BEFORE THE DISTRICT CONSUMER DISPUTES REDRESSAL FORUM, AMRITSAR.
Consumer Complaint No. 517 of 2018
Date of Institution: 12.07.2018
Date of Decision: 4.02.2019
Smt.Navjeet Kaur aged 43 years W/o S. Baljinder Singh R/o H.No. B-1/323, Kahnuwan Road, Batala (9876263632)
Versus
Country Vacations, A Division of Country Club Hospitality and Holidays Limited Company having their branch office at Shop No. 14, 3rd Floor, Trillium Mall, Amritsar through Officer Incharge/Principal Officer/Manager
Opposite Party
Complaint under section 11/12 of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 as amended upto date.
Present: For the Complainant : Sh.Vikram Puri,Advocate.
For the Opposite Parties : Sh.Ashok Kalia,Advocate
Coram:
Sh.Charanjit Singh, President
Mr.Anoop Sharma, Presiding Member
Ms.Rachna Arora, Member
Order dictated by:
Sh.Charanjit Singh, President
- Smt.Navjeet Kaur, complainant has brought the instant complaint under section 11 & 12 of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 on the allegations that in the second week of July 2016 the complainant was called by the officials of opposite party at Trillium Mall, Amritsar on the pretext that the complainant has won some special surprise gifts and on the allurements of the officials of the opposite party, the complainant agreed to visit the said Trillium Mall, Amritsar alongwith her husband to meet the officials of the opposite party. The opposite party called the complainant for collecting the coupons. The complainant alongwith her husband visited the opposite party on 15.7.2016 and attended one session of 90 minutes where the complainant alongwith other couples were compelled to sign one agreement but all the detailed terms and conditions were not properly explained by the officials of the opposite party to the complainant. The membership price was Rs. 1,15,000/- and as per the payment scheme mentioned by the aforesaid officials, an amount of Rs. 1,15,000/- was to be paid on the same day as country club membership for 10 years pursuant to which the opposite party was supposed to send a welcome kit. Since the complainant was not having cash of Rs. 1,15,000/- with her so at the instance of the officials of the opposite party, she made payment of Rs. 2000/- in cash to the officials of the opposite party but the officials of the opposite party never issued any receipt in token of the same and at the joint request of the complainant and her husband the officials of the opposite party allowed the complainant to make the remaining payment of Rs. 1,13,000/- within 10 days and accordingly on 24.7.2016 the complainant further made payment of Rs. 3000/- through her debit card to the opposite party and since the complainant was not having requisite remaining amount balance in her bank so her husband on behalf of the complainant made the remaining payment of Rs. 1,10,000/- through his credit card of HDFC Bank totaling Rs. 1,15,000/-. When the complainant read out the terms and conditions of the aforesaid agreement, the complainant was shocked because there were so many terms and conditions in the agreement which were different from what were explained to her and other couples. The opposite party had given assurance to the complainant like banquet hall in Batala, Local Club like Lumsden and event passed all over India and AMC Rs. 4250/- . The opposite party had also given assurance to the complainant that they will provides membership update to the complainant frequently. Not only this they had also given false assurance to the complainant that complainant will be refunded back the interest amount charged on credit card payment of Rs. 1,10,000/- made by her husband because the husband of the complainant is regularly paying monthly interest of Rs. 3000/- to the HDFC Bank on account of using credit card for amount of Rs. 1,10,000/-. The complainant visited the opposite party and made numerous requests to the officials of the opposite party to refund back her amount of Rs. 1,15,000/- as she is not interested in that membership as terms and conditions were quite different from what were told to her by the officials of the opposite party, but opposite party did not pay any heed to the request of the complainant. Not only this the husband of the complainant has already paid about Rs. 69000/- as interest to the HDFC Bank toll date for 23 months, this action on the part of the opposite party amounts to deficiency in service and unfair trade practice on the part of the opposite party. The complainant has prayed for following reliefs vide instant complaint:-
- Opposite party be directed to refund the amount of Rs. 1,15,000/- alongwith interest @ 18% p.a. from the date of payment till realization of the amount ;
- Opposite party be also directed to make payment of Rs. 69000/- as interest on the credit card payment ;
- Compensation of Rs. 30000/- alongwith litigation expenses to the tune of Rs. 5000/-may also be awarded ;
Hence, this complaint.
