New Complaint No.220 of 2023.
Date of Institution: 26.10.2023.
Old Complaint No: 232 of 2018.
Date of Institution: 21.05.2018.
Date of order:12.12.2023.
Chandan Son of Late Sh. Saroop Masih, resident of H.No.221/6, Shehzada Nangal, Mandi, Gurdaspur.
…...Complainant.
VERSUS
1. Grow-Mark India Multi Trade Pvt. Ltd., Guru Nanak Nagar, Kalanaur Road, Near Brainy Bear School, Gurdaspur, through its Managing Director Suresh Kumar.
2. Suresh Kumar Managing Director of Grow-Mark India Multi Trade Pvt. Ltd., Guru Nanak Nagar, Kalanaur Road, Near Brainy Bear School, Gurdaspur.
3. Gafoor Masih Son of not known, resident of Village Kang P.O. Dhariwal Tehsil and District Gurdaspur.
….Opposite parties.
Complaint Under section 12 of the Consumer Protection Act.
Present: For the Complainant: Sh.K.K. Attri, Advocate.
Opposite Parties: None.
Quorum: Sh.Lalit Mohan Dogra, President, Sh.Bhagwan Singh Matharu, Member.
ORDER
Lalit Mohan Dogra, President.
Chandan, Complainant (here-in-after referred to as complainant) has filed this complaint under section 12 of the Consumer Protection Act (here-in-after referred to as 'Act') against Grow-Mark India Multi Trade Pvt. Ltd. Etc. (here-in-after referred to as 'opposite parties).
2. Briefly stated, the case of the complainant is that the complainant is resident of above noted address and the OP No. 3 being friend of the complainant approached him July 2016 and asked him to invest Rs.1000/- per month with the OP No. 1 for 14 months and as per scheme / lucky draw of the OP No. 1 it was assured that if draw goes in your favour at any stage before completing the installments, no further payment will be taken by company. It is pleaded that if no draw goes in favour of any investor till last installment then he will be given any item worth Rs.14,000/- or investor can get his money back without interest i.e. Rs.14,000/- paid by him. It is pleaded that as such the complainant started investing Rs.1000/- per month with the OP No. 1 through the OP No. 2 from the month of July 2016 and again started investing Rs.2000/- per month from the month of August 2016 and paid total amount of Rs.42,000/- with the OP No. 1 through the OP No. 3 as such the complainant is consumer of the OP’s. It is further pleaded that against each investment of Rs.1000/- per month the OP’s issued three ID Numbers i.e. (1) SM42341417 (2) SM 92700268 and (3) SM94569333 in the name of the complainant and same are operated on internet on site of the OP No. 1 i.e. www.growmarkindia.com. It is pleaded that OP’s claimed that they are duly authorized by Government to run their business / draw system / networking business vide which they sell their self-made items as LED’s, Sofa Sets, R.O. system etc. It is further pleaded that it was also assured by the OP’s that items given by the company to their investors are of very good quality and worth of their investment, but as a matter of fact the whole business is being done by the OP’s is illegal as they are working as Chit Fund Company and innocent people are being looted by the OP’s on the name of Draw and networking system as items / material the OP’s are providing to their investors are of very poor quality and when investors ask them to return their money, they offer only 50% cash back to them. It is further pleaded that the complainant invested Rs.42,000/- with the OP’s and same was collected from him by the OP No. 3 i.e. Rs.3,000/- every month, but no draw was opened in favour of complainant till last payment. It is further pleaded that there remains no installment of investment due towards the complainant, but the OP’s are not giving his invested money back as they offering only Rs.21,000/- instead of Rs.42,000/- and on the other hand they are offering him to get items claiming worth Rs.42,000/- which are actually worth about Rs.20,000/- to Rs.25,000/- only. It is further pleaded that it is clear from the act and conduct of the OP’s that they are playing fraud with the innocent investors as they are doing with complainant and grabbing their hard earned money. First of all, the OP’s used money of the complainant for 14 month and offering no interest on the same and even refusing to pay the invested amount and forcing to take items of very poor quality which fact clearly shows malafide intentions of the OP’s to grab the hard earned money of the complainant. It is further pleaded that the complainant talked many a times on phone with the OP’s and visited their office to get his money back, but of no use. It is pleaded that due to this illegal act and conduct of the opposite parties the complainant has suffered great loss and also suffered mental agony, Physical harassment and inconvenience. It is pleaded that there is a clear cut deficiency in service on the part of the opposite parties.
On this backdrop of facts, the complainant has alleged deficiency and unfair trade practice on the part of the opposite parties and prayed that necessary directions may kindly be issued to the opposite parties to pay back the invested amount of the complainant i.e. of Rs.42,000/- alongwith interest @ 18% P.A and the OP’s may also be burdened with cost of Rs.20,000/- and also to be burdened with Rs.30,000/- for harassment and litigation expenses to the complainant, in the interest of justice.
