case study for consumer rights

Top 10 Case Study on Consumer Rights

We know consumer laws and courts exist, but only by reading through some case law can you understand how you as a consumer can exercise your rights!

Table of Contents

On an everyday basis, we purchase products and services. From our basic necessities like food and clothing to services like banking and education, we are dependent on companies and organisations to live comfortably in the present day, and we give them our hard-earned money in return. But sometimes, companies might fail to provide quality services or products. Many know there exist consumer courts and laws that protect consumers from consumer exploitation . But have you ever wondered who goes to these courts and what types of cases are filed? You would be surprised to know how basic these cases can be. So, here are 10 interesting case study on consumer rights curated for you.

Top 10 Case Studies on Consumer Rights

1. banks can’t always escape using ‘technical difficulties’.

We have come to rely on banks so much. A recent case study on consumer rights highlighted the need for stronger regulations. More than ever, most of our transactions are digital and heavily reliant on banks for these. Have you ever had your transaction fail due to the server being down or other errors?

Dipika Pallikal, a squash champion and Arjuna awardee found herself in an awkward situation when she used her Axis Bank Debit Card in a hotel at Netherlands’ Rotterdam failed. She had had 10 times the bill amount in her account at that time. Due to this, she faced a loss of reputation and humiliation. The bank said the incident was a case of ‘ Force Majeure’ (an act of god/ something beyond control)

Apart from that, the bank had also returned a cheque of ₹1 lakh issued to her by the government of India and blamed it on a technical error.

Dipika moved the consumer court in Chennai against Axis Bank

Court Decision

The court found that there was a deficiency of service on the part of Axis Bank and directed the bank to pay a compensation of ₹5 lakh and ₹5000 as expenses.

Key Takeaway

Banks are like any other service provider. We trust them with our money and they must perform the services we were promised. They cannot hide behind ‘technical difficulties’ or ‘ force majeure ’ and let customers suffer for it.

2. You Don’t Have to Be a Celebrity to Win a Consumer Case

A humble tea vendor, Rajesh Sakre, is an example of this. He had ₹20,000 in his State Bank of India account and had withdrawn ₹10,800. On his next visit to the ATM, however, he realized all his money was gone. When he asked the bank authorities they blamed it on him. 

So, he went to the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum with his grievance. He couldn’t afford a lawyer and he argued the case himself. This case study on consumer awareness presents insights into how consumers are becoming more vigilant.

The forum ruled in his favor and ordered the State Bank of India to return the ₹9,200 with 6% interest, pay ₹10,000 as compensation for mental anguish caused by the issue, and ₹2,000 for legal expenses.

It doesn’t matter who you are, as long as you have a valid case you can approach the Consumer Cases Forum. And even big companies and government entities like the State Bank of India can be made to answer for their mistakes.

3. Not All Free Items Are Welcome

Imagine you bought a bottle of Pepsi and found a packet of gutka floating in it! It happened to Rajesh Rajan from Ahmedabad when he bought Pepsi from a local store. He sent a legal notice for defective goods to the company immediately and approached a Consumer Cases Dispute Redressal Forum. Every case study on consumer complaints tells a unique story of a consumer’s journey towards justice.

Moreover, he claimed that there was a deficiency in service that could have caused a health hazard to him. He demanded compensation of ₹5 lakh for the same.

The consumer forum passed an order in favor of Rajesh Rajan and directed the company to pay a total of ₹4008 (₹4000 for compensation and ₹8 for the Pepsi he purchased).

Rajesh moved the State Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission, asking for higher compensation as ₹4008 was too low and he had spent ₹500 on sample testing itself. The State Commission passed an order asking the company to pay ₹20,000 as compensation and ₹2000 towards costs as it found Rajesh’s argument reasonable.

Free items are not all welcome! It is a deficiency in service on the part of the provider if you find anything in your food (packaged or otherwise) that isn’t supposed to be there. The Consumer Cases Forums are a good place to take them.

4. Paying More Than the MRP? You Shouldn’t.

It has become common to charge more than the maximum retail price (MRP) for packaged goods. Especially in places like theatres, food courts, railway stations, etc, we see this happen a lot and mostly ignore it. Among the prominent consumer cases last year, the MRP case stood out for its complexity

Mr Kondaiah from Andhra Pradesh, on the other hand, didn’t ignore it when he noticed that Sarvi Food Court charged him ₹40 for a water bottle where the MRP was ₹20. He filed a case against them in the District Consumer cases Disputes Redressal Forum for ‘unfair trade practice’. He supported his claim by producing the bill. The MRP case study on consumer rights brought to light some gaps in the existing regulations.

The court decided in favour of Mr Kondaiah and said that a practice is not justified just because it is widely common. Mr Kondaiah was awarded a compensation of ₹20,000, ₹20 (the extra money charged) and ₹5,000 in costs. 

No authority has the power to charge above the MRP for any packaged goods. It doesn’t matter where it is sold, you are not required to pay a rupee above the MRP.

5. No MRP at All on the Product?

Baglekar Akash Kumar, a 19-year-old got a book and ₹12,500 because of the book. How? He purchased the book online and when it was delivered, he noticed that there was no MRP mentioned in it. He browsed the internet and saw that the book was sold at different prices in different places.

So, he went to the consumer cases forum and filed a case against Penguin Books India Pvt. Ltd and the paper company.

The court held that not publishing MRP on the product without a valid reason is an ‘unfair trade practice’. MRP exists to ensure that a consumer is not overcharged for the product. So, it is mandatory for companies to print MRP.

The publishers were asked to print the retail price of the book and Akash was awarded ₹10,000 as compensation and ₹2,500 as costs.

It is required under law for companies to put MRP on every product. If you see a product without MRP, then it is a violation of Consumer Cases Protection Laws and you can take them to court. 

6. Medical Services Fall Within the Scope of the CPA

Do medical services fall under CPA? When there was a little confusion in this regard, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) decided to get this question resolved once and for all. The CPA case study on consumer rights brought to light some gaps in the existing regulations. The Medical Services case study on consumer complaints became a landmark case in consumer rights advocacy.

IMA approached the Supreme Court, asking them to declare that medical services are out of the scope of the CPA. They gave the following arguments to support their claim:

• Medical professionals are governed by their own code of ethics made by the Medical Council of India. 
• In the medical profession, it is hard to guarantee the end result of treatments. Many external factors which are out of the control of the professional can impact the outcome. So, allowing consumer claims will cause people to file a case whenever a treatment doesn’t work out.
• There are no medical science experts in the consumer complaints online.
• Medical service provided by government hospitals will not fall under the Act especially when the service is provided for free. 

These were decent points. After consideration, the court settled the claims in the following manner.

Medical services provided by any professional (private or government) will be covered by CPA. This means  people can file a case in a Consumer Court if the service provided is not in confirmation with the Act.

• Doctors and hospitals who treat patients for free cannot be sued by a person who availed their services for free. 
• In a government hospital, where services are provided free of charge – the Consumer Protection Act India would not apply.

Apart from these two exceptions, the Act will apply when a person gets treated in government hospitals for free, when a poor person gets treated for free, and when insurance money is used for treatment.

7. Tired of the False Claims Made by Skin and Hair Care Products Yet?

Maybe you are not tired yet or you are too tired to question. However, a 67-year-old man from Kerala’s remotest areas was tired of these consistent lies and how companies got away with them.

In 2015, K Chaathu complained against Indulekha (beauty product manufacturers) and Mammootty (an actor who was the brand ambassador of the company) for putting up misleading ads. The tagline of the soap was ‘soundaryam ningale thedi varum’ which meant ‘beauty will come in search of you. The ads also claimed that people using the soap would become ‘fair’ and ‘beautiful’ but the 67-year-old didn’t become fair or beautiful.

Funny, right?

Compensation Paid

Indulekha paid him ₹30,000 in an out of court settlement while the initial claim of Chaathu was ₹50,000. When he was asked about this, he said that this case was never about the money but about how these companies put up advertisements every day with false claims. And it is not okay to let these people get away with it.

Key Takeaways

Advertisements are made to sell the products, so exaggeration of results is too common. But this doesn’t make it okay to make false claims just for the sake of selling the products. Making false claims in violation of the CTA.

8. Homebuyers Are Consumers

Imagine you decide to buy a house (a dream come true for many). You do a lot of research, pool your hard-earned money, and pay a real estate developer to build the house for you. They promise to deliver within 42 months but 4 years later they haven’t even started construction. 

This is what happened to two people and they decided to move the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) for it. The Homebuyer’s case study on consumer rights was instrumental in changing local regulations.

NCDRC decided in favour of the homebuyers and asked the real estate developer to refund the money with a simple interest of 9% per annum. They were also awarded a compensation of ₹50,000 each.

The real estate developer challenged this in the Supreme Court, saying that the issue is covered under another Act (Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act) and therefore cannot be taken in a consumer court. But the Supreme Court denied their argument saying that as long as the other Act explicitly stops people from getting remedy under other laws, they will be allowed to do so.

Our laws are in such a way that even though there are other remedies available, in most cases where you are a buyer of a product or a service, you will have protection under the Consumer Protection Act. 

9. Insurance Claims Cannot be Rejected on Mere Technicalities

We pay the premium and get insurance to protect us from losses we can’t foresee. Sadly, many people have had bad experiences with the insurance company. Om Prakash, for example, had his truck stolen and claimed insurance for the same. The truck was stolen on 23.03.2010, the FIR was filed on 24.03.2010, and the insurance claim was filed on 31.03.2010. 

The insurance investigator was sent and he confirmed that the claim was genuine. The claim was approved for the amount of ₹7,85,000/-. But the amount was never given to Om Prakash. With the rise in consumer court cases , companies are now more cautious about their policies and practices. When he sent the insurance company a legal notice for the same, they replied saying that there was a breach of terms and conditions: 

“immediate information to the Insurer about the loss/theft of the vehicle”

Om Prakash was late to apply for insurance because he was held up by the police to try and recover his vehicle.

While the consumer courts didn’t allow his case, the Supreme Court allowed his appeal and held in favour of him. It was ruled that insurance companies cannot escape from paying the claimants on technical grounds. Especially when the claimant has valid reasons for it.

The Court directed the Respondent company to pay a sum of ₹8,35,000/- to the Appellant along with interest @ 8% per annum. He was also awarded ₹50,000 as compensation.

Over the years, many judgments have been made to ensure that insurance companies are accountable and do not escape from paying valid claims. If you experience a similar situation with your insurance provided, you can approach the consumer court.  

10. iPhone 5S Gold for ₹68 + ₹10,000

Let’s close the list with a fun one! How would it be to get an iPhone at just ₹68? In 2014, Nikhil Bansal (a student) saw this unbelievable offer on Snapdeal (a discount of ₹46,651) and ordered it immediately as any sane person would. He received an order confirmation but later he was told that the order was canceled. They claimed that the offer itself was a technical glitch. “The iPhone case study on consumer complaint showcased the challenges consumers face even in today’s digital age.

When he approached the e-commerce consumer complaints India Forum, he claimed that these kinds of offers were misleading people and it was the duty of Snapdeal to honour the order. The forum ruled in his favor and asked Snapdeal to deliver him the iPhone for ₹68 and asked him to pay a compensation of ₹2,000.

When Snapdeal appealed this order, the compensation was raised to ₹10,000! 

Key Takeaway – Case Study on Consumer Rights

E-commerce stores are just as answerable as any other shop owner under the Consumer Protection Act. So if you face any issues like this with them, consider taking it to the consumer court. Through each case study on consumer rights, we can learn more about our rights and responsibilities

Consumer forums exist to protect consumers from consumer exploitation and ensure that we are not cheated by the companies we pay for getting products or services. Knowing your rights is the first step towards becoming a conscious consumer. 

Don’t hesitate to approach the consumer court if you have a valid claim of consumer exploitation . Even if it is for an ₹ 8 product like Pepsi, a valid claim should be taken to the forum.

What is the Consumer Protection Act?