2. Upon notice, opposite party appeared and filed the written reply contesting the claim of the complainant taking preliminary objections therein inter alia that complainant is bound by terms and conditions of the agreement duly signed by him ; that the complainant has filed the present complaint in order to wriggle out of the contract which has been duly signed by her after going through and fully understanding the contents thereof. On merits, it was submitted that the complainant was not called by the officials of the opposite party and was never told to have any surprised gift but the complainant alongwith her husband herself visited the opposite party at Trillium Mall, Amritsar and enquired about various membership plans. It was submitted that complainant was given a brief presentation of 45 minutes on laptop by the sales representative of the opposite party in which she and her husband were explained about various membership plans, benefits, price and terms and conditions thereof, out of which complainant after understanding the future and benefits etc of the various plans, opted for the present blue session membership which suited her requirement and pocket. As per the plan the membership is for 10 years by which complainant is entitled to a vacation of 6 nights 7 days each year in the properties of opposite party for which amount of Rs. 1,15,000/- towards onetime non refundable vacation charges. It is pertinent to mention here that the complainant did not any protest or grievance to the terms and conditions of the agreement and after 9 days i.e. on 24.9.2016 , complainant made the balance payment of Rs. 1,13,000/- out of which Rs. 3000/- was paid by her through debit card remaining payment of Rs. 1,10,000/- was paid by the complainant through credit card her husband. It was submitted that complainant has affixed her signatures on the agreement after going through the contents of the same i.e. 15.7.2016 . While denying and controverting other allegations, dismissal of complaint was prayed.
3. We have heard the Ld. Counsel for both the parties and have carefully gone through the record on the file .
4. Ld.counsel for the complainant has vehemently contended that officials of the opposite party allured the complainant to visit their office to get coupons and on the call of the officials of the opposite party complainant alongwith her husband visited the opposite party on 15.7.2016 and attended one session of 90 minutes where the complainant alongwith other couples were compelled to sign one agreement but all the detailed terms and conditions were not properly explained by the officials of the opposite party to the complainant. The membership price was Rs. 1,15,000/- and as the complainant was not having such a huge cash as such she made payment of Rs. 2000/- in cash to the officials of the opposite party but the officials of the opposite party never issued any receipt in token of the same and at the joint request of the complainant and her husband the officials of the opposite party allowed the complainant to make the remaining payment of Rs. 1,13,000/- within 10 days and accordingly on 24.7.2016 the complainant further made payment of Rs. 3000/- through her debit card to the opposite party and since the complainant was not having requisite remaining amount balance in her bank so her husband on behalf of the complainant made the remaining payment of Rs. 1,10,000/- through his credit card of HDFC Bank totaling Rs. 1,15,000/-. It has further been contended that when the complainant read out the terms and conditions of the aforesaid agreement, the complainant was shocked because there were so many terms and conditions in the agreement which were different from what were explained to her and other couples. The opposite party had given assurance to the complainant like banquet hall in Batala, Local Club like Lumsden and event passed all over India and AMC Rs. 4250/- . The opposite party had also given assurance to the complainant that they will provides membership update to the complainant frequently. Not only this they had also given false assurance to the complainant that complainant will be refunded back the interest amount charged on credit card payment of Rs. 1,10,000/- made by her husband because the husband of the complainant is regularly paying monthly interest of Rs. 3000/- to the HDFC Bank on account of using credit card for amount of Rs. 1,10,000/-. The complainant visited the opposite party and made numerous requests to the officials of the opposite party to refund back her amount of Rs. 1,15,000/- as she is not interested in that membership as terms and conditions were quite different from what were told to her by the officials of the opposite party, but opposite party did not pay any heed to the request of the complainant.
