Chandigarh

StateCommission

A/69/2021

Country Club Hospitality & Holidays Ltd. - Complainant(s)

Versus

Sooba Singh - Opp.Party(s)

Pradeep Sharma, B.L. Sharma & Rohit Malik Adv.

10 May 2022

ORDER

STATE CONSUMER DISPUTES REDRESSAL COMMISSION, U.T. CHANDIGARH

============

Appeal No	:	A/69/2021
Date  of  Institution	:	07/09/2021
Date   of   Decision	:	10/05/2022

 

 

 

 

 

Country Vacations (A Division of Country Club Hospitality & Holidays Limited) (CCHHL), Regd. Office at Amrutha Castle, 5-9-16, Saifabad, Opposite Secretariat, Hyderabad – 500063 and Cooperate Office at Country Club, Kool Building 6-3-1219, Begumpet, Hyderabad – 500016, through its Managing Director.

 

3rd Address: SCO 44-45, 2nd Floor, Above Punjab National Bank, Madhya Marg, Sector 9-D, Chandigarh -160009.

…. Appellant

 

V E R S U S

 

1.   Sooba Singh S/o Sh. Harbans Singh

2.   Kulwinder Kaur W/o Sooba Singh

     Both resident of House No.615, Sector 47-A, Chandigarh.

…… Respondents

 

BEFORE:   JUSTICE RAJ SHEKHAR ATTRI    PRESIDENT

MRS. PADMA PANDEY            MEMBER

          MR. RAJESH K. ARYA           MEMBER

 

PRESENT	:	Sh. Pradeep Sharma, Advocate for the Appellant.
		Sh. Sooba Singh, Respondent No.1 in person and also on behalf of Respondent No.2.

 

PER PADMA PANDEY, MEMBER

 

 

 

This appeal is directed against the order dated 09.06.2021 rendered by the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission-II, U.T. Chandigarh (for brevity ‘the Ld. Lower Commission’), vide which, it allowed the Consumer Complaint bearing no. CC/917/2019, in the following terms:-

“8.  Keeping into consideration the fair play and interest of justice, the complaint is allowed with direction to the OP to:-

(i)  refund Rs.71,000/- along with interest @ 9% p.a. from the date of its deposit till its realization to the complainants.

(ii) pay a sum of Rs.15,000/- towards compensation for mental agony and physical harassment to the complainants.

(iii) pay a sum of Rs.11,000/- as litigation expenses.

9.   This order be complied with by the OP, within 30 days from the date of receipt of its certified copy, failing which the amount at Sr. No.(ii) shall also carry interest @9% per annum from the date of this order till its actual payment besides compliance of other directions.” 

 

2.      Before the District Commission-I, it was the case of the Respondents/Complainants that being allured by the promises made by Sh.Baljinder Singh, Executive of the Appellant/OP, they entered into a Sale Agreement dated 02.09.2018 (Annexure C-1) to purchase the membership of the Appellant/OP for a sum of Rs.86,000/- and deposited an amount of Rs.71,000/- by way of three transactions through debit card (Annexure C-2 (colly) and paid Rs.15,000/- cash to Sh.Baljinder Singh on 17.09.2018. After waiting sufficiently for the membership, the Respondents/ complainants approached the Appellant/OP and they were informed that no membership card was to be given and only a membership detail was to be provided subject to payment of Rs.5,000/- as cost, which was not mentioned in the agreement.  Accordingly, they paid Rs.5,000/- in cash to the Appellant/OP and thereafter they were issued acknowledgment of Rs.71,000/- only instead of Rs.86,000/-. They were informed that they were required to pay Rs.10,500/- towards mandatory annual administrative charges irrespective of uses of facility and they were eligible for 6 nights 7 days holidays under the category Season Blue and Room Type: Studio for 2 Adults and 2 Children under 12 years age.  According to the Respondents/complainants, they requested the Appellant/OP to provide the receipt for Rs.15,000/- and Rs.5,000/- paid in cash, but the same was not issued on one pretext or other. It has been averred that they have been trying to avail the services of the holiday vacation for his family for the period as mentioned in the agreement by visiting the Appellant’s/OP’s office on various occasions, but they have been denied the benefits on one pretext or other and finally, they requested the Appellant/OP to cancel the membership and to refund the deposited amounts, but to no effect. Ultimately, the complainants got served the Appellant/OP with a legal notice dated 05.07.2019, but all in vain. Hence, the aforesaid Consumer Complaint was filed before the District Commission-I, alleging deficiency in service and unfair trade practice on the part of the Respondents/OPs.

