wholly free, however, due to complicated issues and increasing complaint it proposed to design a donation plan with prices in, such as way which meets needs of ex- penses and the cost to sustain the project and it does not seek any profit. It is the World’s first and India’s leading Online Consumer Citizen Complaint Redres- sal Assistance Platform, that practically, strategi- cally and amazingly resolves Complaint online. You can learn more about the project here. You can also get free support when you wish to file a complaint on your own, and get full free assistance for trivial complaint. Click here to find more about Free Sup- port and Free Legal Aid. Focused, Precise & Practical Guide This Book is a quick and focused guide for its practical use for targeted readers who need to file a consumer complaint. This Book keeps the consumer informed, confident and well-prepared right from escalating a complaint to its resolution. This Book does not allow in-depth discussion, doesn't share law theories, acts with its meaning and detailing, however, it concentrates on practical steps, neces- sary technicality and aims to be useful for users who are busy and who don't have time or interest to read law in depth. 1 min left in chapter 16%If you wish me to add more information or explain any point in detail in this Book or if you find any error in this book please notify at over What- sApp: +91 91734 38299, you can also drop a line on [email protected], so I will look in it and do the needful. If you do not get a reply in 7 days on email, please write to me on WhatsApp number pro- vided. Do not call, as this is WhatsApp only number. This book is intended to change, modified and omit as the time, situation and law change or demand. You can write to me or WhatsApp, in case if you have a question related to the content of this book. Perhaps, this is also one reason why I call this Book an interactive because it extent informational sup- port through WhatsApp and email. Please note the support is extended and privileged to the fair and reasonable limit and buyer of this Book required to share evidence of legal ownership of Book if asked. The points, subjects, references and the matters cov- ered in this Book are precise, concise, focused and for quick use for a general and relative purpose. Re- sult orientation was the additional focus when I was writing this book. How to file a Case in a Consumer court? This Book will keep you informed, confident and well prepared if you wish to take action to re- solve your grievance. This book does not go in-depth information and details, however, it focuses on prac- tical steps and aims to be useful for users who are busy and have less time to read reference and law books. Consumer Protection Act, 2019 is an Act of the Parliament of India. It repeals and replaces the Consumer Protection Act, 1986. The Consumer Pro- tection Bill, 2019 was introduced in the Lok Sabha on 8 July 2019 by the Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Ram Vilas Paswan. This Act (Law) is known as “The Consumer Protec- tion Act (CPA), 2019.” 1 min left in chapter 17%In short, every lawyer, court judges, con- sumer and opposite party (against whom you file a complaint) are bound to act as per the Consumer Protection Act (CPA), 2019. If you read the related section of the act, about your case, you would better know how you can protect your rights and counter the trick of the opposite party. The Salary, position, and duties of the consumer court judge are also de- scribed in the same act (law) and other rule and act that derives from that. However, that is not much of our concern in this book. You need to follow consumer Protection Act (CPA), 2019 to file a complaint before consumer commission, and all the produces including appeals, replies should be consistent with consumer Protec- tion Act (CPA), 2019. Hence Consumer Protection Act (CPA), 2019 is a law that directs you how to file a complaint, what to do if you experience any issues while escalating your grievance, and how you cannot let anyone disrupt winning your genuine case. If you know the process once, filing a com- plaint becomes easy. You need to understand how to represent your cause appropriately before the com- mission, without getting too much in emotional feelings. Essentially, you need to be calm and patience and set your goal that what resolution you want when you resolve a complaint through direct com- munication with an opposite party, at notice stage or at the stage of court/commission complaint phase. For Example, if you buy mobile phone worth ru- pees 10,000/- INR and find defects on display, then first initiate a return and seek replacement or re- fund. Suppose, company refuse both, then you need to escalate your grievance precisely through email followed by phone and ask for the relief. If you are not happy with the outcome, you are required to send notice and at this stage, you should ask for original relief + expenses for notice + adequate com- 3 mins left in chapter 18%pensation however if you approach consumer Com- mission, then you can ask for all the benefits as men- tioned + interest + penalty or even criminal actions against the opposite party. When you decide on what relief you want, en- sure your relief is genuine. We have one consumer asked for help. He bought a product of rupees 100/- INR from a reputed online store and got it defective and then the company processed a refund on con- sumer’s request. But, the consumer said that refund took 5 additional days to process and he asked to get compensation of rupees 50 Lakh. It is logical to conclude that the demand for relief is a kind of blackmailing and an unlawful way to make money, however, frankly speaking, consumer court never grants such relief on the given ground. If you have legal rights under consumer act, then the opposite party is also protected under the same act against the misuse of the law. On the other side, it is per- tinent to mention that sometimes, the consumer is really angry in such delays of refund and in such situation he must escalate issue before the company and allow them to improve their customer service. On the repetition of mistake, you may initiate legal steps. How to collect and record Solid Evidence to win Consumer Case When you are not happy with the brand, man- ufacturer or service provider, you should report the grievance to them on their customer care depart- ment on the phone and write email simultaneously. An email will record your date and time of grievance irrespective of they read or not. A phone conversa- tion may be forgotten or you may have a recording of the call for your