3. Upon notice, the opposite parties No.1 and 2 appeared through counsel and contested the complaint and filing their written reply, stating therein that Before proceed further, we would like to inform your Honor that Grow MARK Group is a strategic business arm of more than Four years old which had played a pivotal role in ushering in a new dawn in India's retail business environment. It is pleaded that "Grow Mark India Multi-Trade Private Limited" is a dynamic company managed by thoughtful and passionate group of experts, who are self-motivated to create vibrations in the retail Industry through their fool-proof and innovative ideas. It is pleaded that Grow MARK is today seen as a trendsetter and has taken mega initiatives to develop a niche in the highly competitive and fast growing retail market company in India. It is pleaded that company is young and already foreseeing numerous growth prospects for itself and its customers. The company is one of the fastest growing retail companies in India. It is further pleaded that most importantly, we feel pleased to inform you that "Grow Mark India Multi-Trade Private Limited" is a Private Limited Company registered under the Companies Act, 2013," vide CIN (i.e. Corporate Identification Number) is U51900PB2014PTC038870, Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India. It has established a strong presence in the different cities of Punjab and other states also. It is pleaded that ee offer THE EXCELLENT customer services in the retail industry and have set up a social goal to provide excellent employment opportunities to youngsters, women and elderly people. It is further pleaded that the Company is a Private Limited Company and one of the main objects of the company is to carry on the business of sale and promotion of their own manufactured products like Furniture, Electronic appliances - LED's, Water R.O, Washing Machines etc. It is pleaded that quality of the products has been certified by the ISO Certification Agency, which is competent authority to certify the quality of products as well as affairs and conduct of the company. It is further pleaded that this fact can be cross checked after the verification of Memorandum of Article of Association of the company, which is the statutory document to be submitted at the time of registration of a company with Ministry of Corporate Affairs. Under the company's plan, company receives consent from its customers for participation in their marketing plan, in which the marketing associate of the company clear all the terms and conditions of the plan. It is pleaded that every business transaction between the company and its customer is an independent deal for participation for marketing plan and purchase of product of company as per the choice of the customer at the end of the tenure. It is further pleaded that the transactions between the company and customers are genuine and lawful as per various laws, by-laws, rules and regulations of the respective Government. Under the agreement, customers pay the amount in monthly installments. The company does not promise that any draw goes in favour of any specified customer, who participates in the marketing plan of the company. As per the company's plan, company will provide their own manufactured products in easy monthly installments to the customers which are in conformity with the relevant provisions of The Sales of goods Act, 1930. It is further pleaded that the company is discharging its obligations in the shape of conducted audit under Companies Act, 2013 as well as Income-tax Act, 1961, filing of returns with Income-tax Department, Goods and Service Tax Department as well as Registrar of Companies, maintaining of books of accounts as per Accounting Standard and compliances made with respective authorities applicable to them. It is further pleaded that after going through the aforesaid submission, your Honour will appreciate that the allegation leveled against the company with regard to Chit Fund Company and company involved in the activities of collecting/mobilizing monies from general public through fraud and illegal manner and giving products of bad quality, is not according to facts as mentioned above and the information which are available with your Honour about the business activities are based on concocted story of the complainant. It is further pleaded that the complainant has participated in the marketing plan of the company for purchase of proposed products only and deposited its monthly installments as per company's marketing plan chosen by him. It is further pleaded that if the draw goes in favour of the complainant then no further payment will be accepted by the company and if no draw goes in favour of complainant then he will be offered to choose an item of which MRP will Rs.14,000 but, it is wrong that company will give money back if no draw goes in his favour. It is further pleaded that it has also been mentioned in the 1st terms and conditions that this marketing plan has been designed by the company for enhance their own manufactured product's sale. It is pleaded that marketing plan of the company is easy and convenient for all the customers, who are interested to buy the need base products on monthly installments. It has also been mentioned in the 13th terms and conditions of the company that company will never return the cash or cheque in any case but at the end of the tenure company will offer the own manufactured products of which MRP equivalent to the deposited amount as per choice of the customers. It is further pleaded that the purpose of this marketing plan of the company is just to promote their business and for increasing the sale of the company's products and company will only give product in lieu of money received from customers through monthly installments. It is pleaded that company is selling their own manufactured products and promotes their sale through both business models i.e. traditional model and direct selling model. The quality of the products is certified by ISO certification agency which is competent to certify the quality of products as well as affairs and conduct of the company. It is further pleaded that all terms and conditions have been also mentioned on the brochure of the company, which is given to every registered customer, who participate in the marketing plan of the company. It is pleaded that company never forced to any customer to purchase any specified item, but the customers choose the product as per his/her choice. It is further pleaded that in this group of marketing plan in which total 3000 customers participated and all the customers are satisfied except the complainant and all have taken their deliveries of products.