 

3.      In the reply filed before the Ld. Lower Commission, while admitting the factual matrix of the case, the Appellant/ Opposite Party pleaded that the Respondents/complainants entered into the agreement on 02.09.2018 for Rs.86,000/- and paid Rs.71,000/- in three transactions only and not Rs.86000/- as alleged.  As per Clause 10 of the agreement annual charges of Rs.10,500/- excluding taxes is applicable and to be paid in advance every year irrespective of uses of facility. It has been averred that as per clause 26 of the agreement, the Respondents/ complainants were entitled to cool off period of 10 days from the date of signing the agreement and they were free to cancel the agreement and claim the refund of the amount after deduction of Rs.3,800/- and after the expiry of the aforesaid period, the membership fee is non-refundable under any circumstances. Denying all other allegations and pleading no deficiency in service, the Appellant/ Opposite Party prayed for dismissal of the Complaint.

 

4.      On appraisal of the pleadings of the parties and the evidence adduced on the record, Ld. Lower Commission allowed the Complaint of the Respondents/ Complainants as noticed in the opening para of this order.     

 

5.      Aggrieved against the aforesaid order passed by the Ld. Lower Commission, the instant Appeal has been filed by the Appellant/Opposite Party.

 

6.      We have heard the Learned Counsel for the Parties and have gone through the evidence and record of the case with utmost care.

 

7.      After giving our thoughtful consideration, to the contentions raised and material on record, we are of the considered opinion, that the instant Appeal is liable to be dismissed for the reasons to be recorded hereinafter.

 

8.      The sale agreement dated 02.09.2018 executed inter se the parties qua the membership of the Appellant-Club for providing vacation facilities for a sum of Rs.86,000/- has not been disputed. Out of the aforesaid amount, the Respondents paid Rs.71,000/- through debit card in three transactions; whereas two transactions of Rs.15,000/- and Rs.5,000/- were allegedly paid in cash. Since there was no evidence on record qua the payment of Rs.20,000/- in cash to the Appellant-Club, the Ld. Lower Commission has rightly recorded a finding to the effect that the Respondents cannot be held entitled to that amount. Record shows, the Appellant-Club failed to provide the Respondents any facility of stay in any of its Hotel/Resort despite pocketing an amount of Rs.71,000/-. Even the repeated requests made by the Respondents/ Complainants failed to fetch the desired results. In these precincts, to our mind, the Respondents/ Complainants have got every right to get back their hard earned money which they had to pay for obtaining the membership of the Appellant-Club. Notably, when nothing fructified, the Respondents/Complainants served a legal notice dated 5.7.2019 upon the Appellant-Club, inter alia, requesting for refunding the amount paid, but the Appellant-Club did not take any steps to refund the same. As such, when the Appellant-Club failed to provide any services to the Respondents/Complainants, it (Appellant-Club) cannot be allowed to take the shelter under agreement clause to seize the hard earned money of the Respondents/ Complainant. The Ld. Lower Commission has, therefore, rightly held that the Appellant-Club is liable to refund the said amount of Rs.71,000/- along with interest. At any rate, the Ld. Lower Commission had dealt with all the above said deficiencies threadbare and allowed the Complaint, which we feel does not suffer from any legal infirmity.

 

9.      In the wake of the position, as sketched out above, we are dissuaded to interfere with the impugned order rendered by the Ld. Lower Commission. The appeal being bereft of merit is accordingly dismissed.

 

10.      Certified copies of this order be sent to the parties free of charge.

 

11.      The file be consigned to Record Room, after completion.

Pronounced

10^th May, 2022                                 

Sd/-

                                  (RAJ SHEKHAR ATTRI)

PRESIDENT

 

Sd/-

                                  (PADMA PANDEY)

MEMBER

 

Sd/-

                                  (RAJESH K. ARYA)

MEMBER

“Dutt”