evidence, however, paper base evidence will provide easy access to Commission President/judge whenever they wish to revise your case points. Filing a consumer case requires some ev- 1 min left in chapter 19%idence in your favour to admit your case before the consumer Commission and eventually to win cases. It is advisable to create a separate folder on your email or computer and name it as per your conve- nience and add necessary document and evidence to the folder so in case if you decide to write notice or file court complaint, it will help you to find all docu- ment online or share it with other experts. Make a small diary or note and write down time, the name of a person, his position, and anum- ber that you dial with date. Add purpose of the call and write down responses. You can do the same ac- tivity on Microsoft Excel or Google document in any format that can help you to memories chronology of events. It will also help you to draft notice and court complaint. When your grievance is not resolved through communication, it means that opposite party believes that they are correct or you may talk with the support team who lack consumer law-re- lated information and underestimate future impli- cation in case if you file a case against the company and they refuse your complaint as per their policy without taking considering about your legal right. If you are recording calls, make sure impor- tant calls are stored in the original device, and take a backup on PAN drive, as well as a cloud (on- line storage). Never use emotional or abusive words, handle it professionally. Keep the conversation short and clear. It is advised to write down an entire conversation, and get it print. It will be handy for the commission to refer such conversation, rather listening to the entire conversation again and again. If the commission has doubts, they will listen to the communication. Never delete original source where calls are recorded, emails are stored. Maintain in- voice/Bill, email communication, screenshots, pay- ment proof such as bank statement accurately. 1 min left in chapter 21%When you decide to draft your notice or court com- plaint, such chronological collection of evidence can help you to draft easily and even during the oral ar- gument in court, it will supplement solid confidence in presenting information without delay, accurately. The possible result is that the opposite party has to surrender considering your good preparedness, con- fidence, and presentation of evidence. How to deal with Unjust policy and one-sided Agreement The Supreme Court has held that terms of a contract will not be final and binding if it is shown that the flat purchasers had no option but to sign on the dotted line. Homebuyers who purchase flats or apartments from builders have very little choice but to accept the standard agreement for sale drafted by the developers. It is quite possible that various clauses relating to the rate of interest, right to cancel the agreement, time limit for a refund on account of cancellation etc may not be equitable, ie. developers may have superior rights as compared to those of the buyers. In fact, many such cases have already to come to light. The Supreme Court, while delivering its judgement on 2nd April 2019, in the case of Pio- neer Urban Land & Infrastructure Ltd Vs Govindan Raghavan, has held that terms of a contract will not be final and binding if it is shown that the flat pur- chasers had no option but to sign on the dotted line, on a contract framed by the builder. It further held that incorporation of one-sided clauses in an agree- ment constitutes an unfair trade practice as per Sec- tion 2 (r) of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 since it adopts unfair methods or practices to sell the flats by the builder. Get access to full judgement here. You can print and use this judgement in commission, and commission is bound to comply with supreme court judgements. If they require a certified copy of the judgement in a rare case, then you may need 1 min left in chapter 21%to apply for the certified documents from supreme court registrar. Don’t worry, you will be always given time for such a process. If you want to obtain, print any court order, court citation, visit: Indian Kanoon website, and search with various keyword and other combination. It is pertinent to note that, no policy or agree- ments can be considered lawful when it is against the law or one-sided, however when you escalate grievance before the competent court in India, it can be addressed properly. Before approaching con- sumer court, you are advised to send notice to oppo- site party through register post or Courier Company that approved by the court and allow them 15 to 30 days to resolve the matter. For the above-said reason, they may not reply to your notice Moreover, after re- viewing your notice, it is possible that the opposite party (a person or organization against whom you have a complaint) understand their fault and resolve a complaint straight away or they don’t correct it as they believe it will put them in severe reputation loss or financial damage. Hence, they expect to settle cases out of the court. The reason might vary case to case, however, the above reason should help you to understand the perspective of the opposite party and remain determined and persistent with your proceedings. If the complaint is not resolved after sending a notice, you can file a complaint before the consumer Commission. You may file an additional complaint before ombudsmen, police, and civil court. I be- lieve civil litigation or case should be avoided when you can file a consumer complaint. Consumer com- plaints are summary in nature known for a speedy solution and less technical efforts. We will talk more about in the next sections. Submit your objection, argument, and request in writing, in addition to the oral presentation. 