On merits, the opposite parties No.1 and 2 denied all the averments of the complaint and there is no deficiency in service on the part of the opposite parties. In the end, the opposite parties prayed for dismissal of complaint with costs.
4. Upon notice, the opposite party No.3 appeared through counsel and contested the complaint and filing their written reply, stating therein that the OP No. 3 is law abiding citizen of India. The OP No. 3 has no relation whatsoever with the Company as well as with the Complainant in question. The OP No. 3 is Government employee with the Department of Indian Post posted at Dhariwal (Gurdaspur). It is pleaded that complainant has only made a concocted story against the OP No.3, without application of mind and any basis, which is totally arbitrary, contrary and bad in law. It is pleaded that after going through the aforesaid submission, your Honor will appreciate that the allegation leveled against the OP No. 3 with regard to agent of the OP No. 1 i.e. Company, is not according to facts as mentioned above and the information which are available with your Honor about the OP No. 3 are based on concocted story incorporated in the complaint. Hence, the complainant is not entitled to claim anything whatsoever from the opposite party No.3.
On merits, the opposite party No.3 denied all the averments of the complaint and there is no deficiency in service on the part of the opposite party. In the end, the opposite party prayed for dismissal of complaint with costs.
5. Learned counsel for the complainant has tendered into evidence affidavit of Chandan, (Complainant) as Ex.CW-1/A alongwith other document as Ex.C-1.
6. The opposite parties No.1 and 2 have filed Brochure as Ex.OP-1/A alongwith reply.
7. Learned counsel for the opposite party No.3 has filed reply.
8. Rejoinder not filed by the complainant.
9. Written arguments filed by the complainant, but not filed by the opposite parties.
10. Counsel for the complainant has argued that complainant was approached by opposite party No.3 to invest Rs.1000/- per month with opposite party No.1 for 14 months and assured the complainant about the lucky draw and in case of no lucky draw payment shall be refunded by the company. It is further argued that complainant had started investing Rs.1000/- per month in three schemes with three different IDs and accordingly deposited Rs.42,000/- with the opposite party No.1. It is further argued that opposite party No.1 has refused to refund the amount and rather compelling to purchase sub standard items which amounts to deficiency in service.
11. It is pleaded by the opposite parties No.1 and 2 in their reply that opposite party No.1 company is a private limited company registered with registrar of companies and the company had never assured the complainant regarding refund of the amount rather the opposite party No.1 company is carrying a business of sale and promotion of their own manufactured products like furniture, electronic appliances, LED's, water R.O., washing machine etc. with ISO certification. It is further pleaded that complainant has concocted a false story as such there is no deficiency in service on the part of opposite parties No.1 and 2.
12. Opposite party No.3 has pleaded in their reply that opposite party No.3 is a govt. employee and has nothing to do with the schemes launched opposite parties No.1 and 2.
13. We have heard the Ld. counsel for the complainant and gone through the pleadings of the opposite parties and record.
14. It is admitted fact that complainant had invested Rs.3,000/- per month in three different investment schemes with three different IDs. The only disputed issue for adjudication before this Commission is whether complainant is entitled to receive the refund of the amount. The plea of opposite parties No.1 and 2 that they are carrying business of sale and promotion of their own manufactured products but the said plea is itself falsified from perusal of broacher Ex.C1 wherein detail of products of different companies is given, meaning thereby that the opposite parties No.1 and 2 had given wrong information in the broacher to allure the general public to invest in their schemes and thereafter pressuring their clients to purchase products of the choice of the opposite parties No.1 and 2. We are of the view that since the complainant has invested the amount with the opposite parties No.1 and 2 as such complainant is within his right to purchase the product of best quality of his own choice. Complainant is further within his right to receive the refund of the amount if product is not as per the choice of the complainant and opposite parties No.1 and 2 cannot force the complainant to purchase the product as per their choice. Accordingly, failure on the part of opposite parties No.1 and 2 to refund the amount amounts to deficiency in service.
15. Accordingly, present complaint is partly allowed and opposite parties No.1 and 2 are directed to refund the amount of Rs.42,000/- to the complainant alongwith interest @ 9% P.A. from the date of filing of the present complaint till realization within 30 days from the date of receipt of copy of this order. No order as to costs.
16. The complaint could not be decided within the stipulated period due to heavy pendency of Court Cases, vacancies in the office and due to pandemic of Covid-19.
17. Copy of the order be communicated to the parties free of charges. After compliance, file be consigned to record.
(Lalit Mohan Dogra)
President
Announced: (B.S.Matharu)
Dec. 12, 2023 Member
*YP*