The Consumer Protection Act is a law that safeguards the interests of consumers against unfair trade practices and ensures their rights to quality goods and services.

When was the Consumer Protection Act passed?

The Consumer Protection Act was passed in 1986 and later updated with the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.

Who is a consumer under the Consumer Protection Act?

A consumer is any individual who purchases goods or services for personal use, not for manufacturing or resale.

Who can file a complaint under the Consumer Protection Act?

A complaint can be filed by a consumer, any recognized consumer association, or the Central or State Government on behalf of a consumer.

What is a consumer rights case study?

A consumer rights case study involves analyzing a real-life scenario where a consumer faced issues with a product or service and sought legal resolution under consumer protection laws.

What are consumer cases in India?

Consumer cases in India refer to legal disputes brought by consumers against businesses for grievances related to defective goods, poor services, or unfair trade practices.

What are some examples of consumer rights?

Examples of consumer rights include the right to safety, the right to be informed, the right to choose, the right to be heard, and the right to redressal.

What is the consumer rights class 10 project?

The consumer rights class 10 project typically involves students researching and presenting on the various rights of consumers and how they are protected under the law.

Who is a consumer class 10 SST project?

In the class 10 Social Science (SST) project, a consumer is defined as an individual who purchases goods or services for personal use and is protected under consumer laws.

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Legal Library: Cases and Proceedings

Every year the FTC brings hundreds of cases against individuals and companies for violating consumer protection and competition laws that the agency enforces. These cases can involve fraud, scams, identity theft, false advertising, privacy violations, anti-competitive behavior and more. The Legal Library has detailed information about cases we have brought in federal court or through our internal administrative process, called an adjudicative proceeding. 

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W. Bret Calhoun, In the Matter of

Drywall master tools, inc., also d/b/a optimo.

File Closing letter to Michael E. Murphy, Counsel to Drywall Master Tools, Inc. (166.92 KB)

TLB Industries, Inc., also d/b/a Retriev-R-Trainer, RRT, and Specialty Products Co.

File Closing letter to Daniel E. Kane, Counsel to TLB Industries, Inc. (166.36 KB)

Statement of Commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter In the Matter of Care.com, Inc

File Statement of Commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter In the Matter of Care.com, Inc (170.25 KB)

Asbury Automotive Group, Inc., et al., In the Matter of

The Federal Trade Commission is acting against a large automotive dealer group, Asbury Automotive, for systematically charging consumers for costly add-on items they did not agree to or were falsely told were required as part of their purchase. The FTC also alleges that Asbury discriminates against Black and Latino consumers, targeting them with unwanted and higher-priced add-ons.

In an administrative complaint, the FTC alleges that three Texas dealerships owned by Asbury that operate as David McDavid Ford Ft. Worth, David McDavid Honda Frisco, and David McDavid Honda Irving, along with Ali Benli, who acted as general manager of those dealerships, engaged in a variety of practices to sneak hidden fees for unwanted add-ons past consumers. These tactics included a practice called “payment packing,” where the dealerships convinced consumers to agree to monthly payments that were larger than needed to pay for the agreed-upon price of the car, and then “packed” add-on items to the sales contract to make up that difference.

Tempur Sealy International, Inc. and Mattress Firm Group Inc., In the Matter of

The Federal Trade Commission moved to block Tempur Sealy International, Inc.’s (Tempur Sealy) proposed $4 billion acquisition of Mattress Firm Group Inc. (Mattress Firm).

The Commission issued an administrative complaint and authorized a lawsuit in federal court to block the acquisition, alleging that Tempur Sealy—the world’s largest mattress supplier and manufacturer—will have the ability and incentive to suppress competition and raise prices for mattresses for millions of consumers once it acquires Mattress Firm.

Natalia Lynch, In the Matter of

Fda draft guidance biosimilar drugs comment letter.

File FDA Draft Guidance Biosimilar Drugs Comment Letter (231.54 KB)

Concurring Statement of Commissioner Andrew N. Ferguson Regarding the Commission’s Brief Amicus Curiae in Shanahan v. IXL Learning, Inc.

File Concurring Statement of Commissioner Andrew N. Ferguson Regarding the Commission’s Brief Amicus Curiae in Shanahan v. IXL Learning, Inc. (157.79 KB)

Concurring Statement of Commissioner Andrew N. Ferguson in the Matter of Asbury Automotive Group, Inc.

File Concurring Statement of Commissioner Andrew N. Ferguson Regarding Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (206.89 KB)

Statement of Commissioner Melissa Holyoak In the Matter of Asbury Automotive Group

File Statement of Commissioner Melissa Holyoak Regarding Asbury Automotive Group (196.53 KB)

Jim Iree Lewis, In the matter of

Joint statement of chair lina m. khan, commissioner rebecca kelly slaughter, and commissioner alvaro m. bedoya in the matter of coulter motor company, llc.

File Joint Statement of Chair Lina M. Khan, Commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter, and Commissioner Alvaro M. Bedoya Regarding Coulter Motor Company, LLC (229.99 KB)

Dissenting and Concurring Statement of Commissioner Melissa Holyoak In the Matter of Coulter Motor Company, LLC

File Dissenting and Concurring Statement of Commissioner Melissa Holyoak In the Matter of Coulter Motor Company, LLC (324.04 KB)

Illumina, Inc., and GRAIL, Inc., In the Matter of

The Federal Trade Commission filed an administrative complaint and authorized a federal court lawsuit to block Illumina’s $7.1 billion proposed acquisition of Grail—a maker of a non-invasive, early detection liquid biopsy test that can screen for multiple types of cancer in asymptomatic patients at very early stages using DNA sequencing. Illumina is the only provider of DNA sequencing that is a viable option for these multi-cancer early detection, or MCED, tests in the United States.

The complaint alleges the proposed acquisition will diminish innovation in the U.S. market for MCED tests, which could be used to detect up to 50 types of cancer. Most of these types of cancer are not screened for at all today, and the MCED test could save millions of lives around the world. The trial began on Aug. 24, 2021. On May 20, 2021, the FTC authorized staff to dismiss its federal court complaint for Preliminary Injunction and Temporary Restraining Order.

In April 2023, the Commission issued an opinion and order reversing the Administrative Law Judge’s dismissal of the proceeding and requiring Illumina to divest Grail. In June 2023, Illumina petitioned the Fifth Circuit to review the Commission’s order and opinion, and the Fifth Circuit heard arguments in the case in September 2023.  

On December 15, 2023, the Fifth Circuit issued an opinion in the case finding that there was substantial evidence supporting the Commission’s ruling that the deal was anticompetitive. The Fifth Circuit vacated the Commission’s order and remanded it for further proceedings based on the standard the Commission applied when reviewing one aspect of Illumina’s rebuttal evidence. On December 17, 2023, Illumina then announced it would divest Grail.

Coulter Motor Company and Gregory DePaola, FTC and State of Arizona v.

The Federal Trade Commission and State of Arizona are taking action against Arizona-based Coulter Motor Company for engaging in a wide array of practices that harm consumers, from deceptive online vehicle pricing to charging Latino car buyers more in interest and add-on products. Coulter, along with its former general manager, Gregory Depaola, will pay $2.6 million to settle the lawsuit, most of which will go to provide refunds to consumers harmed by defendants’ allegedly unlawful actions.

Concurring and Dissenting Statement of Commissioner Andrew N. Ferguson in the Matter of Coulter Motor Company, LLC

File Concurring and Dissenting Statement of Commissioner Andrew N. Ferguson in the Matter of Coulter Motor Company, LLC (260.58 KB)

Dr. Scott Shell, DVM, In the Matter of

Elanor martin and oscar ceballos, in the matter of, kroger company/albertsons companies, inc., in the matter of.

The Federal Trade Commission sued to block the largest proposed supermarket merger in U.S. history—Kroger Company’s $24.6 billion acquisition of the Albertsons Companies, Inc.—alleging that the deal is anticompetitive.

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Zebersky Payne Shaw Lewenz is a boutique litigation and trial law firm that handles almost exclusively high-stakes litigation matters. Though its flagship office is in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Zebersky Payne Shaw Lewenz handles complex commercial litigation, class actions, consumer protection litigation, personal injury, and wrongful death matters across the United States and the world.

11 times Big Brands Violated Consumer Protection Laws

• May 2, 2018 September 21, 2022
• Jordan A. Shaw

With the recent Facebook fiasco, consumer protection and the safety of our personal information is yet again in the public spotlight.

Facebook is not the only big name brand out there who has dropped the ball on consumer’s safety in recent years.

Many brands we know, and trust, have made costly mistakes in regards to keeping their consumers safe. It just does not always hit your newsfeed.

The other problem is, most people are not even sure about what consumer protection means.

It can be fuzzy for most people at times.

That is why:  When trying to explain the scope of consumer protection laws to clients (and family members), I always find it best to use everyday examples.In this post, I will show you 11 times when brand names we all know (and trust), violated the Consumer Protection Act.

But, first…

What is consumer protection?

Consumer protection relates to a specific area of law that ensures the ethical and fair treatment of consumers of products and services in the US and promotes a competitive marketplace for the benefit of the consumer.In the US, modern consumer protection law started as early as the 19 th century, when public crises forced the government to respond by creating a body with jurisdiction to oversee products and services offered to the public.

Since then…

Consumer protection laws have evolved to cover topics like ethical marketing and advertising, identity and privacy protection, financial services regulation, deceitful business activities, anti-trust laws and more.

All of this falls under the jurisdiction of the Federal Trade Commission or FTC.

What is the FTC?

Founded by President Woodrow Wilson in 1914, the FTC, or Federal Trade Commission, is a government body created to protect consumers in the US from unethical or unfair treatment and deceptive business practices.

On their website, FTC.gov , the Federal Trade Commission says that it has three goals:

• To protect consumers by preventing fraud, deception and unfair business practices in the marketplace,
• To maintain competition by preventing anti-competitive business practices, and lastly;
• To advance individual and collective organizational performance .

To achieve its goals:

The Federal Trade Commission works closely with people from all sectors, from policy and lawmakers to businesses owners and the public and focuses on three main areas of activities:

1.Advisory Board

The FTC provides research and advice to key national and international governmental agencies to help guide and shape rules that help to maintain a safe and fair marketplace

2  Law Enforcement

The FTC acts as both an investigator and an enforcer. It collects complaints from the public, conducts follow-up investigations and, if necessary, files a lawsuit against the offending entity.

(examples coming up soon)

3. Education

The FTC provides educational workshops and materials for both the general public and business communities to promote a fair and ethical free Global market while educating people on current scams and fraudulent activities of which to remain aware.

11 Times Big Household Brands Violated Consumer Protection Laws

Every year the FTC can process well over a hundred Consumer Protection Act violation lawsuits.

(You can keep an eye on all of them on the FTC’s website .)

If you were to look though, you probably wouldn’t know most of the companies, so it would be harder to relate to for your daily life.

So, to make things easier:

I grabbed 11 consumer protection cases where big brands you know (and trust), violated the consumer protection act.

Let’s take a look…

AT & T’s Misleading Marketing

Ever wonder how “unlimited” phone plans mean that after watching a certain number of videos on YouTube that your internet would still slow down?

So did the FTC in 2014…

That is when:

They brought a formal complaint against AT & T for misleading customers by marketing “Unlimited” plans that…tended to have too many limitations.

(For the FTC, This falls under what is called the Marketing Practices Division)

The FTC’s complaint was that, while AT&T was promoting “Unlimited” plans…

Once consumers passed a certain level of data usage, their service would slow down – by up to 90%.

If that does not sound unlimited to you, it didn’t to the FTC either, who considered it deceitful advertising, and in direct violation of the Consumer’s Protection Act.

Although this case is still in the courts at the date of writing, AT&T is doing their best to try and dismiss this case.  However, no luck so far.

Reference: AT & T’s Case

Lenovo Risking All With a 3 rd Party Install

All computers come with “bloatware.”