5. On the other hand, ld.counsel for the Opposite Party has repelled the aforesaid contention of the complainant on the ground that the complainant has filed the present complaint in order to wriggle out of the contract which has been duly signed by her after going through and fully understanding the contents thereof. Reliance in this connection has been placed upon “Grasim Industries Vs. M/s. Aggarwal Steel 2010(1) SCC 83 wherein it has been laid down by the Hon’ble Supreme Court that in our opinion when a person signed a document, there is a presumption, unless there is proof of force or fraud, that he has read the document properly and understood it and only then he has affixed his signatures thereon, otherwise no signatures on a document can ever be accepted.. It was submitted that complainant alongwith her husband herself visited the opposite party at Trillium Mall, Amritsar and enquired about various membership plans. It was submitted that complainant was given a brief presentation of 45 minutes on laptop by the sales representative of the opposite party in which she and her husband were explained about various membership plans, benefits, price and terms and conditions thereof, out of which complainant after understanding the future and benefits etc of the various plans, opted for the present blue session membership which suited her requirement and pocket. As per the plan the membership is for 10 years by which complainant is entitled to a vacation of 6 nights 7 days each year in the properties of opposite party for which amount of Rs. 1,15,000/- towards onetime non refundable vacation charges. It is pertinent to mention here that the complainant did not any protest or grievance to the terms and conditions of the agreement and after 9 days i.e. on 24.9.2016 , complainant made the balance payment of Rs. 1,13,000/- out of which Rs. 3000/- was paid by her through debit card remaining payment of Rs. 1,10,000/- was paid by the complainant through credit card her husband. It was submitted that complainant has affixed her signatures on the agreement after going through the contents of the same i.e. 15.7.2016 the As such the complainant cannot wriggle out from the terms and conditions of the contract/agreement in dispute.
6. But, however, from the appreciation of the evidence on record, it was not denial the fact that the complainant deposited a sum of Rs. 1,15,000/- for becoming the member of the club. However, ld.counsel for the complainant has vehemently contended that the complainant was shocked to know the terms and conditions as the same were different from what were explained to her as at that time complainant was compelled to sign only on agreement and no time was given to the complainant to read out the contents of the said agreement and the terms and conditions were not properly explained by the officials of the opposite party. It has been argued on behalf of the complainant that at the time of agreement the complainant was supposed to sign on dotted line . Ld Counsel for complainant further argued that the opposite parties cannot rely upon the terms and conditions which were never thoroughly explained to the complainant. Reliance in this connection has been placed upon 2001(1)CPR 93 (Supreme Court) 242 titled as M/s Modern Insulators Ltd Vs The Oriental Insurance Company Ltd, wherein Hon’ble Apex Court held that clauses which are not explained to complainant are not binding upon the insured and are required to be ignored. Furthermore, it is generally seen that Insurance Companies are only interested in earning the premiums and find ways and means to decline the claims. He further placed reliance on citation 2008(3)RCR (Civil) Page 111 titled as New India Assurance Company Ltd Vs Smt Usha Yadav & Others, wherein our Hon’ble Punjab & Haryana High Court held that it seems that Insurance Companies are only interested in earning premiums and find ways and means to decline the claims. The conditions, which generally are hidden, need to be simplified so that these are easily understood by a person at the time of buying any Policy. The Insurance Companies in such cases rely upon the clauses of agreement which a person is generally made to sign on dotted lines at the time of obtaining the policy.
As the complainant is not interested to continue with the abovesaid membership , as such the opposite party is liable to make refund of the payment which the complainant has deposited for obtaining the said membership of the opposite party. However, the second relief demanded by the complainant regarding payment of Rs. 69000/- as the opposite party was made payment to the tune of Rs. 1,10,000/-through credit card of the husband of the complainant is not sustainable in the eyes of law as it was the complainant who should first thought before making payment whether it should be made through credit card or by cash as if she is not having cash, she has to surrender the membership at that point and not to involve further as everybody knows that the payment through credit card imposes interest. As such the relief regarding payment of interest to the tune of Rs. 69000/- is declined.
7. In view of the above discussion, we allow the complaint and direct the opposite party to refund Rs. 1,15,000/- to the complainant . Compliance of the order be made within a period of one month from the date of receipt of copy of this order ; failing which complainant shall be entitled to interest @ 9% p.a. from the date of filing of the complaint till payment is made to the complainant. Cost of the litigation are assessed at Rs. 3000/-. Copies of the order be furnished to the parties free of costs. File is ordered to be consigned to the record room. Case could not be disposed of within the stipulated period due to heavy pendency of the cases in this Forum.
