Gujarat Plus - Gujarat on Web

Consumers in city more conscious about rights Thursday, March 15, 2001

AHMEDABAD:
A man filed a case against the Ahmedabad Municipal Transport Service (AMTS) after he was not refunded an amount of 75 paise. After fighting the case for several months, the Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum (CDRF) ordered AMTS to pay him Rs 100, including the said amount as well as cost of litigation and other expenditure.

A senior citizen approached the CDRF to file a case against a shoe shop-owner, who sold him a poor quality rubber chappal for Rs 100. Luckily, the shop-owner approached the court and coughed up the Rs 100 even before the judge pronounced judgment.
When it comes to consumer rights awareness, citizens of the city are becoming more and more conscious a fact proved by the large number of consumer court cases being filed every month. With over 150 cases being filed every month by consumers against insurance companies, railways, public utility goods and household equipment companies, municipal corporation, medical companies, doctors and others, Amdavadis seem to have become discerning consumers aware of their rights and willing to go through the tough court grind to get them.

The maximum number of cases filed are against insurance companies regarding life insurance, medical and property claims. "We file almost 15-20 cases per month and almost 250 cases every year against insurance companies under various policies," CDRF secretary Pinakin Pancholi says.

"After insurance companies, cases against Fixed Deposits (FDs) and builders are in a huge number. Apart from these, we have cases against shopkeepers, departmental stores, electical goods companies, AMTS, railways and airlines," he adds.

K D Desai, president of CDRF, feels that awareness is increasing, slowly but steadily. "Consumer awareness is definitely increasing, thanks to the media. The consumer is well-versed with his or her rights and the city also has many consumer protection organisations that spread awareness and are fighting for consumer rights," he says. Member Malaybhai Kantharia agrees that awareness is increasing. "Due to consumer rights awareness, we have seen that banks, insurance companies, electronic goods companies and others have become alert and try to sort out grievances before they become cases," Kantharia says.

Even though the pressure on CDRF is manifold it being the only consumer court catering to a highly populated A-grade city the court passes judgment in as many as 1,800 cases every year. "Hyderabad, which is another A-grade city has four courts while Bangalore, recently classified as A-1, has almost seven consumer courts. Ahmedabad, however, has only one court and so the pressure is naturally more," says Pancholi.

People are also quick to point out how particular they have become. "I am very particular about what my rights are as a consumer when I go to buy something. I make sure my rights are not manipulated," says Sudarshan Patel, a bank employee.

 

This site is dedicated to our friend Younus M, who passed away on 28th Sept 00, and left on us an indelible memories ! - Team GujaratPlus.com

[P] Privacy Policy | © Copyright 2000-2006 |

Designed & Hosted by eZee Web Solutions