Bloatware is a nickname used to describe pre-installed applications and programs on new computers. Probably named so because of their tendency to fill up (and slow down) what should be an empty machine. Maybe because of the discomfort they cause too.

Most bloatware is harmless…

…but, that was not the case with one such program, which Lenovo pre-installed on their computers.

VisualDiscovery, a popup ad delivery program, came as part of the package when buying a Lenovo computer.

Unbeknownst to Lenovo, this made them an accomplice in violating the Consumer Protection Act, but not because of the popup ad functionality. Although annoying, it is not technically in breach of consumer protection law (yet).

The issue was:

This 3 rd party program could access whatever sensitive information it wanted on the user’s system. This included their online logins, banking details, and in some cases, their social security number.

All in all, a serious breach of the Consumer Protection Act.

(This is an example of a case which would be handled by the Privacy and Identity Protection Division of the FTC)

To remedy the situation, the courts ordered Lenovo to conduct comprehensive software security audits on any pre-installed software to ensure consumers safety.

Plus, they had to get consumers express permission before activating any such software on their new computer.

Reference: Lenovo’s Case

Dish Network Keeps Calling

Telemarketing calls can be annoying.

When you have already put your name on the national Do Not Call registry and STILL get telemarketing calls, it can be infuriating.

That is what many people felt when Dish Network – in connection with their telemarketing partners – made millions, yes, millions, of robocalls to customers on the “Do Not Call” list.

(what are “robocalls”? We talk more about that in this article)

However, regardless of whether someone is on the registry, it is still in breach of the Consumer Protection Act when you use automatic dialing systems to call people with pre-recorded messages without their express written consent.

This rule is the basis of the Telephone Consumers Protection Act (TCPA), an area of Consumer Protection law.

In the end, a class action suit has held against Dish Network, who were forced to pay 341 million dollars for their violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.

Reference: Dish Network’s Case

DeVry’s Deception

Here’s another example of promising something to consumers that you cannot deliver.

For years, the popular university advertised promises around the idea that their students would find jobs within six months of graduating and would make better money than their peers.

DeVry claimed that as much as 90% of students would have a job within six months of graduating, and would earn up to 15% more than their peers.

A formal investigation from the FTC proved otherwise.

Although it was found to be true that most students did have a job after graduating,  many of the jobs were not in the alumni’s field of study.

They found business graduates working as servers in restaurants, and others working in car sales. DeVry also failed to acknowledge that a number of the students who had jobs six months after graduating already had those jobs before graduating .

DeVry’s promise was misleading.

It led consumers to believe that they had a high certainty of obtaining a job within their chosen field after studying with DeVry.

The court agreed that DeVry’s advertising was in direct violation of the Consumer Protection Act.

DeVry ended up paying a $100 Million settlement and had to refrain from such promises in any and all future public communications.

Reference: DeVry’s Case

  Amazon’s Child’s play

Back in the 90s and early 00’s (known as the naughty’s), every parent’s biggest fear was getting a surprise momentous phone bill because of their kid’s shenanigans.

It is still a parent’s fear. The only difference is that now it is the App and Play Stores that makes the hairs on the back of their neck stand on their ends.

The good thing is that thanks to the FTC’s hard work, it is not as easy as it used to be for kids to buy 10,000 tokens on Candy Crush or Plants vs. Zombies.

Up until recently…

Companies like Amazon had little in place to protect parents from paying for in-app purchases made by their, less financially astute, children.

This ended up costing parents millions of dollars in app purchases they did not approve.

To remedy the situation:

The FTC stepped in, stating that Amazon must change its in-app purchase processes to protect account holders from paying for purchases they did not willingly make.

Amazon has since instated a refund policy for these occurrences and put new security measures in place to stop children from making large purchases on their parents’ accounts.

As a side note, Apple went through this exact same issue in 2014 for in-app purchases made without a parent’s consent.

Reference: Amazon’s Case

Volkswagen’s Cheated Tests

You probably heard about this example in the news.

In their monumental lawsuit, Volkswagen had to pay more than 14 Billion dollars to fix problems they had caused by deceiving consumers.

What did they do?

Volkswagen cheated emissions tests, reporting that their cars were up to the standards they should have been…

…and they deceived customers about how “eco-friendly” their vehicles were in marketing communications.

These actions put them in violation of both the Environmental Protection Act and the Consumer protection act.

As Deputy Attorney General Sally Q. Yates succinctly described it:

“By duping the regulators, Volkswagen turned nearly half a million American drivers into unwitting accomplices in an unprecedented assault on our atmosphere,”

This is a perfect example of:

How consumer protection violations not only end in costly lawsuits and damages. They also have a ripple effect that changes the market’s view of a company for years to come.

Just like a personal relationship, a consumer’s trust is hard to win back once broken.

Reference: Volkswagen’s Case

Western Union Supports Scammers

If you have ever been scammed online…

…chanced are the transaction took place through a Western Union.

In fact, many overseas scammers rely heavily on the access to international transfers that Western Unions provides.

————–

For example:

Nigerian 419 scams, otherwise known as “advance fee” scams.  These (now famous) scams are when a scammer finds a way to manipulate an individual to send them money.

This type of scam usually uses a story that creates an emotional connection with the person to build trust which then leads to favors or asking for help…

Alternatively it involves promises of large sums of money, in exchange for a small fee.

(How many Nigerian Princes have emailed you in the last 12 months?)

There are other countries from where these types of scams originate, but as over 51% of these types of scams originate from Nigeria, these scams are referred to as Nigerian scams.

The criminal code for this kind of scam is 419, explaining the number.

———–

Because so many of such scams successfully used Western Union’s services to complete their transactions, the FTC filed a suit against Western Union in 2014, issuing a 586 Million dollar fine to the company to reimburse those affected between January 2014 and 2017.

If you were affected by a scam operated through Western Union during that period, you can still (as of the time of this writing) apply for a claim in the case. See the reference below.

Reference: Western Union’s Case

Uber’s Two Strikes

Uber is often criticized for its disruptive business model and actions.

But, they crossed the Consumer Protection line with, not one, but two separate accounts of violating the consumer protection act.

The first time was back in 2017.

This is when Uber was caught making hyperbolic promises about how much new Uber drivers could make, explicitly quoting high earnings for both New York and California drivers.

When the FTC conducted their independent research, they found average yearly earnings up to $30,000 lower than claimed by Uber.

This deceitful advertising cost Uber 20 Million dollars in settlements.

The other instant was more recent when it became known that Uber employees were able to access and misuse personal data obtained from ride-sharing contractors.

Although still under investigation…

…it is apparent that an Uber employee’s access key was used to make over 100,000 Uber driver’s bank account details and social security details public.

The severity of this breach is still yet to be seen because such a thing can have lifelong repercussions for the drivers ( a social security number is with you for life)

The case continues…

Reference: Uber’s Case 1 , Uber’s Case 2

7 – Eleven Eats Competition

Consumer protection does not always have to be about deceit or unethical behavior.

It also involves protecting consumers through promoting competition.

When companies have competition, it motivates them to offer the best possible deal to consumers, to “beat” their competitors.

That is why you see many brands trying their hardest to improve quality or lower prices.

In fact, there is a point in Apple’s history where Bill Gates bailed Steve Jobs out of potential bankruptcy precisely for this reason.

Without competition, a business has fewer incentives to lower prices or strive to make better quality products for its customers.

This is why:

When 7 – Eleven announced that it was buying 1,000+ of its competitor’s stores, the FTC took notice.

By doing so, they radically reduced competition within multiple geographical marketplaces, which would lower incentives for them to provide their customers the best prices.

(This falls under the protection subcategory known as anti-trust laws)

In this case, 7-Eleven’s parent company had to agree upon restructuring its deal to maintain a fair level competition in the marketplace.

Reference: 7-Eleven’s Case

Herbalife Pays For the Wrong Reasons

If you have ever been to a seminar hosted by a Multi-level marketing company, you know how many grandiose stories of a person joining and just a few months later being able to quit their job and buy a mansion, you will hear at those events.

The problem is, this is often misleading for new “recruits” who sign up thinking the company will solve all their life’s problems.

When Herbalife, a major international Multi-Level Marketing brand with over 4 Billion dollars in revenues, actively promised new registrants that they would have the opportunity to quit their jobs, make career level incomes and potentially become rich in the process…

A Consumer Protection investigation followed, which proved their claims to be false.

In reality, less than half of all Herbalife salespeople made less than $300 in a single reporting period.

The other problem that surfaced was their benefits structure. As it turned out, Herbalife incentivized the recruiting of new people more than the purchasing of useful goods.

This incentive structure is the basic principle of a pyramid scheme, which is illegal.

All these findings led to a $200 million dollar lawsuit and a court order to restructure their business model and payment structures.

Reference: Herbalife’s Case

Lending Club’s Hidden Fees

Nobody likes hidden fees . Especially the Consumer Protection Act.

The Lending Club is a popular peer-to-peer lending platform that connects those they call investors, interested in lending money at an interest rate, with borrowers.

This peer-to-peer lending platform promoted its services as free of “hidden fees” or surprises, but this was not true.

Investigations found that the Lending Club issued hidden charges that ended up costing their customers hundreds, or even thousands, of dollars more than they thought they would have to pay.

Furthermore:

Many potential borrower clients received congratulatory emails insinuating they had passed all criteria to obtain a loan, before Lending Club’s final credit history checks, which could often result in a final rejection for the loan.

In early 2018, Lending Club was sued for deceitful marketing activities and unlawful hidden fees.

Want to know how to avoid hidden fees? Read this post.

What did you think?

In my opinion, these examples are a reminder that we, the consumers, can’t just rely on companies to do the right thing. It’s our duty to stay vigilant and keep our eyes out for unethical behavior in the marketplace. Every one of us can help to keep big corporations honest.

If you have experienced a violation of the Consumers Protection Act, leave a comment below.

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The Top 10 Consumer Court cases and Trails in India – Complete List

Buying goods and services is an inevitable part of our daily lives and problems might occur from the vendors who deliver these goods and services. Below are the top 10 consumer court cases curated for the readers:

Top 10 Consumer Court Cases and Trials in India

1. Dipika Pallikal , a squash champion, and an Arjuna awardee found used her Axis Bank Debit Card in a hotel at Netherlands’ Rotterdam which failed. She had 10 times the bill amount in her account at that time. The bank said the incident was a case of ‘Force Majeure’ (an act of God/ something beyond the control) and returned a cheque of ₹1 lakh issued to her by the government of. Dipika approached the consumer court in Chennai against Axis Bank

Court judgment:

The court found that there was a deficiency of service on the part of the Axis Bank and directed the bank to pay a compensation of ₹5 lakh and ₹5000 as expenses.

2. Poonam Verma v Ashwin Patel & Ors: In this case, the respondent who is a homeopathic doctor, prescribed allopathic medicines for the treatment of a patient who did not respond to the medicine well and subsequently died. Based on the fact that the respondent was qualified and registered to practice under Homeopathy only,

It was found to be in violation of the statutory duty not to practice Allopathy under section 15(3) of the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956. Respondent’s act was held to be actionable negligence was ordered to pay a compensation of three lakhs.

3. A tea vendor, Rajesh Sakre , is an example of this who had ₹20,000 in his State Bank of India account and he withdrew ₹10,800. On his next visit to the ATM, he realized all his money was gone. When he asked the bank authorities they blamed it on him for the fault.

So, he went to the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum with his grievance and as he couldn’t afford a lawyer he argued the case himself.

Court Judgement:

The forum ruled in his favor and ordered the State Bank of India to return the ₹9,200 with 6% interest also to pay ₹10,000 as compensation for mental anguish and ₹2,000 for the legal expenses.

4. Baglekar Akash Kumar who was a 19-year-old got a book online and when it was delivered, he noticed that there was no MRP printed on it. He browsed the internet and saw that the book was sold at different prices at different places after which he went to the consumer forum and filed a case against Penguin Books India Pvt. Ltd and the paper company.

