Filing Procedure

Procedure for Filing Complaint

A consumer can complain against the seller, producer or goods dealer if the goods are in a defective or sub-standard condition or against a service provider if the quality is not as per expectations. If a trader or dealer is found dealing in unfair or illegal trade practices, then a complaint can be filed against them too.

A Complainant Can be Given

A consumer is one who is in receipt of such sub-standard or defective goods or to whom such goods are agreed to be delivered to or a person who is in receipt of a poor service or to whom such service has been agreed to be given to. In effect, a complainant can be:

• A firm that is registered or not registered
• An individual person
• Belonging to HUF(Hindu Undivided Family)
• Belongs to a cooperative society or an association
• Central or State Government employee
• In the event of death of the consumer, his legal successors or authorised representatives

When a consumer files a complaint, he must also file all the necessary paperwork like receipts, bills, cash memos, agreements etc. Usually, he has to file 3 copies of the complaint along with all the necessary documents enclosed accordingly in addition to one copy each for the number of people in the opposite party. The necessary fee for the type of complaint filed should be attached along with the complaint form in the form of a DD or a postal order. The complaints can be submitted to a lawyer or his legal representative.

Fees Prescribed

Jurisdiction for Filing Complaints

The Consumer Protection Act 1986 has the following clauses in case of jurisdiction of the complaints filed:

• When goods or services along with compensation for which the complaint is being filed has a maximum value of 20lakh INR, it should be filed at the District Council Level.
• When goods or services along with the compensation for which the complaint is being filed has a value between 20 lakh INR and 1 crore INR, it should be filed at the State Council Level.
• When the goods or services along with the compensation for which the complaint is being filed has a value above 1 crore INR, it should be filed at the National Council Level.

At the state council level, complaints can be filed at the respective counters on all working days of the week from 10.30 AM to 1.30 PM only. While filing the complaint, the complainant must mandatorily receive the acknowledgement as well that contains important information like complaint filing date. This comes in handy while proving to the Commission that the complaint was indeed filed within the timelines stipulated by the Act.

Procedure for Filing Appeals

As per Section 15 of the Consumer Protection Act 1986, if a complainant is not happy or satisfied with the resolution provided by the District Forum, he can appeal against this directive by approaching the next level or State Forum within a month (30 days) from the date of directive issued by the District Forum.

A gist of rules and regulations relating to the appeal-filing procedure, as mentioned in the Sub Rule (1) to Sub Rule (5) of Rule 8 in the Delhi Consumer Protection Rules of 1987 is provided below:

• The person who is appealing known as the appellant or his legal agent/representative should submit the Memorandum to the State Forum either personally or should send the same by registered post.
• The Memorandum submitted by the appellant should as per Sub Rule (1) should be written clearly or preferably typed and should contain a detailed account under various headings as to the grounds of the appeal. There should not be any excessive argument or narration of these grounds in the memorandum. All reasons should be neatly numbered.
• Every Memorandum submitted by the appellant should mandatorily be accompanied by a certified copy of the directive issued by the District Forum (against which the appeal is made). In addition to this, other relevant documents that act as proofs to the grounds of appeal mentioned above should also be submitted.
• If the appellant submits the appeal after the stipulated timeline, then his appeal must also accompanied by an affidavit, in which clear reasons as to why the appeal could not be submitted on time are mentioned.
• While filing the appeal, the appellant must submit three copies of the memorandum to the State Forum in addition to an extra copy each for the number of opposite parties.

The timing for appeal at the State Forum is from 10.30AM to 1.30PM at the filing counters, on all working days. While filing the appeal, one must get the acknowledgement showing the date of appeal-filing, so that it can be presented before the commission as a valid proof of applying well within the stipulated timelines. A deposit amount of 50% of the amount directed by the District Forum or 25000 INR (lesser of the two) should be made in the form of a FD in a nationalised bank, for a time period of one year, favouring, “Registrar, State Commission of Delhi”.