Any Indian wedding affair is incomplete without the high-energy beats of a band, so what happens when they fail to turn up on the big day?
A south Delhi resident found himself in the uneasy situation when the band he had hired for his son’s wedding didn’t show up at the venue.
Left in the lurch
The groom’s father had booked the band for ₹40,000 and paid ₹10,000 as advance almost a month before the wedding.
In a scramble to get the wedding back on track, the father had to shell out ₹75,000 to book another band.
The man chose to sue the earlier booked band in a consumer forum, which has directed the band company to pay a compensation of ₹50,000 within 30 days. The forum also directed the band to pay back the advance of ₹10,000 with interest.
“It is clear that the band did not provide services as promised, which is unfair trade practice and deficiency in service. The complainant suffered mental agony and loss of reputation in brotherhood... and is entitled for compensation,” noted the west Delhi Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum, comprising president R. S. Bagri and Members Puneet Lamba and Urmila Gupta.
In the instant case, the complainant, a resident of Mehrauli, had fixed the date for his son’s wedding on February 22, 2016 .
On January 3, 2016 , he contacted the New Shiv Band in Uttam Nagar and booked them for ₹40,000 to provide music, lights and buggy services. He also made an advance payment of ₹10,000.
Mental agony
A day before the wedding, the complainant contacted the New Shiv Band to remind them of the booking. The band promised they would be there. However, on February 22, the band owner called up the complainant and said that they wouldn’t be able to make it.
When the complainant protested, the band wallah agreed to come. However, just hours before the wedding was to start, the band did not turn up and stopped attending to the calls made by the complainant.
Left in the lurch, the complainant engaged another band at the last moment by paying ₹75,100.
In March 2016, he moved the consumer forum seeking compensation from the earlier band for failing to keep its promise and causing mental and physical agony as well as loss of reputation.
Despite a notice, the band did not send a representative to the forum and was proceeded against ex-parte.