The court held non-publishing MRP on the product without a valid reason is ‘unfair trade practice’. MRP ensures that a consumer is not overcharged for the product. So, it is mandatory for companies to print MRP and the publishers were asked to print the retail price on the book Akash was awarded ₹10,000 as compensation and ₹2,500 as costs.

In any consumer court case, the bills and similar legal paperwork are the most powerful and useful weapons for lawsuits. This is why it’s important that you keep hold of the bills carefully. For this you can ask for our agents’ help who are experts in preparing, managing, and overtaking legal paperwork. At DailyFiling, we have consultants who are experienced with all sorts of lawsuits like income tax consultants , GST consultants , company registration agents, and more.

5. Mr. Kondaiah from Andhra Pradesh noticed that Sarvi Food Court charged him ₹40 for a water bottle where the MRP was actually ₹20. He filed his case against them in the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum for ‘unfair trade practice’. He supported his claim by producing the bill of the bottle.

The court decided in favor of Mr. Kondaiah and said that the practice is unjustified and Mr. Kondaiah was paid a compensation of ₹20,000, ₹20, and ₹5,000 for the costs.

6. Rajesh Rajan from Ahmedabad bought a Pepsi from a local store and found a gutka floating in it. He sent a legal notice to the Pepsi company immediately and approached a Consumer Dispute Redressal Forum and demanded compensation of ₹5 lakh for the same.

Court Decision

The consumer forum passed an order in favor of Rajesh Rajan and directed the company to pay a total of ₹4008 which on being low was later paid ₹20,000 as compensation and ₹2000 towards costs.

7. In the year 2015, K Chaathu complained against Indulekha (beauty product manufacturers) and Mammootty (an actor who was the brand ambassador of the company) for displaying misleading ads. The ads claimed that people using the soap will become ‘fair’ and ‘beautiful but the 67-year-old didn’t become fair or beautiful.

Indulekha paid Chaathu ₹30,000 in an out-of-the-court settlement while the initial claim of Chaathu was ₹50,000.

8. A person bought a house after researching and pooling hard-earned money and paid to the developer who promised to deliver within 42 months but even after 4 years the construction wasn’t started. So the two people decided to move the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) for it.

The real estate developer was asked to refund the money with a simple interest of 9% per annum. They were awarded a compensation of ₹50,000 each.

You might also read “ How to have a mutual divorce in India ?”

9. 10 iPhone 5S Gold for ₹68 + ₹10,000 LIn 2014, Nikhil Bansal (a student) saw this unbelievable offer on the Snapdeal on iPhone which was quoted for Rs68000 (a discount of ₹46,651) and ordered it immediately. Upon receiving an order confirmation later the order was canceled stating it to be a technical glitch.

The court ruled in his favor and asked Snapdeal to deliver him the iPhone for ₹68 and asked to pay a compensation of ₹2,000 and when Snapdeal appealed this order, the compensation got raised to ₹10,000.

10. Om Prakash’s truck was stolen , and he filed a claim for compensation. The truck was taken on March 23, 2010, the police report was submitted on March 24, 2010, and the insurance claim was filed on March 31, 2010.

The insurance investigator was dispatched to verify the authenticity. The claim for Rs. 7,85,000/- was approved, however the money was never provided to Om Prakash. When he inquired about it, the insurance company responded that there had been a breach of terms and conditions:

“immediate notification of the vehicle’s loss or theft to the insurer”

While the consumer courts rejected his claim, the Supreme Court ruled in his favour. It was decided that insurance companies cannot avoid paying claimants if they have a valid justification for doing so, and the company was ordered to pay the Appellant a payment of Rs. 8,35,000/- plus interest at 8% per annum, as well as a compensation of Rs. 50,000.

These were a few cases to educate us to get rid away of the hesitation of approaching the court for a wrongful act and avail for our right as informed consumers.

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Supreme Court Upholds Consumer Rights: Federal Government Liable For FCRA Violations

The Supreme Court affirmed consumers’ right to pursue legal action against entities, including the ... [+] federal government, that negligently or willfully neglect to address consumer complaints under the FCRA.

A recent Supreme Court ruling in Department of Agriculture Rural Development Rural Housing Service v. Kirtz , No. 22-846 , rebuffed the federal government’s effort to sidestep a lawsuit arising from inaccurate debt reporting, adversely affecting a Pennsylvania man’s credit. This decision paves the way for potential litigation against the federal government in connection with the Fair Credit Reporting Act .

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Housing Service (USDA RHS) provides loans to help build or improve housing and community facilities in rural areas. Reginal Kirtz took out a loan from the USDA RHS. Despite repaying the loan in full, the USDA RHS erroneously reported Kirtz’s loan status as delinquent.

Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), as amended by the Consumer Credit Reporting Reform Act of 1996, consumers retain the right to pursue legal action against lenders who knowingly or negligently furnish false information to credit reporting entities. Kirtz invoked the FCRA to sue the government for non-compliance with the law.

The government initially claimed immunity from Kirtz’s lawsuit, asserting that the FCRA applies to private entities but not the federal government. While a federal judge initially concurred, the Third Circuit overturned this ruling.

The central issue before the Supreme Court was whether the federal government, acting as a lender, could be subject to lawsuits for disseminating inaccurate information in violation of the FCRA or if it could invoke sovereign immunity.

The FCRA regulates the gathering, disclosure, and utilization of consumer credit data. It applies to various consumer reporting agencies, encompassing credit bureaus, medical information firms, and tenant screening services.

The FCRA safeguards the accuracy and confidentiality of data collected by consumer reporting agencies , stipulating permissible reasons for accessing consumer reports and limiting access to such information. Entities providing information to consumer reporting agencies, known as data furnishers, bear legal responsibilities, including ensuring data accuracy and promptly investigating disputed information.

Sovereign immunity is a legal doctrine that shields a sovereign state, such as the United States government, from being sued without its consent. Sovereign immunity generally protects the government from legal claims seeking damages unless Congress explicitly waives that immunity.

Justice Neil Gorsuch delivered the Court’s opinion and largely upheld the Third Circuit’s decision, emphasizing the FCRA’s unequivocal waiver of sovereign immunity. The opinion noted that while initially focused on consumer reporting agencies and individuals requesting credit information, the FCRA’s definition of “person” broadly includes partnerships, corporations, cooperatives, associations, and governmental entities. The enactment was further broadened in 1996 with provisions targeting entities supplying information to consumer reporting agencies. These provisions mandate that entities correcting inaccuracies in credit reports must promptly investigate and rectify errors.

Gorsuch noted that the federal government is among the largest furnishers of credit information to consumer reporting agencies. The Court’s examination of the statute affirmed consumers’ right to pursue legal action against entities, including the federal government, that negligently or willfully neglect to address consumer complaints under the FCRA.

The Supreme Court’s ruling on the FCRA litigation against the federal government marks a significant milestone in consumer protection and legal accountability. Consumers now have a clear avenue to hold federal agencies accountable for FCRA violations, empowering individuals to seek remedies when their credit reports are inaccurately affected. Federal agencies, including the USDA, must comply with the FCRA’s provisions. They cannot seek sovereign immunity and can be subject to lawsuits if they willfully or negligently supply false information about consumers to credit bureaus.

The Kirtz case reminds all data furnishers to remain vigilant in navigating the evolving landscape of credit reporting regulations and reinforces the principles of accuracy, transparency, and accountability upheld by the FCRA.

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2023 Supreme Court Cases Preview

What's at Stake for Older Adults

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Looking Ahead: Consumer

The Court is likely to continue to evaluate consumers’ right to have their day in court in the coming year. In the decade since the Supreme Court decided AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion , 563 U.S. 333 (2011) , clauses requiring mandatory pre-dispute arbitration and prohibiting class actions have proliferated. In Concepcion , the Court held that the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) preempted a California law under which class-action bans in arbitration clauses were deemed to violate state public policy and, thus, were unenforceable . Id. at 343. As of 2018, at least half of U.S. households and 25 million employees were subject to mandatory arbitration clauses prohibiting class actions.

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The importance of arbitration clauses in civil litigation, thus, continues undiminished, and two cert petitions pending before the Court provide further opportunities for the Court to clarify the reach of arbitration. Both cases, Viking River Cruises, Inc. v. Moriana (No. 20-1573) , and HRB Tax Group v. Snarr (No. 20-1570) , challenge judicial decisions holding that California laws authorizing plaintiffs to proceed in representative capacities are not preempted by the FAA.

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In Moriana , a plaintiff whose employment contract required her to waive her right to bring a private attorney general action sued her employer under California’s Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) for allegedly violating California labor law. Moriana v. Viking River Cruises, Inc ., No. B297327, 2020 WL 5584508, at *1 (Cal. Ct. App. Sept. 18, 2020) . Under PAGA, a plaintiff can seek damages against her employer on behalf of herself and other employees if the State declines to intervene in the case. Petition for Writ of Certiorari, at 8, Moriana (20-1573). Those employees receive a quarter of any monetary recovery, with the remaining three-quarters going to the State. Id. at 9. The California Supreme Court has held that Concepcion does not require arbitration of a PAGA claim because such claims represent a dispute between an employer and the State, whereas the aim of the FAA is to ensure efficient resolution of disputes over a litigant’s private rights. Iskanian v. CLS Transportation Los Angeles, LLC , 59 Cal. 4th 348, 384 (Cal. 2014) . (The Ninth Circuit has also rejected a challenge to Iskanian , though on the grounds that PAGA actions do not raise the same efficiency concerns as class actions.) The Viking Cruises cert. petition argues that Iskanian is nearly identical to Concepcion , in that both involved the State declining to enforce an arbitration agreement pursuant to an important public interest and asks the Supreme Court to overrule Iskanian . Petition for Writ of Certiorari, at 2-3, Moriana (20-1573).

The second case, HRB Tax Group v. Snarr , involves a California rule governing “public injunctions,” which are defined as injunctions that have “‘the primary purpose and effect of’ prohibiting unlawful acts that threaten future injury to the general public.’” Snarr v. HRB Tax Group, Inc. , 839 Fed.Appx. 53, 54 (9th Cir. 2020) (quoting McGill v. Citibank, N.A. , 393 P.3d 85, 90 (Cal. 2017)). California case law makes unenforceable a contract that waives the right to seek public injunctive relief in all forums. Snarr , 389 Fed. Appx. at 54. In Snarr , the plaintiff sought a public injunction against HRB, claiming the tax preparation company misleadingly steered tax filers away from a free service and toward a paid one, in violation of California consumer protection laws. Id. at 55. The plaintiff’s arbitration agreement with HRB forbids public injunctions and so is unenforceable under California law, and the Ninth Circuit refused to compel arbitration of the plaintiff’s claim. Id. at 54

In so doing, the court relied on Blair v. Rent-A-Center, Inc. , 928 F.3d 819 (9th Cir. 2019) , a prior circuit case holding that the FAA does not preempt the public-injunction rule. Blair rests on the premises that, unlike the ban on class-action waivers at issue in Concepcion , the public-injunction rule does not single out arbitration and does not undermine the purported efficiency and informality of bilateral arbitration, given that a plaintiff can seek a public injunction in a bilateral arbitration without resort to class-certification procedures. Id .  at 827-29

In its petition seeking review of Snarr , HRB rejects these arguments, contending that the rule’s focus on the general public and the higher stakes and complexity at issue undermine the traditional benefits of bilateral arbitration. Petition for Writ of Certiorari, at 16-17, Snarr (No. 20-1573). HRB also argues that, in practice, the public-injunction rule allows plaintiffs to avoid arbitration by seeking public injunctions. Id. at 5. In opposing Supreme Court review, Snarr distinguishes substantively complex claims (like those for a public injunctions) from the procedural complexity at the heart of the Court’s arbitration jurisprudence and notes that the evasion HRB raises can occur only in the particular cases of arbitration provisions drafted as HRB’s is. Respondent’s Brief in Opposition, at 26-27, Snarr (No. 20-1573). Snarr additionally argues that, under Supreme Court precedent, the “FAA does not require enforcement of arbitration provisions that expressly waive statutory claims and remedies,” as HRB’s contract does, and that the public-injunction rule applies equally to all contracts, whether or not they contain arbitration clauses. Id. at 5-6.

