CONSUMER COURT - FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Information on filing Consumer Complaint

Who is consumer?

Anyone who buys goods or avails service against payment is a consumer.

How do I know if I am a consumer?

Ask the following questions to yourself – a) Have I received the product or service against my payment? b) Have I paid the shop and received the bill? c) Do I have the proof of payment? If answer is yes to all the three questions, then you are a consumer.

How can consumer take action against defective goods or defaulting service provider?

If you have cash memo, proof of payment and warranty card then you can file complaint to the consumer forum.

What if I do not have cash memo?

Then you cannot file a case in the consumer court. You need to prove that you are a consumer by providing proof of payment.

What if I have only the cash memo, but not the warranty card?

You can prove that you are the consumer by cash memo, but you have to still prove that the product is under warranty, failing which your consumer complaint may be rejected if your issue is related to replacement under warranty.

It is always better to ask the dealer to write warranty period on the bill.

What is the time limit to file case in consumer court?

Within 2 years from the date of cause of action. Hence you should be alert and start the complaint process as early as possible.

What is ICRPC?

International Consumer Rights Protection Council (ICRPC)

Is it a government body?

No. It is an NGO (Non Government Organisation). ICRPC is not supported financially by government or any other institution. ICRPC does not take advertisements on its website to earn revenue.

Is ICRPC consumer court?

No.

Is ICRPC reliable?

The President, Mr Arun Saxena, is M. Tech, MBA with Diploma in Journalism and Mass Communication, has served abroad for many years in Multinationals. Then after returning to India, he has given up his lucrative career to devote his full time in social work. He is straight forward and very focused to make consumer grievance redressal very easy, economical and systematic for common man. He is not greedy for money else he would have worked in a company on a fat salary. The website is free of advertisements; this is also an indication that revenue is not the main aim. Hence, you can depend on ICRPC for good service. Our strict procedures are not appreciated by some unorganized and undisciplined people so they may not like us and complain against us. Such people are less.

How can ICRPC help me?

You can file complaint with ICRPC. The officers at ICRPC will send legal notice to the Opposite Party for out of court settlement.

Can I complain to ICRPC over telephone?

No, Every complaint is required in writing with supporting documents. There is a proper procedure for this.

How to file complaint with ICRPC?

Download the procedure by CLICKING HERE. Send your complaint following the steps mentioned in that procedure. After submitting online complaint form as mentioned in procedure, you will get complaint number for future reference. ICRPC will send legal notice to the company with a copy to you.

What if the Opposite Party does not settle the issue even after receiving notice?

Then you have an option to file a case in the consumer court. ICRPC will help you in making the case papers for you to present in the court.

Does ICRPC charge for making the case papers?

Yes. Very nominal.

How much?

Depends on the nature of complaint and the value of claims. The fee amount gets displayed while filling the complaint form after you provide the value of your product or service. To open the complaint form click on the link provided on the home page of ICRPC.

I thought ICRPC provides free services being an NGO?

Your thought is wrong. Come out of the habit of receiving anything for free. You need to pay for the work done by any NGO. Our NGO is not supported financially by government or any other source. All NGOs will die soon if they do not get paid for their good work.

CRPC does not take advertisements on its website so as to be fair and not to create an impression that ICRPC is more focused on revenue.

ICRPC survives only on the small fee that the consumers pay for sending notice and making case papers.

I am looking for free service?

Then ICRPC is not the right place for you. No one will give free service. As you pay for lunch when hungry and to the doctor when sick, you should learn to pay for advice and help given by NGO. If still you do not want to pay, we cannot help you. You can search for other options, if there are any. It is a pity that salaried people are looking for free service because of their mental condition and habit of not paying but try to grab as much free things as possible.

Will I win the case in the consumer court?

No one will answer such questions. It depends on the court’s judge how he views your case and the conditions prevalent therein.

In 99% of the cases filed through ICRPC, the consumer has won the case.

Will the court punish me if I lose the case?

No. The court will never do that unless you presented fake complaint.

If the case is not suitable, the court may dismiss the case.

How much time it takes by the court to give judgment?

Between 1 year and 2 years if everything goes on well. The average time is 10 months.

What is the benefit of going to the consumer court?

The benefit is that over the refund/replacement you are looking for, you will also get compensation and cost spent on filing case in the consumer court. So, you stand to benefit while the company stands to lose by harassing you.

What if the company does not obey the courts order?

There is provision to get the company head arrested and imprisoned. There is provision to get your amount recovered by attaching and selling the properties of the company. It is not so easy to avoid the consumer court’s order.

What if the company settles my matter while the case is going on?

You can inform the judge about this and your case will be closed in the court.

Is there any fee to file case in the consumer court?

Yes. The amount is given on our website as court fee.

Do I need to hire a lawyer?

No. When ICRPC will make case papers for you, and ICRPC will guide you at every step, you will not require any lawyer. You can attend the hearings on your own. It is a very easy process.

What if I am unable to attend the court hearings due to other commitments?

You can send your authorized representative through power of attorney. He can attend the hearings and sign for you.

Can I fie joint complaint with fellow citizens?

Yes. If the issue and the jurisdiction of court is the same. It happens mostly when many buyers of flats in the same building have common issues with the builder or the housing society.

Can a small business house file a consumer complaint?

Yes, if the small business is for self-employment, the owner can file a case in the consumer court. A big organization or commercial company cannot take shelter in the consumer court.

Can an employee file a case in the consumer court for non-payment of salary?

No. He has to approach the labour court or other channels open for him.

Can I file complaint against government department?

Yes. You pay taxes and the government department should perform its work as required.

My query has not been answered above, where can I ask for more information?

Send email to mail@icrpc.org with subject “Extra FAQ” and ask your question by email.

Asking question does not mean that you start narrating your complaint issue to seek answer whether you can file a case in the court or not. We will ignore such queries asked under the said subject “Extra FAQ” and you will not receive any reply.

Why ICRPC discourages discussion on telephone or face to face discussion?

ICRPC receives about 100 to 400 complaints every day. It come to 9000 complaints a month and 1,08,000 in a year. By telling your complaint you will get personal satisfaction that someone listened to your complaint, but ICRPC will not get satisfied without seeing the supporting documents and will not proceed with the action for an unknown person just on verbal complaint. ICRPC needs written complaint as per the procedure with supporting documents as evidence

Does ICRPC have unsatisfied consumers?

You will find such people everywhere. When we handle 1,08,000 to 1,50,000 complaints every year, there will be one or two people every year who will not like ICRPC strict procedures. Sometimes people want ICRPC to act as per their wish or give services for FREE, and when we don't, they become unhappy. Many times people do not follow ICRPC procedure properly, don't send documents properly, send loose documents that are lost, send documents in parts, don't give fee details properly, and don't bother to read the procedure and act accordingly. Such people are bound to be unsatisfied when we reject their complaint. We try to avoid such people instead of wasting our time with these stubborn, unorganized and indisciplined people.

DOWNLOAD THE PROCEDURE FOR FILING COMPLAINT

(You will get a PDF file that you can save on your device)

consumer_court complaint