Complainant Surjit Singh has filed the present complaint U/S 12 of the Consumer Protection Act (for short, C.P.Act.) has prayed for the necessary directions to the opposite parties to pay the amount against the plan of Rs.50,000/- to him, deposited against the policy alongwith interest from the date of its deposit till realization besides to pay Rs.15,000/- as compensation on account of harassment and mental agony alongwith Rs.5,000/- as litigation expenses to him.
2. The case of the complainant in brief is that he invested money in ‘P5/5Z (10) year Plan’ with the opposite party on 31.03.2013 under the registration no.PLCO35050 having customer ID 3490 and paid the single installment in lump-sum by cash to the opposite party amounting to Rs.50,000/-. The said plan has to be matured on 31.03.2023. He has further pleaded that he requested the opposite parties for the payment of the amount so deposited by him with them against said plan by opting out as the company has closed his collecting Centre at Ghuman, Tehsil and Distt.Gurdaspur and is not making the payments to its customers even on maturity, thus falls in the defaulting mode. The opposite parties have not fulfilled their terms and conditions of the plan and is playing fraud upon him. The opposite parties are not paying the amount so deposited by him in spite of various requests for the same and is harassing him mentally. Hence this complaint.
3. Notice of the complaint was issued to opposite parties but they did not appear in the Forum inspite of the service. Therefore, they were proceeded against ex-parte vide order dated 23.12.2014.
4. In exparte evidence, complainant has tendered his own affidavit Ex.C1 and copy of receipt dated 31.03.2013 Ex.C2 and closed the evidence.
5. We have heard the learned counsel for the complainant and have gone through the material on record carefully.
6. From the pleadings and evidence on record, it is clear that the complainant invested money in P5/5Z (10) years Plan of the opposite party on 31.03.2013 having customer ID 3490 and paid the single installment in lump sum by cash to the opposite party amounting to Rs.50,000/-. The complainant has placed on the file photocopy of receipt Ex.C2 dated 31.3.2013 vide which he has paid a sum of Rs.50,000/- to the opposite party. We find that there is a Clause ‘B’ for single payment plan where it is stipulated that “the investor may opt out, from the single payment plan only after completion of one year. The investors opting out from the Plan shall be refund the amount so deposited by them after completion of one year from the date of commencement of Plan, after deducting 10% of consideration amount + 03% per month of the annual amount for the remaining period of the Plan on account of various expenses and incidental charges. Further, the investors opting out of the Plan before completion of one year will be refunded the amount so deposited by them only after completion of one year subject to the abovesaid deduction. All such investors opting out from the plan before the completion of Plan period, will be paid the interest @ 10% per annum on the amount payable.’
7. The opposite parties have failed to appear in the Forum and file any reply and rebut the allegations leveled in the complaint and thus, have impliedly admitted the claim of the complainant. Accordingly, the present complaint is disposed off with the directions to the opposite parties to refund money invested by the complainant as per their own stipulation/Terms Clause ‘B’ referred above within a period of 30 days from the receipt of copy of order failing which the payable amount shall attract interest @ 9% from the date of orders till it is actually paid.
8. Copy of the order be communicated to the parties free of charges. After compliance, file be consigned.
(Naveen Puri)
President
Announced: (Jagdeep Kaur)
March 10, 2015 Member
*MK*
