The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Forum calls for better consumer awareness Consumer notes

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Monday, Nov 24, 2008
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Forum calls for better consumer awareness Consumer notes

K. Vijaya Bhaskara Reddy

Onus on buyers to defend their interests

HYDERABAD: With financial institutions resorting to all sorts of ‘tricks’ to repudiate their liabilities, the onus is on consumers to defend their interests by carefully reading the fine print in the agreements.

A case tried by A.P. State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (APSCDRC) on ICICI Lombard General Insurance Co. Ltd. underscored the need for improved consumer awareness.

Late S. Dwarakanadh who lived in Tirupati, took a housing loan of Rs. 4.5 lakh in July 2002 from the local branch of ICICI Bank, mortgaging his property title. The loan came with a free personal accident insurance of ICICI Lombard that offered waiver of the balance of the loan in case of his death. Mr. Dwarakanadh died in a road accident in August 2005. His wife, S. Jayalakshmi, appealed to the bank and the insurance company to cancel the remaining instalments amounting to Rs. 5, 42,064 besides return of the title deeds.

Claim rejected

The claim was rejected saying the post-mortem report cited the presence of alcohol in the blood. Ms. Jayalakshmi sued the bank and the insurance company in District Consumer Forum-II, Tirupati seeking waiver of the balance and return of documents. The forum ordered waiver and return of documents, with costs of Rs. 500. Aggrieved by the decision, ICICI Lombard contested the result in the State Commission. It argued there was 150 ml of brown-coloured fluid that smelt like alcohol in the stomach of the deceased and hence he was not entitled for compensation as per the policy clauses.

The commission pointed out that having a fluid that smelled like alcohol in stomach did not necessarily mean he was drunk.

It questioned the company for not sending the fluid for chemical analysis and upheld the lower court’s decision stipulating a compliance time of one month.

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Andhra Pradesh