HYDERABAD: Consumers rejoice! Now you don’t need to rush to New Delhi to file complaints against errant insurance companies and real estate developers whenever the compensation amount exceeds Rs 1 crore. The Consumer Protection Bill 2018, which has been passed by the Lok Sabha, enables consumers to file complaints in their respective State Consumer Disputes Commissions.
According to ‘Clause 47’ of the draft, the State commission’s monetary jurisdiction has been increased from Rs 1 crore to Rs 10 crore. V Gouri Shankar Rao, president of the Confederation of All Telangana Consumer Organisations, points out, “Previously if a case exceeded Rs 1 crore by even a rupee, the consumer and his/her advocate would rush to the National Commission.”
“This will, thankfully, end as the monetary jurisdiction has been increased to Rs 10 crore,” he added.
Location of convenienceAnother development in the new bill is that the thirty-year-old requirement of consumers having to file complaints from wherever they reside in, irrespective of where the product or service is sold from. “If a person buys a bike in Hyderabad but resides in Adilabad, he need not come to Hyderabad to file a complaint. Thanks to the new provision, the consumer can file a case in Adilabad itself,” said Rao.
Fair and unfair
Meanwhile, Vijay Gopal, a consumer rights activists, observed that the new bill holds actresses and actors, endorsing fairness creams, liable for the endorsements. The new bill underscores a penalty of Rs 5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh, and imprisonment, for celebrities found ‘misleading and inducing consumers to buy faulty products and services’.
“Celebrities and actors will have to be more responsible about what products they endorse from now,” Vijay Gopa said. “The quality and quantity of the products sold to consumers were not as per norms. This will change with the new bill,” said G Swamy, president, Telangana Consumer Protection Council.