THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Thiruvananthapuram District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (DCDRC) has directed edtech major Byju’s to refund Rs 8,52,000 along with Rs 1,00,000 as compensation and Rs 3,000 as costs to a Thiruvananthapuram resident, in a case that involved a fee refund dispute and a serious cyber fraud.
The order came on a complaint filed by Shashikant Saini. His son, a Class IX student, had enrolled in Byju’s online course. Following a meeting with the company’s representative, Saini paid Rs 20,000 as spot registration fee. However, as his son decided to switch to offline classes, Saini requested a cancellation and refund the very next day. But Byju’s did not respond to his multiple emails and phone calls.
After two months, Saini received a call purportedly from Byju’s Bangalore office, directing him to download an application “Rust Desk” from the Play Store and share his bank details to process the refund. Saini did and what followed was a cyber fraud. Rs 8,00,000 was credited to his account, and subsequently, a total of Rs 8,32,000 was debited through multiple transactions.
The case was heard by the DCDRC bench comprising its president P V Jayarajan, members Preetha G Nair and Viju V R. Byju’s accepted the notice from the Commission, but failed to appear before it and hence set ex parte. Advocates Mahesh N G and Sheeba Sivadasan appeared for the complainant.