If the Supreme Court takes up Viking Cruises or Snarr , we will learn how far the Court is willing to extend its arbitration jurisprudence. Any decisions will have important consequences for consumer litigation in California and other states authorizing private-attorney-general suits and public injunctions.

Ali Naini [email protected]

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Consumer protection cases headline Supreme Court cases in 2021

4 years ago by Joe Veenstra, Consumer Rights Attorney

Supreme Court poised to make some decisions on consumer protection issues

The year before us looks interesting when it comes to several consumer protection matters such as FTC penalties, automatic telephone dialing systems, COVID-19-related class-action lawsuits and other consumer protection issues. Let's take a closer look at the consumer protection-related trends and cases we're keeping an eye on in 2021. 

Consumer protection issues at the forefront in 2021

Covid-19 and the possibility of class-action lawsuits.

From masks to hand sanitizer and other PPE meant to stem the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, consumer goods and services have gone under the microscope. We're watching for a potential spike in complaints and allegations about these items and potential class-action lawsuits. 

This comes in the wake of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration easing regulation regarding PPE and related products during the pandemic. As manufacturers attempt to rise to the top, claims of these products' effectiveness could prompt legal action if they don't perform as promised, don't protect consumers as advertised or, in some cases, actually lead to consumer harm. 

We're keeping our eyes on several cases, including Archer et al. v. Carnival Corp. et al., as well as Juishan Hsu et al. v. Princess Cruise Lines Ltd., suits that aim to hold luxury cruise providers accountable for passenger exposure to COVID-19 and resulting harm.

Monetary FTC penalties considered by the Supreme Court

Under Section 13(b) of the Federal Trade Commission Act, the FTC can seek the return of what are known as ill-gotten funds through disgorgement. At issue is whether payday loan companies engaged in predatory practices in the case of AMG Capital Management LLC et al. v. FTC. Critics say Section 13(b) is too expansive, leading companies to settle instead of paying steep penalties. If the FTC should lose the case, they could be significantly limited in their efforts to seek monetary remedies via Section 13(b) as an enforcement tool. 

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act

Another case before the Supreme Court in 2021 could impact protections under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), which restricts automated telephone dialing systems. In the case of Facebook v. Duguid, Supreme Court justices are considering whether equipment that dials consumer telephone numbers from a preexisting list is legal under the act. If Facebook comes out on top, the number of cases considered under the TCPA would be reduced by the newly-limited scope of protections. 

Harm standard for class actions under consideration

The Supreme Court is examining a class action suit that could narrow the scope of consumer classes that can sue for damages. The suit, TransUnion LLC v. Sergio L. Ramirez, dating back to 2012, stems from a claim against TransUnion, a credit reporting agency. Class representative Sergio L. Ramirez claimed TransUnion told lenders he may have matched entries in the national database of criminals and terrorists, and as a result, he was not able to purchase a car. TransUnion maintains there is no proof other class members were injured as Ramirez was, and there is no proof a third party ever saw the inaccurate credit reports on them. 

Automatic renewal laws

Automatic renewal laws are also in the spotlight in 2021; these regulations control subscription renewal terms to eliminate unwanted charges. New York state is considering a strict ARL, following California's enactment of similar regulations ten years ago. The change would require affirmative consent from a customer before an automatic renewal is in place for products such as recurring shipments of goods, printed publications and weight loss programs. If New York does enact the regulation, other states may follow suit. 

2021: The year in consumer law and trends

In short, 2021 is poised to be an interesting year for consumer laws and trends. The legal implications of the decisions related to these issues can impact the lives of many consumers, regardless of whether they find themselves involved in individual or class action lawsuits of their own. It's worthwhile to stay informed to know where your rights as a consumer begin and end and when it's time to pursue justice with a trusted attorney for consumer issues you encounter. 

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Consumer Rights: An Assessment of Justice

• Published: 28 March 2012
• Volume 112 , pages 515–528, ( 2013 )

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• Gretchen Larsen 1 &
• Rob Lawson 2  

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For the last 50 years the idea of consumer rights has formed an essential element in the formulation of policy to guide the workings of the marketplace. The extent and coverage of these rights has evolved and changed over time, yet there has been no comprehensive analysis as to the purpose and scope of consumer rights. In moral and ethical philosophy, rights are integrally linked to the notion of justice. By reassessing consumer rights through a justice-based framework, a number of key issues emerge regarding the way in which markets enable justice for consumers. The consumer rights which underpin the United Nations consumer protection guidelines address all forms of justice to some degree, but the predominant focus is on procedural justice. Our conclusions question whether this is sufficient and also whether there is a case to develop the notion of consumer ‘duties’ that complement the idea of rights.

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Larsen, G., Lawson, R. Consumer Rights: An Assessment of Justice. J Bus Ethics 112 , 515–528 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-012-1275-9

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Celebrating 20 Years of IP Excellence

Latest Consumer Protection Cases in 2021 – Part 1

The bombay dyeing and … vs ashok narang and anr.

In this case, the Appellant, The Bombay Dyeing and Manufacturing Company Ltd was the builder-promoter whereas Mr. Ashok Narang and others were the allotees/buyers of the flats. It was agreed by the Parties that the possession would be delivered by 2017 at a 20:80 scheme consideration (20% initially and 80% at the time of delivery), in which the Respondents had already made payment of 20% in 2012-13 inclusive of tax and premium. The appellants failed to deliver the flats for possession on the stipulated time and extended it by 2 years. Thus, the Respondents filed a complaint u/s 31 of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 (“2016 Act”) before the Authority citing breach u/s 12 read with S. 18 of the 2016 Act seeking cancellation of the allotment and also a refund of the amount they had paid. The Authority did not pass any order regarding the refund stating that S. 12 did not apply retrospectively, and also that the cancellation should be done as per the allotment agreement. Further when appealed before the Appellate authority, it found that S. 12 of the 2016 Act had a retroactive operation and directed the respondent to refund with due interest and also ordered cancellation of the allotments. Consequently, the Appellants approached the Bombay High Court wherein the Appellant-counsel submitted that the provisions of the 2016 Act were prospective in operation and that the written agreement for sale was also absent due to which no liabilities could be imposed upon it as u/s 18. To this, the Respondent-counsel contended that the application of the 2016 Act to an ongoing project itself indicated that the provisions were quasi-retroactive in nature. Also, regarding the absence of a written agreement, it was argued that the Appellant could not be permitted to raise a new contention for the first time in the second appeal, thus it had waived the right to raise any such claims and that could not be allowed to approbate and then reprobate later on. The Court pointed out that no one should be made to wait indefinitely for delivery of possession and thereby held that there was a deficiency of service and disposed of the appeals with no order as to costs.

Citation : The Bombay Dyeing and … vs Ashok Narang and Anr., Decided by Bombay High Court on 30th August, 2021, available at : The Bombay Dyeing and … vs Ashok Narang and Anr , visited on 9th September 2021.

PUNIT JAIN VS M/S. IREO GRACE REALTECH PVT. LTD.

Mr. Punit Jain, the Complainant, filed a consumer complaint against Ireo Grace Realtech Pvt. Ltd. for making him sign a one-sided agreement concerning the sale of a 1483.28 sq. ft. apartment at 9200/ – per sq. ft. instead of the previously agreed rate of 8750/ – per sq. ft on 16.03.2013. The company also agreed to make the apartment available to the Complainant within 42 months of execution of the agreement 03.04.2014. The Agreement also mentioned a 180 days’ grace period. The Complainant made full payment of the agreed amount of 1,55,17,716/ – Rupees before filing the present complaint against the builder when it failed to complete the construction within the stipulated time period. The Counsel for the builder contended that the Complainant would not be considered as a ‘Consumer’ under Section 2(1)(d) of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 as he had bought the apartment for a commercial purpose and had also made a similar booking in another project by the builder. It was also argued that there was an arbitration clause in the agreement signed by the complainant. The builder’s counsel further contended that the Complainant was bound by the terms of the agreement on the Basic Sale Price. The Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum held that the present agreement was a one-sided agreement and was an unfair contract. It was stated that the Developer could not compel the apartment buyers to be bound by the one-sided contractual terms contained in the Buyer’s Agreement. The court also directed the builder to pay interest @ 9% S.I. per annum from 27.11.2018 till the date of payment of the entire amount. The court also directed interest @ 12% S.I. p.a. should be paid in case of a default.

Citation: Punit Jain vs M/S. Ireo Grace Realtech Pvt. Ltd., Decided by The Consumer Disputes Redressal on 31st August, 2021, available at: Punit Jain vs M/S. Ireo Grace Realtech Pvt. Ltd. , visited on 9th September, 2021.

KHATEMA FIBRES LTD. V. NEW INDIA ASSURANCE COMPANY LTD.

The Appellant, Khatema Fibres Ltd., took out a “Standard Fire and Social Perils” insurance policy from Respondent-Insurance Company New Assurance Co. Ltd. for a sum of approx. 42 crores from 7/5/2007 to 6/5/2008, but a fire broke out on its factory premises on 15/11/2007. The firm, M/s Adarsh Associates, appointed by the Respondent ascertained the value of loss as approx. 2 crores upon their investigation. The Appellants felt the assessment of was loss was approx. 13 crores, but the Insurance Company stated that it could give a maximum claim only up to the amount quoted by the firm. The Appellant filed a consumer complaint under Section 21 (a)(i) of the CPA, 1986 before the NCDRC seeking various types of compensation from the insurance company, for loss caused due to fire, financial stress, legal fees, and so on. The Commission allowed payment to the Appellant for 2 crores, which was original amount assessed by Respondents. The present case was an appeal under Section 23, where the Appellant contended that the net weight of the damaged material was not correct. The Respondents made the counter-argument that the surveyor was an expert at his field and did the assessment in a scientific manner. The Supreme Court observed that there were many discrepancies found by the surveyor with respect to documents submitted, wherein one document showed a certain amount of waste paper stock, and the other showed a huge increase in the stock. The Court agreed with the National Commission’s finding that the Appellant was not able to establish deficiency in service under Section 2(1)(g). Thus, the Court upheld the previous judgement because there was no arbitrariness or unjustness exercised by the Commission in granting claim to the extent of 2 crores.

Citation: Khatema Fibres Ltd. vs New India Assurance Company Ltd. & Anr. , Decided by The Supreme Court on 28th September, 2021, available at:  Khatema Fibres Ltd. v. New India Assurance Co. Ltd. (2021) /, last visited on 4th October, 2021.

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Cheated as a Consumer? 8 Important Consumer Court Judgements You Should Know About

From Supriyo Ranjan Mahapatra's complaint against Amazon for a cancelled order to Dinesh Prasad Raturi's legal action against Bata India for bag charges, here are 8 cases that highlight the importance of consumer rights and awareness. #WorldConsumerRightsDay

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What is Self-Esteem and Why Does It Matter?

Self-esteem is simply how much you value yourself. It’s about believing you’re worthy and capable. When you have high self-esteem, you feel confident, take on challenges, and accept yourself, flaws and all. On the other hand, low self-esteem means doubting yourself, needing constant approval from others, and often feeling not good enough.

Why does it matter? Because self-esteem affects everything—from your mental health to your relationships. People with healthy self-esteem are generally happier, handle stress better, and build stronger, more positive relationships. In short, self-esteem is the foundation for a positive, fulfilling life.

All snakes/lizards on earth (both male and female) have pairs of reproductive organs.

