The Complainant submitted that he use to pay the bills regularly and he has cleared the electric bill till the month of October, 2013 but the complainant received an exaggerated bill for the month of November-December, 2013 on 16.12.2014 for an amount f Rs. 5,200/- which is false, fabricated and without verification of previous reading and present reading. Being a poor and BPL he has a small hut with a single room at NAC colony, Malkangiri and he is using a single bulb only. Due to said illegal and exaggerated bill the complainant received mental agony and financial loss. Though the same was brought to the notice of the O.P. they paid deaf ear.
The O.Ps filed version and submitted that the complainant is a consumer. It is submitted that the provisional bills for the month of 4/2013 to 12/2013 were adjusted with the final reading and adjusted in the bill for the month of November-December, 2013 as such there is no excess amount charged on the bill. In order to verify the reason of excess bill for the Opposite parties were put parallel meter and found the existing meter is correct.
The fact of this case makes it clear that the dispute is for exaggerated electric bill of Nov-Dec, 2013 issued on 16.01.2013 vide electric bill No. 584 prepared for the two months making total demand of Rs. 5,200/-. The complainant’s positive case is that he used to reside in a hut of single room and was a consumer of domestic meter. As it appears further, a domestic consumer who is a BPL cannot consume such unit a month that entitles the opposite parties to claim such huge amount. The opposite parties asserted that the bills were prepared in terms of the units registered in the meter adjusting all the provisional bills of previous months. The Opposite Parties are claiming that they were fixed a parallel meter to know the reason of excess billing but no test report of said parallel meter are exhibited before the Forum in support of their claim. In absence of the test report it should be believed that the present meter is the defective meter as the complainant alleged, because the O.Ps are unable to file any test repot of the present new meter even in the Forum. Under the circumstances we have every doubt now regarding the proper function of the meter fixed at the residence of the complainant. So, doubtful meter is bound to register doubtful unit. So, bill prepared on the basis of the unit registered by a doubtful meter is not at all reliable. So, we have no other alternative but to quash the bill No. 584 dated 15.1.2014. So, in view of the facts and circumstances and the case of the complainant this Forum is of the opinion that the disputed bill is liable to be quashed and the opposite parties are directed to prepare a fresh bill taking into consideration the history of the consumption of average units against the old meter.
Keeping in view the above facts and circumstances of the present case, we arrived at the conclusion that the complaint is tenable. We find that the Opposite Parties are deficient in service and jointly and severally committed unfair trade practice in this case for which the complainant is entitled to the relief. Hence, it is ordered that :-
ORDER
The bill No. 584 dated 16.1.2014 be quashed. The opposite parties are directed issue proper bill after fixing a new and perfect meter, after observing three months consumptions, fix average monthly consumption from April-2013 onwards, deduct the total payments made by the complainant from the total amounts and allow the complainant to pay in (4)Four installments. The Forum also ordered the O.Ps to pay Rs. 1000/- to complainant as compensation foe mental agony and Rs. 1000/- as cost of the case within 30 days from the date of the order.
The complaint is disposed of accordingly.
