THRISSUR: Leading hair care products manufacturer Dhathri Ayurveda Private Limited and its ambassador, actor Anoop Menon, paid Rs 28,500 as compensation following a verdict by Thrissur Consumer Court as a hair cream they sold didn’t work as advertised.
After seeing the advertisements, Francis Vadakkan, the complainant in the case, bought Dhathri hair care cream on January 11, 2012, from A-One Medicals at Vylathur. He paid Rs 376 for the product.
Believing the company’s claims, when the first bottle was emptied, Francis bought another from the same shop on February 14, 2012. According to Francis, Dhathri Ayurveda and its ambassador Anoop claimed that applying the cream would boost hair growth.
Towards proving his complaint, Francis submitted the bills and also presented the video and printed copies of advertisements. Though notices were issued to the company and its ambassador, they responded that those were meagre attempts to tarnish the company’s goodwill.
The company also argued that hair growth pattern varies according to each individual. However, the court observed that such a warning on the bottle’s label was not even visible to the naked eye, and one had to use a magnifying glass to read it.
When asked, Anoop Menon, too, responded that he appeared in the advertisement without using the product. The court advised the actor to use the product and understand the features before acting in any advertisement, or else the common people would get cheated.
The court directed both Dhathri Ayurveda and Anoop Menon to pay Rs 10,000 each and A-One Medicals to pay Rs 3,500 towards meeting the expenses of the case. Though the company moved the state consumer redressal forum, they withdrew the case and paid the fund along with interest.