Snakes do not have arms/legs/backbone, so unlike humans and other animals, it is not possible for them to mate with the same male organ and the same female organ as they cannot mate face-to-face or front-to-back. The two pairs of copulatory organs are contained in the cloaca located at the bottom of the male and female body in the left and right jaws in the lower front cave but the organs of each are independent of each other. When the left organ of the female is active for mating, the right organ of the male becomes useful and when the right organ of the female is active for mating, the left organ of the male becomes useful. After all, the choice always lies with the female. Both male/female genitals are never used at the same time or alternatively.

Male snakes can use both their sexual organs at different times. In case of females, the activity is a little different. In March or April, or whenever the breeding season begins, the first female snake becomes active and secretes fluids from a unilateral vagina to lure the male snake for mating. A nearby male can chase and capture a female with the help of his tongue and Jacobson’s organ. Sometimes more than one male fights together and the winner gets the female. For copulation, both male and female have to wrap themselves around each other so that the left or right side is internally stimulated by touch or light friction, and the genitals of both – her right genital if the female’s body is on the left, and the right genital if the male’s body is on the right – get stimulated, elongate and emerge from the cave, in which case about 25 to 30 percent of the tail of both bodies is raised above the lower surface and rotated 180 degrees in the sky. The sexual organs of both characters, which were previously dormant inside in a “V” shape, become more excited as they emerge and bend to face each other, becoming suitable for mating. The male’s penis, which is hook-shaped and barbed, maintains a strong grip after entering the female organ. During this mating, no one has to make unnecessary movements, and after ejaculation, both separate and easily make their way. They do not even look at each other. After some time, when the female is ready for another mating, her right genital will be used to mate with the new or old male, and the male’s left genital will be used. In short, the choice is made by the female from the very beginning, and the female decides from the very beginning which side of the male snake’s body – left or right – the female snake will wrap around. All snakes/lizards on earth (both male and female) have pairs of reproductive organs.

Male snakes can use both their sexual organs at different times. In case of females, the activity is a little different. In March or April, or whenever the breeding season begins, the first female snake becomes active and secretes fluids from a unilateral vagina to lure the male snake for mating. A nearby male can chase and capture a female with the help of his tongue and Jacobson’s organ. Sometimes more than one male fights together and the winner gets the female. For copulation, both male and female have to wrap themselves around each other so that the left or right side is internally stimulated by touch or light friction, and the genitals of both – her right genital if the female’s body is on the left, and the right genital if the male’s body is on the right – get stimulated, elongate and emerge from the cave, in which case about 25 to 30 percent of the tail of both bodies is raised above the lower surface and rotated 180 degrees in the sky. The sexual organs of both characters, which were previously dormant inside in a “V” shape, become more excited as they emerge and bend to face each other, becoming suitable for mating. The male’s penis, which is hook-shaped and barbed, maintains a strong grip after entering the female organ. During this mating, no one has to make unnecessary movements, and after ejaculation, both separate and easily make their way. They do not even look at each other. After some time, when the female is ready for another mating, her right genital will be used to mate with the new or old male, and the male’s left genital will be used. In short, the choice is made by the female from the very beginning, and the female decides from the very beginning which side of the male snake’s body – left or right – the female snake will wrap around.

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Top Ten cases on Consumer Disputes

This article is written by Deepanshi of JGLS. The article discusses ten cases of Consumer Disputes.

Introduction

Purchase or hire of good and services has become an inevitable part of our daily lives. This decision to effectuate such purchase or hire such service is essentially based on trust, failing which can cause, more often than not to the consumers, anything from a monetary loss to physical harm. Consumer Protection Act, 1986 (hereinafter referred to as CPA) aims to provide speedy relief to such breach of trust or negligence. A hierarchy of three tribunals has been set up for this purpose —

• The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum (DCDRF),
• The State Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission (SCDRC), and
• The National Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission (NCDRC) .

Over the years, these tribunals, along with the apex court, have developed a better understanding of the CPA, meanwhile making sure to strike a perfect balance between the demands of both sides.

Following are ten important cases that hold relevance in case of consumer disputes:

Corporate Bodies can be sued under CPA

Karnataka power transmission corporation v ashok iron works private limited.

The Supreme court, in this case, held that a corporate body is included in the meaning of ‘person’ in section 2(1)(m) of the CPA. It reiterated the position of Lord Watson in Dilworth v. Commissioner of Stamps that the word “includes” is generally used to enlarge the meaning of the word but can alternatively be used to say “mean and include”, in which case what follows is an exhaustive explanation. The interpretation depends on the text, context, and objective of the Act. It was held that the section never intended to exclude juristic persons from its purview and the definition is inclusive in nature.

It also reiterated its own position in Southern Petrochemical Industries that the word “supply” is not the same as “sale” and in the context of electricity, it would be a provision of service as under section 2 (1)(d)(ii) of the Act.

Professional services fall within the scope of the Act

Indian medical association v v.p. shantha and others.

In deciding this case of deficiency of medical service, the court held that the services rendered by a medical professional fall within the ambit of ‘services’ under the section 2(1)(o) of the Act. It rejected the contention that a medical practitioner, being a professional and falling under the scope of Indian Medical Council Act, stands excluded from the CPA.

Moreover, it held that provision of a token fee (for the hospital administrative purposes) would not include an otherwise free service within the ambit of the definition of services. Also, the cost of the services paid by the employer or the insurance company would be deemed similar to paying for the service by the consumer itself.

Services have to be rendered with due care and in accordance with the Law

Arvind shah (dr.) v kamlaben kushwaha.

In this case, the complainant alleged that his son died due to the administration of a wrong treatment by the doctor. The State Commission upholding negligence provided a compensation of five lakh rupees.

In appeal, the National Commission observed that the two prescriptions that were available on record neither contained any description of the symptoms that the patient was experiencing nor did it have any preliminary vital information that a doctor is mandated to check, as per the guidelines and regulation of the Medical Council of India or the concerned State Medical Council, like body temperature, blood pressure, pulse rate, prior medical history et cetera. If further tests were required for the diagnosis, such was also mandated to be mentioned. The commission, following the case of Samira Kohli v Dr Prabha Manchanda [I (2008) CPJ 56 (SC)], held that failure to put such essentials in the prescription amounted to medical negligence. The Commission also noted that availability of such essentials, clinical observations and consent of the patient, point towards the care and diligence of the doctor and act as evidence against frivolous cases of medical negligence.

However, due to lack of available evidence that attributed the death of the patient directly to the negligence, the National Commission reduced the compensation to two and a half lakhs along with the interest thereon.

Poonam Verma v Ashwin Patel & Ors

In this case, the respondent, a homoeopathic doctor, prescribed allopathic medicines for the treatment of a patient who did not respond to the medicine and subsequently died. The Supreme Court held that the right to practice the allopathic system of medicine was restricted by the Central and State Acts which prohibit such practice unless the person possesses requisite qualification and is registered according to the Acts. Based on the fact that the respondent was qualified and registered to practice Homeopathy only, he was found to be in violation of the statutory duty not to practice Allopathy given under the section 15(3) of the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956. Respondent’s act was held to be actionable negligence and he was ordered to pay a compensation of three lakhs.

Educational institutions must refund extra fee paid

Sehgal school of competition v dalbir singh.

To seek admission in a medical coaching center, the petitioner, in this case, was made to deposit a lump sum fee for two years within the first six months. When the petitioner left the course midway on account of deficiency in the services, the coaching center refused to refund the remaining amount. The State Tribunal, following the view of the apex court and the National Commission, held that no educational institution shall collect lump sum fee for the duration of the entire course and if one does, such extra fee should be returned in case the student drops out due to deficiency. It noted that any clause in a contract contrary to this is invalid due to lack of equal bargaining power and contravention of the principles of natural justice.

The court was also of the opinion that additional compensation should be granted for the mental agony caused due to approaching the legal forum. However, since such was not asked in the petition, it could not be granted.

Sympathy should not influence compensation

Nizam institute of medical sciences v prasanth s. dhananka & ors ..

In this case, the complainant claimed for compensation due to alleged medical negligence before, during and after a medical procedure that led to a partial paralysis of the patient. The National Tribunal ruled medical negligence stating various lapses in all three phases mentioned including on the ground that consent of the patient was taken only for the examination of the tumor and not for its removal.

In the appeal, the Supreme Court confirmed the findings of the Commission and stated that the removal of the tumor was deferred through discussion on record and therefore an implied consent cannot be inferred.

The court recognised that a balance has to be struck between the inflated demands of the victim and the unreasonable claim of the opposition party that on compensation needs to be paid. It recognised that sympathy for the victim should not come in the way while deciding compensation but the court should not refuse to provide “adequate compensation”. In light of this and the peculiar facts of the case, it increased the sum of compensation to twenty-five lakhs each for the continuous medical expenses that need to be borne and the loss of employment that the petitioner had suffered. Additionally, compensation for the pain and suffering that the appellant had undergone amounting to ten lakhs, for the expenses of a driver-cum-attendant for thirty years amounting to seven lakhs and twenty thousand, for nursing care amounting of fourteen lakhs and forty thousand and physiotherapy expenses of thirty years amounting to ten lakhs and eighty thousand  along with interest of 6% was also granted.

Discovery rule for medical negligence

V.n.shrikhande vs anita sena fernandes.

The petitioner alleged negligence by a medical practitioner, claiming that he left a mass of gauge in her abdomen during a procedure to remove stones from the gallbladder. However, the petition was raised nine years after the procedure when the petitioner underwent a second operation, in another hospital, to remove the mass.

The Supreme Court recognized that in cases of medical negligence no straightforward formulae is present to determine when the cause of action has accrued. The court, following ‘Discovery Rule’ evolved by the courts in the United States, stated that in the case where the effect of the negligence is obvious, the cause of action is deemed to have arisen at the time of negligence. However, in case the effect of negligence is dormant, the cause of action arises when the patient figures out about the negligence with reasonable diligence. The court noted that the petitioner had been experiencing pain and discomfort since the time of the operation for which she continued to take painkillers for nine years without consulting the doctor. In the light of this and the fact that she herself was an experienced nurse who can reasonably be expected to possess more knowledge than a layman, the court set aside the Commission’s order and dismissed the complaint.

Both parents and minor can claim for compensation under Consumer Protection Act

Spring meadows hospital & anr v harjol ahluwalia.

This appeal was filed before the Supreme Court by a hospital defending the negligence of its nurses and a doctor which resulted in a minor being in a permanent vegetative state subsequent to a brain haemorrhage. The issues revolved around whether the parents of the child, not being the patient themselves, can ask for compensation for mental agony caused to them. The court held that the definition of services in the CPA is wide enough to include both the parents who pay for the services and the child who is the beneficiary of the services. The National Commission was found correct in its approach as it granted compensation to the child for the cost of equipments and recurring expenses that he would have to bear owing to his vegetative state, whereas the compensation provided to the parents was for the agony caused and the lifetime care that the parents would have to provide.

Imposition of penalty for frivolous consumer claims

Sapient corporation employees provident fund trust v hdfc & ors..

In a complaint against HDFC for debiting money without the permission of the holder, the National Commission noted that payment was done in compliances with the order of a statutory authority and only after giving the complainant due notice of the same. The Commission stated that there is a need to guard against the possibility of frivolous complaints from being filed due to the absence of any court fees. For this reason, holding that the complaint lacked seriousness and was filed without sufficient grounds, the Commission imposed a fine of twenty-five thousand on the complainant under section 26 of the Act.

Compensation to the complainants for frivolous appeals

Delhi development authority v d.c. sharma.

In the case of an accidental double allotment of a plot by the Delhi Development Authority, the State Commission refused to accept the defence that the plot had not been provided to the complainant only for his failure to pay the cost. It was found from the records that the plot had been allocated to another person. It, therefore, ordered the Delhi Development Authority to either provide another plot of the same description to the appellant under the same conditions or pay the escalated price of the plot.

The National Commission dismissed the revision petition for lack of infirmity in the State Commission’s judgment and ordered the payment of five lakhs for indulging in unfair trade practices and unduly harassing the respondent for more than eighteen years.

