BEFORE THE DISTRICT CONSUMER DISPUTES REDRESSAL COMMISSION
VAZHUTHACAUD, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM.
PRESENT
SRI. P.V.JAYARAJAN : PRESIDENT
SMT. PREETHA G. NAIR : MEMBER
SRI. VIJU V.R : MEMBER
C.C. No. 330/2023(Filed on 27.06.2023)
ORDER DATED: 29.08.2024
Complainant:
Lion Dr. A.K. Abbas Lions Governor, 2013-14 “Abaasil”, House No. 657, Darsan Nagar, Peroorkada, Thiruvananthapuram-695 005.
(By Adv. A.S. Naushad)
Opposite party:
Kaushik Salviya, Low Vision Solutions C-104, Harivilla Apartment, Near Kragil Petrol Pump, Chanakyapuri Road, Ghatlodia, Ahmedabad-380 061, Gujarat, India.
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ORDER
SRI. P. V. JAYARAJAN: PRESIDENT
This complaint is filed under Sec. 35 of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 and the matter stood over to this date for consideration. After hearing the matter this Commission passed an order as follows:
2. This is a complaint filed by the complainant against the opposite party alleging deficiency in service and unfair trade practice on the part of the opposite party. After admitting the complaint notice was issued to the opposite party. The said notice was accepted by the opposite party on 14.08.2023. Even after accepting the notice the opposite party failed to appear before this Commission and hence on 06.10.2023 the opposite party was called absent and set ex-parte.
3. The case of the complainant in short is that the complainant’s 42-year-old son is a person with profound deafness and partial blindness, having only 10-20% vision. The complainant was in search of a suitable device as a solution for his son’s vision problem and learned about Nueyes Inc, USA through social media. On contact, they introduced the opposite party as the exclusive distributor of NuEyes Vision, USA. One of the representatives of the opposite party viz; Mr. Rajan conducted a demonstration of the product. The eye glasses used for demonstration was ‘NuEyes Pro’ eye glasses. As the complainant was satisfied with the demo conducted by the representative of the opposite party, the complainant finalized to purchase the ‘NuEyes Pro’ eye glasses. In pursuant to that the opposite party demanded a sum of Rs. 4,94,760/- in advance which includes the product’s value, service charge, transportation etc. As demanded by the opposite party, the complainant made payment of Rs. 4,94,760/- by RTGS mode of payment. The amount was paid on 23.05.2022. Even after waiting for several months the complainant did not receive the product and hence as a result of continuous contact and messages by way of enquiry conducted by the complainant, the product was delivered with invoice dated 19.07.2022 and on opening the parcel it is found that the product was not the ‘NuEyes Pro’ eye glasses as demonstrated. Instead of that the opposite party delivered the item which was described as ‘NuEyes Pro 3’. Upon using ‘NuEyes Pro 3’ product for the first time, the complainant’s son felt uncomfortable and dissatisfied. The product which was used at the time of demonstration was very comfortable for complainant’s son. Immediately after that the complainant contacted the opposite party and explained the difficulties with the product ‘NuEyes Pro 3’. The complainant also made request to the opposite party to either replace the product or refund the amount already paid. The opposite party acknowledged the error and promised to replace the product. But the promise made by the opposite party turned out to be a false promise and they have neither replaced nor refunded the amount of the product. In spite of multiple contacts made by the complainant through e-mail and phone calls, the opposite party not responded to any of such communications. Hence alleging deficiency in service and unfair trade practice on the part of the opposite party, the complainant approached this Commission for redressing his grievances.
4. The evidence in this case consists of PW1 and Exts. A1 to A7 from the side of the complainant. The opposite party being declared ex-parte, there is no affidavit or documents from the side of the opposite party.
5. Issues to be considered are:
- Whether there is any deficiency in service and unfair trade practice on the part of the opposite party?
- Whether the complainant is entitled to the reliefs claimed in the complaint?
- Order as to costs?
