DISTRICT CONSUMER DISPUTES REDRESSAL COMMISSION, ERNAKULAM

Dated this the 1^st day of April, 2024.

Filed on 02/12/2023

PRESENT
Shri D.B. Binu                                                                         President
Shri V. Ramachandran                                                             Member
Smt. Sreevidhia.T.N                                                                 Member

C.C. NO. 924/2023

COMPLAINANT
Kasinath Rajeev, S/o. Rajeev P,288A, Karoor PO, 686574.

VS

OPPOSITE PARTIES

1. Flipkart Internet Private Limited, Buildings Alyssa, Begonia & Clover, Embassy Tech Village, Outer Ring Road, Devarabeesanahalli Village, Bengaluru, Karnataka, Pin code - 560103
2. Nutrabay Retail Private Limited, 1^st Floor, K.H.No. 286, Pul Pehladpur (Lal Kuan), Badarpur Mehrauli Road, New Delhi, South Delhi-110044.

FINAL ORDER

D.B. Binu, President.

A brief statement of the facts of this complaint is as follows:

The complaint, filed under Section 35 of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, describes a distressing experience with Flipkart concerning an order of creatine monohydrate placed on October 15, 2023. Despite a promised delivery by October 26, 2023, and an SMS assurance on October 24 that the product would be delivered by 9 PM that same day, the delivery status was unexpectedly updated to "delivered" the following day, without the product ever reaching the consumer.

Upon addressing this discrepancy with Flipkart's help center, the consumer faced repetitive claims from the support team, asserting that the product had been delivered as per their technical team's findings, yet failing to provide concrete evidence of delivery to the correct address. Despite multiple complaints and requests for either a refund or the actual delivery of the product, Flipkart failed to resolve the issue.

As the situation remained unresolved, the consumer sought legal recourse by engaging Online Legal India, leading to a legal notice being sent to Flipkart, demanding compensation and a refund. This notice, however, remained unanswered by Flipkart. Attempts to seek assistance from the National Consumer Helpline were unsuccessful due to a contested claim about the timing of the complaint filing.

The reliefs sought in the complaint include a refund for the cost of the undelivered product (Rs. 275), compensation for mental agony and harassment (Rs. 25,000), and coverage of litigation costs (Rs. 2,800), highlighting significant issues related to customer service, delivery verification processes, and e-commerce platform responsiveness to consumer grievances.

The commission notified the complainant about a hearing to clarify its territorial jurisdiction issues. Despite efforts to contact the complainant via telephone on January 17, 2024, for this hearing, the complainant was neither present nor responded to calls from the commission's registry.

After two attempts to reach the complainant by phone to request documents that could establish the commission's jurisdiction over the matter, and with the case pending for 21 days, it was scheduled for a decision on March 14, 2024. However, the complainant's absence on this date led to the decision to proceed without further delay, marking the matter for a final order on April 1, 2024. Due to the lack of territorial jurisdiction, as outlined in the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, the complaint was dismissed without costs. The commission advised the complainant that they are free to re-file the complaint with the appropriate commission if they wish to pursue the matter further.

ORDER

Based on the circumstances presented, the complaint is dismissed for lack of territorial jurisdiction. No costs incurred.

Pronounced in the open Commission on this the 1^st day of April, 2024

Sd/-

D.B.Binu, President

Sd/-

Sreevidhia.T.N, Member

Forwarded/by Order

Assistant Registrar

Despatch date:

By hand:     By post                                                  

kp/

CC No. 924/2023

Order Date: 01/04/2024