At the Kozhikode district consumer forum, consumers are found to file complaints over minor tiffs, and back off when their cases take a serious turn in court.
‘These cases are usually filed by ‘wronged’ consumers against the TV cable man or two-wheeler mechanic. “A consumer complaint can be filed for Rs.100. Many file frivolous complaints at the heat of the moment, usually after a heated exchange of words with the other party. Then they regret in leisure when they are asked to produce evidence and issued notice to attend court hearings,” Kozhikode District Consumer Forum president G. Yadunadhan said.
Against the cable guy
Three recent cases prove his point. The first one deals with a complaint filed against a local cable TV provider for not beaming two of the consumer’s favourite sports channels. “A phone call to the cable provider would have solved this issue,” a source at the consumer forum who dealt with the complaint said.
The petition filed by K.V. Nithin Dev of Chakkorathukulam against M/s Bharati Airtel in January 2013 said he had received an SMS from the opposite party saying that ESPN and Star Cricket were not available anymore. An amount of Rs.100 was also re-funded to him. Mr. Dev, in his complaint to the forum, said the “surprise thing” was that he was provided two other channels that he had not subscribed to. Seeking a compensation of Rs.25,000, Mr. Dev complained that deficiency of service from the part of his cable provider, whose conduct had caused him “huge loss and mental agony”.
However, Mr. Dev chose to be absent the three times his case was called in court. It was finally dismissed citing lack of merit.
Vehicle repair
Another case is that of M. Suneesh, who filed a complaint against his mechanic, Ace Motors Pvt. Ltd., claiming that the latter had charged him more than the agreed amount for repairing his two-wheeler. He sought a compensation of Rs.15,000, blaming his mechanic of “clear deficiency of service”. Nevertheless, when his case was called for hearing, there was no sign of him. Court order records that Mr. Suneesh was absent during all five consecutive times he was to attend.
Besides, Ace Motors contested in court that the bill amount was Rs.10,000 and the consumer had never turned up to claim his bike. The court dismissed the case, again, for lack of merit.
Defective boards
The third case deals with a Thrissur resident Muhammed Yasir K.A., who bought 10 flex boards from Jaisal A.P. here. The boards, according to Mr. Yasir, proved defective. He wanted a compensation of Rs.30,000 for “great loss and mental agony”.
Again, Mr. Yasir was absent five consecutive times when the case was called at the forum for hearing. The forum finally dismissed the complaint.
