The Dakshina Kannada District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum has ordered a city-based transport service company to pay a huge compensation for failure to deliver a consignment of books worth Rs. 12,250. The company has been asked to pay Rs. 62,250 in addition to cost of litigation of Rs. 2,000.
The order delivered recently by its president Asha Shetty, found the company, whose name is mentioned only as Durgamba, guilty of deficient service and asked its managers based here (near PVS Circle) and at Kundapur to pay the amount to G. Ramakrishna Pai of Gollarkeri, Casba Bazar village, here.
Mr. Pai had complained that he had booked a consignment containing books worth Rs. 12,250 from Bangalore and had sent them in three bags from Bangalore office of the opposite parties on January 1, 2013 to be delivered on or before January 16, 2013. But they were never delivered and he was made to run from pillar to post. He approached the forum seeking a direction to the firm to pay a sum of Rs. 12,000 along with 18 per cent interest per annum along with compensation and cost of the proceedings, after serving a legal notice to the firm.
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Opposite parties contended that at time of packing the parcel, Mr. Pai had not declared its value nor did he inform the opposite parties that the said parcel contained books worth over Rs.12,000.
Had the complainant declared and disclosed the contents of the parcel and its value the opposite parties would not have accepted such a parcel as they are not expected to accept parcel worth more than Rs.1,000 and denied any deficiency in service.
Holding the contention as “not convincing,” the forum said the parcel was received unconditionally to deliver the same to the destination or the addressee and should have been delivered. The failure to deliver it “shows their gross negligence and irresponsibility,” the forum held.
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It did not agree with the contention of the firm that Mr. Pai is not a consumer because he had a business.