6. Issues (i) to (iii): Heard. Perused the affidavit, documents and connected records. To substantiate the case of the complainant, the complainant himself sworn an affidavit as PW1 and Exts. A1 to A7 were produced and marked. Ext. A1 is the tax invoice issued by the opposite party to the complainant for Rs. 4,94,760/-. Ext. A1(a) is the copy of the delivery chalan issued by the opposite party. Exts. A2 and A3 are the courier details sent by the opposite party to the complainant. Ext. A4 series are the letters issued by the complainant to the opposite party. Ext. A5 is the letter addressed to opposite party by the complainant demanding replacement or refund of the amount. Ext. A6 is the copy of the legal notice issued on behalf of the complainant. Ext. A6(a) is the returned registered letter with envelope and acknowledgment addressed to the opposite party. Ext. A7 is the postal receipt. By producing Ext. A1 series the complainant has established that he has paid Rs. 4,94,760/- to the opposite party. Exts. A2 and A3 prove that the product has been sent to the complainant by courier service. Ext. A4 series Ext. A5 which are the communications sent by the complainant to the opposite party shows that the complainant has demanded replacement of the product or refund of the amount already paid by the complainant to the opposite party. As the opposite party was declared ex-parte, there is no contra evidence from the side of the opposite party to discredit the evidence adduced by the complainant. Hence the evidence adduced by the complainant stands unchallenged. In the absence of any evidence from the side of the opposite party, we accept the evidence adduced by the complainant. By swearing an affidavit as PW1 and by marking Exts. A1 to A7 documents, we find that the complainant has succeeded in establishing his case against the opposite party. From the series of communications sent by the complainant to the opposite party it is evident that the complainant has undergone mental stress due to the act of the opposite party. From the available evidence before this Commission, we find that there is deficiency in service and unfair trade practice on the part of the opposite party. It is also evident that the complainant has suffered mental agony and financial loss due to the act of the opposite party. As the mental agony and financial loss to the complainant was caused due to the deficiency in service and unfair trade practice on the part of the opposite party, we find that the opposite party is liable to compensate the loss sustained by the complainant. In view of the above discussions, we find that this is a fit case to be allowed in favour of the complainant.
In the result, the complaint is allowed. The opposite party is directed to refund Rs. 4,94,760/- (Rupees Four Lakhs Ninety Four Thousand Seven Hundred and Sixty only) along with Rs. 25,000/- (Rupees Twenty Five Thousand only) as compensation and Rs. 2,500/- (Rupees Two Thousand Five Hundred only) being the cost of this proceedings to the complainant within 30 days from the date of receipt of this order failing which the amount except cost shall carry an interest @ 9% per annum from the date of order till the date of remittance/realization.
A copy of this order as per the statutory requirements be forwarded to the parties free of charge and thereafter the file be consigned to the record room.
Dictated to the Confidential Assistant, transcribed by her, corrected by me and pronounced in the Open Court, this the 29th day of August 2024.
Sd/-
P.V.JAYARAJAN : PRESIDENT
Sd/-
PREETHA G. NAIR : MEMBER
Sd/-
VIJU V.R : MEMBER
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C.C. No. 330/2023
APPENDIX
I COMPLAINANT’S WITNESS:
PW1 - Dr. A.K. Abbas
II COMPLAINANT’S DOCUMENTS:
A1 - Copy of tax invoice issued by the opposite party to the complainant
for Rs. 4,94,760/-.
A1(a) - Copy of delivery chalan issued by the opposite party
A2 - Copy of courier details sent by the opposite party to the complainant
A3 - Copy of courier details sent by the opposite party to the complainant
A4(series)- Copy of letters issued by the complainant to the opposite party
A5 - Copy of letter addressed to opposite party by the complainant
A6 - Copy of the legal notice issued on behalf of the complainant
A6 (a)- Returned registered letter with envelope and acknowledgment
addressed to the opposite party
A7 - Postal receipt.
III OPPOSITE PARTY’S WITNESS:
NIL
IV OPPOSITE PARTY’S DOCUMENTS:
NIL
Sd/-
PRESIDENT
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