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Consumer rights: How Indian consumers made system accountable despite long court battles

Some consumers in India fought for as little as one rupee and won their case despite the wheels of justice in consumer courts grinding slowly. Other consumers continue to fight long-drawn court battles to make companies and the government accountable.

A One-Rupee Fight : Consumer Rights In India

Consumer Rights In India: Bhagwan Karia, a senior citizen and an RTI activist, fought a one-rupee case with a consumer court in Mumbai and won against the Indian Railways and a private limited company. What started as a mere exercise of checking weight on a weighing scale in a railway station in Mumbai later turned out to be a pitched battle that exposed an enormous scandal and lurking corruption within the system.

Dr MS Kamath, General Secretary of the Consumer Guidance Society of India speaks to The Probe on the state of consumer rights in India.

"Around eight years ago, I went to the Mulund station in Mumbai, used the weighing machine there, and put in a two rupee coin to check my weight. I didn't even get a ticket or reading in one machine; my weight was shown as 15 kgs more in the second weighing machine. Then I went to the Mulund station master and told him, "sir, pls give my 4 rupees back". So, he called me a "madman". I told him, "I am not a madman. I am a common man. Today, you may think of me as a madman, but tomorrow you will know the power of this common man whom you identify as a madman," reminisces Karia speaking to The Probe about Consumer Rights In India.

Karia notes that he immediately filed an RTI petition and found out that the railways had a 60 per cent margin in the income from the weighing scales installed in the railway stations, and the private limited company had a 40 per cent share. "I later learned that even part of this margin used to be grabbed by the Station Masters and the private limited company's agents, causing a huge revenue loss to the Indian Railways. I went to consumer court in Bandra and lodged a one-rupee case. Do you know that these one or two rupee machines give a turnover of one to two crores all over India, and this money is tax-free? There is a monopoly related to the company involved in providing this service," claims Karia.

Finally, when the consumer court's verdict came in, Karia said the company was slammed with a 50 lakh rupees penalty for not displaying their licence number on the weighing machines. "All this happened because of my one-rupee case. People always ask me why I fought a one-rupee case. It is not a question of one rupee. I spent more money from my pocket and fought for one rupee. The reason is not to get back the amount. The reason is to make the system more transparent and accountable to the common man."

Man Who Brought An Insurance Company To Its Knees

Like Karia, another consumer KR Srinivas from Bangalore, filed a case against an insurance company after they refused to give him the assured sum after he had a severe heart ailment. “I had taken an insurance policy from the Syndicate Bank, and the insurance company was United India Insurance Company. Then the Syndicate Bank merged with the Canara Bank, and my insurance was forcibly shifted to Bajaj Allianz. This was not my choice. I had chest pain and was admitted to Sagar hospital in Bangalore. The doctors did an angiogram on me and said a stent had to be placed. The hospital authorities gave me the documents, but Bajaj Allianz refused to give cashless approval and I wasn’t paid anything,” states Srinivas.

Srinivas, too, like Karia, went to the consumer court and filed an application and argued his own case and won against the insurance firm. “My bill was 1,62,000 rupees. I went to the consumer court in Bangalore. I produced all the papers to the court, and I argued on my own. Judgement came in my favour. I finally got my money and was also given a compensation of 25,000 rupees for the mental agony that I went through and 10,000 rupees for legal expenses with 12 per cent interest per annum for the entire amount from the date of discharge from the hospital to the final settlement day,” adds Srinivas.

While World Consumer Rights Day was observed on March 15, many consumer rights activists say India’s record for delivering justice to consumers is abysmally poor. Speaking to The Probe, Dr MS Kamath, General Secretary of the Consumer Guidance Society of India, says that consumer courts do not redress grievances on a fast-track basis, because of which the consumers’ faith in the justice delivery system has taken a beating.

“Every consumer knows that he has rights, but the implementation is not that great. That is why the number of people escalating their complaints is not as high as it should be. A consumer in India is always at the receiving end when he buys some goods or services. Until he buys the product or uses the services, sellers are always after him. But after he buys, then he has to run after them. That’s because our country’s consumer rights regulatory mechanism is not strong enough. On average, a consumer court takes three to five years to give orders. The implementation of consumer rights is abysmally low in our country,” affirms Dr Kamath.

A 5000-Rupee Fight For Nine Long Years

Neelam Palkar's long and tireless battle bears testament to Dr Kamath's statements on India's poor justice delivery mechanism. Neelam, a makeup artist in Vile Parle in Mumbai, bought a phone in 2014 from a showroom in the city for 5000 rupees, and the phone stopped working within a month. Neelam claims the company refused to keep up their assurances, and she filed a case before the consumer court. For nine years, Neelam has been fiercely contesting her case in the consumer court, hoping that one day she would be able to make the company accountable.

"In 2014, I bought a phone from Vijay Sales showroom for 5000 rupees. They also gave me papers that said that the phone would be repaired if it got damaged within a year. But within a month, the phone got damaged. The battery used to get constantly discharged. I approached the repair centre many times, but they refused to change the battery. They also started misbehaving with me when I told them about the warranty and the promises they made to me, which were in the documents. Then I decided they needed to be taught a lesson and shouldn't take consumers for a ride. That's when I took them to the court," asserts Neelam.

Neelam contends that the long court battle caused her huge mental agony, but she refused an out-of-court settlement with the company and promised to fight until she got justice. "I gave an application to the consumer court. The court sent notices to the company, but they did not answer the court at least twice. The case is still in court. The case is not moving forward. Whenever I approached the court, they kept saying that there was a dearth of professionals in the court, including judges. Then they said there were issues because of the pandemic, and that's why the case is not being heard. I have been fighting for nine long years. In between, someone from the company approached me and said they would pay me 5000 rupees and asked me to stop my fight. I refused and told them that now that I had chosen the legal route, I wanted to take this fight to its logical end. I don't want to give up my fight. I want them to know even a commoner like me can fight for her rights."

Dr Kamath notes that most consumer cases do not reach a logical end because of a lack of unity among consumers. He says that justice cannot be delivered to the Consumer Rights In India until those who are unaffected are as outraged as consumers who have been cheated off or victimised.

“Raising the voice for wrongdoing is a citizen’s fundamental duty. For instance, if I am travelling by train and someone is carrying petrol, kerosene, or some other inflammatory material, I must call the nearby authorities and alert them. Like how consumers have rights, they also have their duties. But we can only bring about change by focusing on consumer unity. If consumers can get together and stop using a bad product, then they can bring the company to its knees. I know of cases where, for even two rupees, people fought and won cases. Consumer fights can be pretty taxing. It will drain your time, energy and resources, but in the long run, you are doing a great favour to society,” maintains Dr Kamath.

Recent Post :

8 Important Cases of Consumer Disputes

The article '8 important cases of consumer disputes' delves into eight pivotal legal cases that have played a crucial role in shaping consumer rights..

The article '8 Important Cases of Consumer Disputes' delves into eight pivotal legal cases that have played a crucial role in shaping consumer rights within India's legal framework governed by the Consumer Protection Act.

Click Here and Read about the History and Development of Consumer Protection Laws in India

Introduction

The buying or hiring of goods & services is a vital facet of our daily lives, depending heavily on trust. Deteriorating this trust can outcome in various significances for consumers, extending from monetary loss to physical harm. The Consumer Protection Act, of 1986, is intended to punctually address such breaking of trust or negligence. To ease this, a hierarchy of 3 tribunals is established:

• the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum (DCDRF),
• the State Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission (SCDRC), and
• the National Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission (NCDRC).

These tribunals have gained an understanding of the Consumer Protection Act, safeguarding a stable approach that reflects the needs of both consumers as well as service providers.

A "consumer" is any individual who purchases goods or uses services for individual consumption. This description includes all individuals except one acquiring such goods/ services for commercial/ resale purposes.

A complaint from consumers can be filed by:

• an individual or group of consumers,
• the Central or State Government,
• any duly listed volunteer consumer association,
• or the legal representative of the consumer.
• For a consumer being a minor, the complaint can be made by their legal guardian/ parents.

Click Here to Take a closer look at the Judgment: National Insurance Co. Ltd. v. Harsolia Motors and Ors., (2023) | | Consumer Protection Act, 1986

Let’s discuss some relevant case laws of Consumer Dispute:

1. national insurance company ltd. v. hindustan safety glass works ltd. & anr. [1].

In this case, the insurance company rejected compensation to the respondent for loss caused by heavy rain during a stated period. The refusal was grounded on a policy term stating that the company would not pay for losses or damages happening 12 months post the event. Disgruntled with this renunciation, the insured filed a complaint under the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 , with the National Commission .

The National Commission believed that the insured claim was valid, stating that the goods were protected at the time of the incident and the claim was duly filed the next day. It terminated all arguments stated by National Insurance and ordered the company to compensate for Rs. 21,05,803.89 with 9% interest per annum.

2. Manjeet Singh v. National Insurance Company Ltd. & Anr [2]

In this case, the appellant took a 2nd hand truck by executing a Hire Purchase agreement, with the vehicle insured by the respondent’s insurance company. Once while driving, the appellant stopped the truck at the demand of a passenger who then assaulted the driver and stole the said vehicle. He filed an FIR and notified the finance company, but the insurance claim was disallowed for an alleged policy breach. The appellant requested compensation from various consumer dispute forums and eventually reached the Supreme Court.

The Apex Court stated that there was no fault of the appellant, and acknowledged a breach of policy but it was not noteworthy enough to terminate it. The 2-judge bench ordered the insurance company to give 75% of the insured amount with 9% annual interest from the entitlement filing date. Moreover, the court directed the insurance company to recompense a compensation sum of Rs. 1 Lakh.

3. Indian Medical Association v. V.P. Shantha and Others [3]

The Indian Medical Association issued a writ petition requesting the Apex Court to pronounce that the Consumer Protection Act does not spread to the medical profession. They contended that the medical professional obeys to distinct Code of Ethics, resulting in medical negligence a matter for medical specialists in their jurisdiction rather than coming under the CPA. The petition raised 2 important questions:

1. Whether a medical practitioner be suitable for giving 'service' under the Consumer Protection Act, 1986?

2. That if medical services are given free of cost, would they still come under the purview of the Act?

The Court observed that the District, the State, and the National Consumer Forums have the power to call medical experts, evaluate evidence, and protect consumer interests. Services provided by doctors and hospitals without due charges will not come within the scope of "service." The Act does not extend to government hospitals which offer free services.

However, if services are given free to the poor, they will fall under the Act. If an insurance company provides the treatment cost for the customer, it also lies under the purview of the Act.

4. Arvind Shah (Dr.) v. Kamlaben Kushwaha [4]

The complainant's son's death was caused by the doctor's incorrect treatment, which led to the State Commission to give a compensation of Rupees 5 lakh for negligence.

On the appeal, the National Commission stated that the existing prescriptions required essential patient information as delegated by medical rules. The Commission, mentioning the case of Samira Kohli v. Dr Prabha Manchanda [5] , believed the absenteeism of dynamic details in the prescription slip was medical negligence. While recognizing the crucialness of such information, the Commission also emphasized that their occurrence specifies the doctor's care and conscientiousness, symbolising evidence against unsupported claims. But, due to an absence of direct evidence connecting the patient's demise to negligence, the National Commission abridged the compensation to 2.5 lakhs, along with applicable interest.

5. Sehgal School of Competition v. Dalbir Singh [6]

The petitioner, looking for admission at a medical coaching centre, was asked to deposit a lump sum fee for a 2-year course within the first 6 months. However, upon ending the course due to insufficient services, the coaching centre declined to refund the existing remaining amount.

The State Tribunal brought into line with the Supreme Court and National Commission, held that educational institutions in no case can collect lump sum fees for the whole course. If such fees are collected, they must be repaid in case of a student's withdrawal due to insufficiencies. The court observed any contract clause which is contrary to this ruling is considered invalid due to unsatisfactory bargaining power and abuse of natural justice principles.