2 mins left in chapter 22%What you submit becomes a record and such record can be used as evidence. If consumer Commission member take an unlawful decision and they know it very well it is not in their interest to act un- lawfully in your case. If they refuse to accept any document, send it through registered post. If you have a grievance against Commission for the unlaw- ful process in your case, write a complaint to them, CC to State Commission. However, do not make any formal comments without giving full attention to the interpretation of the procedure and behaviour of commission. Do not get mixed up with your emo- tional driven nature with court procedure (Law does not think from the heart). Who Is Consumer as per the Law? The Consumer Protection Act, 2019 was en- acted to provide simpler and quicker access to re- dressal of consumer grievances. The Act for the first time introduced the concept of ‘consumer’ and con- ferred express additional rights on him. It is inter- esting to note that the Act doesn’t seek to protect every consumer within the literal meaning of the term. The protection is meant for the person who fits the definition of ‘consumer’ given by the Act. When we approach the market as a consumer, we expect value for money, ie., right quality, right quantity, right prices, information about the mode of use, etc. But there may be instances where a consumer is ha- rassed or cheated. The consumer is defined as some- one who acquires goods or services for direct use or ownership rather than for resale or use in produc- tion and manufacturing. Section 2(7) of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 says that consumer means any person who — (i) buys any goods for a consideration which has been paid or promised or partly paid and partly promised, or under any system of deferred payment 1 min left in chapter 23%and includes any user of such goods other than the person who buys such goods for consideration paid or promised or partly paid or partly promised, or under any system of deferred payment, when such use is made with the approval of such person, but does not include a person who obtains such goods for resale or for any commercial purpose; or (ii) hires or avails of any services for a consideration which has been paid or promised or partly paid and partly promised, or under any system of deferred payment, and includes any beneficiary of such services other than the person who hires or avails of the services for consideration paid or promised, or partly paid and partly promised, or under any system of de- ferred payment, when such services are availed of with the approval of the first mentioned person. The beneficiary of service is also a consumer. For, example, if I pay fees for computer training for my friend then, in that case, my friend is also con- sidered as a consumer and he can file a complaint. Service providers are also covered under the act. If you buy a product online and if you have a grievance against an e-commerce service provider, you can file acomplaint against them before the consumer Com- mission. Explanation.—For the purposes of this clause,— (a) the expression "commercial purpose" does not in- clude use by a person of goods bought and used by him exclusively for the purpose of earning his livelihood, by means of self-employment; (b) the expressions “buys any goods" and “hires or avails any services" includes offline or online transactions through electronic means or by teleshopping or di- rect selling or multi-level marketing; Commercial Purpose The consumer protection act does not include a person who avails of such services or product for 2 mins left in chapter 24%any commercial purpose exclusively for the purpose of earning his livelihood, by means of self-employ- ment. In Super Engineering Corporation Vs Sanjay Vinayak Pant & Anr [1992 CPJ (1) 95 NC], The Hon'ble National Commission observed that the in- tention behind the amendment of the Parliament is to deny the benefits of the Act to persons purchasing goods either for the purpose of resale or for the pur- pose of being used in profit-making activity engaged on a large scale. Thus, the persons who purchase goods for consumption or use in the manufacture of goods or commodities on a large scale with a view to making a profit, will all fall outside the scope of the definition of "consumer". As far as the words "commercial purpose" and livelihood" are concerned neither of these terms has been defined under the Consumer Protection Act or the Rules framed therein. Therefore, interpretation of these words is to be seen as per the facts of the case and the judgments as having been elucidated by the courts in many cases. ANY PERSON WHO OBTAINS THE GOODS FOR ‘RESALE’ OR COMMERCIAL PURPOSES’ IS NOT A CONSUMER - The term ‘for resale’ implies that the goods are brought to sell them, and the expression ‘for commercial purpose’ is intended to cover cases other than those of resale of goods. When goods are bought to resell or commercially exploit them, such buyer or user is not a consumer under the Act. If a business organization (such as Pvt. Ltd companies) buy the machine from another business organization to carry his business activi- ties and buy machine under warranty and machine become defective during the warranty, he can file a complaint before consumer Commission. In C. P. Moosa - Vs. - Chowgle Industries Ltd 2001-CPJ-3- 9-NC ; 2001-CPR-2-92-NC ; the appel- lant had purchased EPBAX system for his hotel with 3 mins left in chapter 25%warranty and annual maintenance contract. There was a deficiency of service during the warranty pe- riod and AMC period. The National Commission held that the case falls under Section 2(1) (d) (ii) and appellant entitled to compensation. In Super Com- puter Centre V. Globiz Investment Pvt. Ltd. III (2006) CP] 265 (NC) where the complainant, a company, had purchased computer system along with related accessories from the opposite party. The intellifax machine, which was supplied with the computer, was not performing up to the mark and the same was defective. When the dispute went to the re- dressal Commission under the COPRA, the opposite party contended that the complainant was not a consumer as the computer and the machine were purchased by the company for business purpose i.e. for commercial purpose. However, the defect in the machine was intimated to the opposite party within the warranty period. The National Commission held that the purchaser of the machinery would certainly be a consumer in respect of defect in the machine during a period of warranty. As per section 2(d)(i) 1-2-1c, ANY PERSON BUYING GOODS FOR SELF EMPLOYMENT IS A CONSUMER - When goods are bought for commer- cial purposes and such purchase satisfies the fol- lowing criteria : - (1) the goods are used by the buyer himself; (2) exclusively for the purpose of earning his livelihood; (3) by means of self-employ- ment, then such use would not be termed as use for commercial purposes under the Act, and the user is recognized as a consumer. That this is an exception to the rule that a buyer of commercial goods is not a consumer under the Act. The legislature intends to exclude big busi- ness houses carrying on business with profit motive from the purview of the Act. At the same time, it is pertinent to save the interests of small consumers who buy goods for self-employment to earn their 2 mins left in chapter 26%