Smt. Sahana Ahmed Basu, Member.
This is an application u/s.12 of the C.P. Act, 1986.
The case, in brief, is that the complainant and his wife entered into a contract with the O.P. on 24/05/2012 and paid Rs.90,000/- as membership charge for 5 years. They did not get proper service as per terms and conditions and O.Ps. had been charging membership fee without giving and / or offering entertainment as required for the places described in the said agreement. The cause of action arose when complainant-2 suffers serious fracture in femur bone and had to undergo surgical operation. In such circumstances, they wanted to revoke their membership on the ground of their physical inability and return of the amount Rs.90,000/- minus Rs.14,000/- i.e. Rs.76,000/- on 21/03/2017. But the O.P. palpably failed and neglected to pay any heed to the same. Thereafter, the complainants made several requests and demands to the O.P. over phone to refund the money, but the O.P. remained unturned. Finding no other alternative, the complainants approached this Forum for seeking justice.
The O.P. contested the case by filing W.V. The case of the O.P. is that the instant case is vindictive, motivated, harassing and misconceived. Moreover, the complaint is not a consumer dispute as the complainants never approached to O.Ps. with the request of any service. Any physical infirmities of any of the complainant was never intimated to them. Complainants never raised any objection / protest / complaints against the O.Ps. for not providng any service or facilities. The Agreement was signed on 24/05/2012 for 5 years of service and the complainant raised his grievance on 21/03/2017 i.e. just 66 days prior to expiry of the said Agreement to gain money by illegal and fraudulent means. Therefore, they denied any deficiency in service and submitted that complainants are not entitled to get any relief and to claim and recover anything from the O.Ps.
Point for Decision
On pleadings of the parties following points have been raised for the sake of proper and effective adjudication of the case.
- Are the O.Ps. deficient in rendering service and indulged in unfair trade practice?
- Are the complainants entitled tog et relief / reliefs as prayed for ?
Decision with Reasons
All the points are taken up together for the sake of convenience and brevity in discussion.
Both the parties have tendered evidence through affidavit. The complainant filed questionnaire. We found that in spite of getting several opportunities O.Ps. demonstrated negligence by not filing reply, E/Chief and questionnaire. They are bound to obey the procedure of the Forum as a law abiding citizen. This type of attitude is highly condemnable. Both the parties have filed BNAs.
It is undisputed that the complainants purchased the membership from the O.Ps. by depositing Rs.90,000/- for 5 years. It also remains the fact that the complainant-2 had gone through a major surgical treatment. Therefore, and for the previous bitter experiences they desired to to revoke the membership.
On perusal of the record, we find that the complainants obtained the membership by paying Rs.90,000/- for 5 years on 24/05/2012 and expressed their desire for revocation by phone and sending letter to O.Ps. through Ld. Lawyer on 21/03/2017 i.e. only 63 days before the expiry date. In the mean time, by utilizing the said membership they visited Nainital in Uttarakhand in the year 2014 in summer and Delhi in the same year in September. The complainant stated through complaint, E/Chief and questionnaire that they were deprived of provided accommodation on the said tours. But it is not clear from their submission whether they lodged any complaint at that time regarding deficiency in service. They raised this objection after 3 years. They also submitted that the Club is getting subscription of Rs.7,000/- per year from each member. But they had to deposit Rs.90,000/- which is purposeless. We observed that when they signed the Agreement for 5 years and paid the amount then these pointsshould have been raised. As per complainant, the Club is a trading club as they are not engaged in promotion of pictures, sports, art and science or citizenship or literative or for any law purpose. It is our observation that they took long 5 years to realize the fact. They should have left the membership earlier. So, we are of the opinion that they can discontinue the membership any time. But doing the same just 63 days before expiry and demanding to refund of deposited money is not justified and has no merit.
An Agreement is a contract between the parties. Every agreement is based on some terms and conditions. In this instant case, when the complainants obtained the membership they agreed with the terms and conditionsof the O.Ps. where it is clearly mentioned that “THE MEMBERSHIP FEES IS NON-REFUNDABLE UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES AND THE MEMBERSHIP FEE IS NOT A DEPOSIT.”It is also mentioned there that “the party hereby declares that he / she / they will abide by Rules and regulations and Bye-Laws prevailing in CCIL in respect of the membership concerned and also shall punctually and correctly comply with the Terms and Conditions agreed upon and hereinafter set out.” So, we found no deficiency in service or unfair trade practice on the part of the O.Ps.. The complainants are not entitled to get any relief. Thus all the points answered in the negative.
Therefore, the instant case is dismissed on merit against the O.Ps.
In the result, the case fails.
Hence,
Ordered
That the case be and the same is dismissed on contest against the O.Ps. without any cost.