The court also stated that additional compensation for mental torture should be granted, but it couldn't be bestowed because it had not been asked in the petition.

6. Spring Meadows Hospital & Anr v. Harjol Ahluwalia [7]

This appeal to the Supreme Court , involved a hospital shielding negligence by its nurses and a doctor, leading to a minor in an enduring vegetative state because of a brain haemorrhage. The main issue was whether parents,(not including the patients themselves), could pursue compensation for the mental torture caused. The court held that the service defined under the Consumer Protection Act includes paying parents and the child who are being benefited by the services . The National Commission was believed correct in giving compensation to the child for apparatus costs and the expenses which led to the vegetative state.

7. Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation v. Ashok Iron Works Private Limited [8]

The Supreme Court elucidated that a corporate body comes within the definition of 'person' under section 2(1)(m) of the Consumer Protection Act. The Court highlighted that the use of the word ‘includes’ in the Act is explanatory and can be thorough. The understanding depends on the text, the context, and the objective of the Act. It was avowed that juristic persons were never envisioned to be omitted from the Act's scope, and the definition is comprehensive.

8. Sapient Corporation Employees Provident Fund Trust v. HDFC & Ors. [9]

In a complaint, HDFC was accused of illegal debit, the National Commission stated that the payment was executed in harmony with a statutory authority's order and the complainant was duly informed. Identifying the potential for frolicsome complaints due to the absenteeism of court fees, the Commission, thinking the complaint missing in seriousness and adequate grounds, levied a fine of 25,000 Rs. on the complainant by Section 26 of the Act.

9. Nizam Institute of Medical Sciences v. Prasanth S. Dhananka & Ors. [10]

In the instant case, the complainant pursued compensation for medical negligence happening during the entire medical procedure which resulted in partial paralysis. The National Tribunal gave judgment in favour of medical negligence, stating that the patient's consent was gained only for the tumour examination and not its removal.

On further appeal to the Supreme Court, the court avowed the Commission's findings, highlighting that the tumour removal was delayed through recorded debate, and thus, implied consent could not be incidental. The court recognized the necessity to strike a balance between the victim's genuine requirements and the opposition party's irrational claims concerning compensation. While identifying that compassion for the victim should not affect compensation decisions, the court highlighted the duty to provide suitable compensation.

As per the circumstances, the court raised the compensation to 25 lakhs each for ongoing medical expenditures and the petitioner's loss of occupation . Additionally, 10 lakhs were given for the appellant's pain and misery, 7,20,000 for the attendant over 30 years, 14,40,000 for nursing care, and 10,80,000 for the physiotherapy expenses over 30 years, additionally with 6% interest.

For further in-depth notes on various subjects visit Oxbridge Notes .

10. V.N.Shrikhande v. Anita Sena Fernandes [11]

The Petitioner was alleged of medical negligence. It was contended that a gauge mass was left in her abdomen during a gallbladder operation by a medical practitioner. But this petition was filed after 9 years, subsequently, a 2nd operation at a different hospital was done by the petitioner to remove the mass.

The Apex Court recognized the absenteeism of a straightforward formula to regulate the accumulation of cause of action in medical negligence cases . By applying the Discovery Rule, practised in the United States, the court observed that when the result of negligence is evident, the cause of action arises at the very time of negligence. But if the effect is dormant, the cause of action ascends when the patient becomes conscious of the negligence. However, in the instant case, the petitioner had been feeling pain since the operation, which continued for nine years, for which she took painkillers without doctor consultation.

Therefore, the court, considering her profession as a nurse and her skill to have more knowledge than a layman, discarded and set aside the order of the Commission and further dismissed the complaint.

Click Here to Read about the Major Amendments to the Consumer Protection Act of 2019

[1] Civil Appeal No. 3883 of 2007

[2] Revision Petition No. 4419 of 2014

[3] AIR 1996 SC 550

[4] 2009(3) C.P.C.24; III (2009) CPJ121(NC)

[5] [I (2008) CPJ 56 (SC)]

[6] Appeal No.FA-08/1043

[7] Civil Appeal No. 7858 of 1997

[8] Civil Appeal No 1879 of 2003

[9] Consumer Complaint No.123 of 2012

[10] Civil Appeal No. 4119 of 1999

[11] Civil Appeal No. 8983 of 2010

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Strengthening Consumer Rights: The Advent of Consumer Protection Act, 2019

SEBI and Corporate Laws, Vol. 156(2), 2019, at p. 7

9 Pages Posted: 13 Jul 2020 Last revised: 16 Oct 2020

Vipan Kumar

Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law

Adya Sharma

Affiliation not provided to ssrn.

Date Written: September 1, 2019

No economy can flourish without the rights of the consumer being protected. A consumer is an indispensable actor of any economy as he is the person who buys or hires goods or services from the seller and in turn boosts employment in the country. Thus, protecting the rights of the consumer is important because in the present times the demands and expectations of the consumer have changed due to globalization and growing awareness. However, the availability of a large number of goods and services sometimes proves to be harmful to the consumer as not all sellers and service providers are genuine. The Consumer Protection Act, 1986 was established to address the grievances of the consumer and to protect their interests. It was a laudable step at that point of time and amended from time to time. However, the three-decade-old legislation failed to keep pace with the developments in the market and digital technology in the country. For example, the right to proceed against a person who had violated the rights of the consumer was not given in the Act, and the State and District Consumer Redressal Forums had to be approached, which only compensated consumers for the loss they had incurred. There was neither any collection of data nor any inquiry regarding injuries or deaths on account of defective products or services. In short, there was no regulatory body to control or keep a check on violation of the rights of consumers. Now, a new phase in Consumer Rights in India has begun with the Parliament passing the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 and repealing the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 making the Consumer more powerful than before. The main highlight of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 is that it establishes a Central Consumer Protection Authority which acts as a regulatory body to “promote, protect, enforce consumer rights as a class.” A clear shift from Caveat emptor (let the buyer be aware) to Caveat venditor (let the seller be aware) can be seen in the new provisions as the unfair trade practices and fraud done by the seller will now be penalized. The latest Act also makes provisions for punishment regarding unfair trade practices and misleading advertisements and many more changes which keep the rights of the consumer up to date with the contemporary changes in the market. This article deals with the major highlights of the concepts under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019. A humble attempt has been made to discuss and evaluate certain changes which have been made under this Act in comparison to its old counterpart.

Keywords: Consumer Protection Act

JEL Classification: K2

Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation

Vipan Kumar (Contact Author)

Rajiv gandhi national university of law ( email ).

Bhadson Road Sidhuwal Patiala, Punjab 147006 India +91-93160-11531 (Phone)

HOME PAGE: http://www.rgnul.ac.in

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Upholding Consumer Rights in India: Complicated, Uncomplicated or In-between? 

On World Consumer Right Day we delve into three case studies to understand the workings of consumer rights and redressal in India.

Every year on march 15th, the world celebrates world consumer rights day, a day dedicated to raising awareness about consumer rights and advocating for fair practices in the marketplace. in india, this day holds significant importance as it serves as a reminder of the essential rights bestowed upon every consumer and the ongoing efforts to protect and uphold these rights., the essence of world consumer day, world consumer rights day traces its origins back to march 15, 1962, when president john f. kennedy first addressed the issue of consumer rights. since then, this day has been observed globally to emphasise the importance of consumer protection and welfare., in india, where a diverse population engages in various economic activities, the significance of world consumer day cannot be overstated. it serves as a platform to educate consumers about their rights, promote responsible consumption, and highlight the need for fair trade practices., consumer rights in india, consumer rights in india are safeguarded by the consumer protection act, 2019, which replaced the earlier consumer protection act of 1986. these rights include:, right to safety: consumers have the right to be protected against the marketing of goods and services that are hazardous to health or life., right to information: consumers have the right to be informed about the quality, quantity, potency, purity, standard, and price of goods or services., right to choose: consumers have the right to choose from a variety of goods and services at competitive prices., right to be heard: consumers have the right to be heard and to seek redressal for grievances regarding the purchase of goods or services., right to redressal: consumers have the right to seek redressal against unfair trade practices or restrictive trade practices., right to consumer education: consumers have the right to be educated about their rights and responsibilities as consumers., consumer protection mechanisms in india, the consumer protection act, 2019, strengthened the legal framework for consumer protection in india. it established the central consumer protection authority (ccpa) to promote, protect, and enforce consumer rights. the act also introduced the concept of product liability, holding manufacturers, sellers, and service providers accountable for defective products or deficient services., in addition to legislative measures, consumer forums at the district, state, and national levels provide a platform for consumers to seek redressal for their grievances. these forums offer a speedy and cost-effective mechanism for resolving consumer disputes., let’s understand the essence of consumer rights in india through three compelling case studies., case study 1: bournvita vs revant himatsingka, influencer revant himatsingka also known as foodpharmer took to social media to highlight the high sugar content in health drink bournvita. explained through the brand’s tagline, “tayyari jeet ki” (preparation for victory) positioned in the children’s health drink category, ironically has extremely high sugar content. on which the influencer suggested a more apt tagline change to, “tayyari diabetes ki” (preparation for diabetes). this sparked many reactions by netizens and soon the video became viral. the brand got the influencer to take down the video, eventually suspending the account as well. but a group of 8 doctors and nutritionists did further research and validated the influencers claims. mondelez international, the parent company of bournvita dismissed the claims as “unscientific”., finally the indian government’s national commission for protection of child right (ncpcr) intervened and asked bournvita to withdraw their misleading ads or serve fines. this fiasco led bournvita to reduce the sugar content by 14.4 percent. the bournvita controversy is a prime example of consumers “right to safety” where they have the right to be protected against the marketing of goods and services that are hazardous to health or life., case study 2: state bank of india vs rajesh sakre, tea vendor rajesh sakre had rs. 20,000 in his state bank of india account and had withdrawn rs.10,800. but on his next visit to the atm he realised that all his money was gone. on asking the bank authorities, he received no satisfactory answer and got blamed instead. then he went to the district consumer disputes redressal forum (dcdrf) and since he couldn’t afford a lawyer he argued the case himself., the court ruled in his favour and ordered state bank of india to return the rs. 9,200 with 6% interest, rs. 10,000 as compensation for mental anguish caused by the issue and rs. 2,000 for legal expenses. this case showcases a consumer’s “right to redressal” where they have the right to seek redressal against unfair trade practices or restrictive trade practices., case study 3: pepsi vs rajesh rajan, ahmedabad’s rajesh rajan bought the famous aerated drink pepsi from a local store and found a packet of gutka (tobacco) floating in it. he sent a legal notice to the company immediately and approached a state consumers dispute redressal forum (cdrf) claiming that there was a deficiency in service that could have caused a health hazard to him. he demanded compensation of ₹5 lakh for the same., the consumer forum passed an order in favour of rajesh, asking the company to pay rs. 4000 for compensation and rs. 8 for the pepsi he purchased. he moved the state cdrf and asked for a higher compensation stating that rs. 4008 was too low as he had spent rs. 500 for sample testing itself. finally the commission passed an order asking pepsi to pay rs. 20,000 as compensation and rs. 2000 towards cost, finding rajesh’s argument reasonable., complicated, uncomplicated or in-between, to answer the question stated at the beginning, it is complicated to seek redressal for consumer rights in india, since there are many government bodies involved in the ruling of a case. but it is also less complicated since sometimes even taking up to social media can grab the attention of the government and the concerned company. consumer rights in india are an in-between process depending on the perseverance of the consumer. having said that, the growing misleading ads in the country are definitely amounting to stronger actions from individuals and autonomous bodies alike., on world consumer rights day, let us reaffirm our commitment to protecting and promoting consumer rights in india. by empowering consumers with knowledge, advocating for fair trade practices, and fostering a culture of accountability, we can create a marketplace that is transparent, inclusive, and conducive to the welfare of all stakeholders. through these case studies, we witness the tangible impact of consumer rights in india striving towards a marketplace where consumer rights are respected, upheld, and celebrated., related articles more from author.

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