IN THE COURT OF THE PRESIDENT , DISTRICT CONSUMER DISPUTE REDRESSAL COMMISSION AT DIBRUGARH
C.C. Case No.32/2015
Present –
1. Shri Jadav Gogoi, Member, Shri Palash Ranjan Kotoky, President,
2. Smti. Nibedita Bose, Member, District Consumer Dispute
District Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission,
Redressal Commission, Dibrugarh. Dibrugarh
Complainant - Mrs. Rumi Sharma
W/o Pardeep Sharma
R/O Jyotipur,
P.O. Moranhat
Dist- Sivasagar, Assam
-Vs-
- The Branch Manager
Mahindra Finance
Hansal Arcade
2nd Floor, Above Bank of India
Dibrugarh H.S. Road, Opp. Allahabad Bank, Dibrugarh.
- The Branch Manager
The Oriental Insurance Co. Ltd.
Babulal Poddar Road
2nd Floor, Goenka Market
Above Punjab National Bank
Dibrugarh, Assam-786001
SADHNA HOUSE, 2nd Floor
- The General Manager
Behind Mahindra Towers
570 PB Marg, Worli
Mumbai-400018, Mumbai
Maharashtra. – Opposite Parties.
Date of Argument – 06.09.2018
31.03.2021
05.03.2022
Date of Judgment – 09.06.2022
The case of the complainant in brief is that the complainant is the registered owner of three wheeler Alpha Passenger vehicle bearing Regd. No.AS-04-AC/5320 bearing Engine No.A2J0669876 and she purchased the vehicle under finance from Mahindra Finance, Dibrugarh in the year 2013. At the time of purchasing the vehicle under finance from Mahindra Finance the complainant paid a sum of Rs.91,000/- only as advance amount and the Finance Company gave an estimate of installment as hereunder :
- 3450 + 450 = 3900 x 1 = 3900/-
- 3700 + 450 = 4150 x 19 = 78,850/-
- 3700 x 15 = = 55,500/-
The vehicle was duly insured with National Insurance Company Ltd. vide policy No.200300/31/12/6300001488 for the period from 18.02.2013 to 17.02.2014 and paid insurance premium of Rs.4954/- through Mahindra Finance. The complainant from the date of purchasing the vehicle had regularly paid the installments to Mahindra Finance and paid all the installments. After expiry of the first insurance policy the complainant again insured the vehicle with Oriental Insurance Company Ltd. through Mahindra Finance for an another period of one year from 18.02.2014 to 17.02.2015 and the complainant paid insurance premium amount of Rs.10,142/- for the said period and after expiry of that period also Mahindra Finance again insured the vehicle of the complaint with Oriental Insurance Company Ltd. for a further period from 18.02.2015 to 17.02.2016 vide policy No.322100/31/2015/4324 and paid insurance premium of Rs.10,663/-. After few days from the payment of insurance premium the complainant noticed that the insurance premium is increasing every year which created doubt in her mind and she consulted with other owner of same class of vehicle purchased with her at the same time and it had come to her knowledge that the other vehicle owners of same class of vehicle are paying half of the amount paid by the complainant and that it had also come to the notice of the complainant that her vehicle had been insured under four wheeler insurance instead of three wheeler insurance. Thereafter the complainant visited the office of the Mahindra Finance Ltd. Dibrugarh to inquire about the matter. The Officer and employees of Mahindra Finance did not give here any positive reply, instead they tried to conceal the fact by saying that the price was increased by Modi Govt. The employee of Oriental Insurance Co. as well as the employees of Mahindra Finance misbehaved the complainant. She also visited the office of Oriental Insurance Co. Ltd. but they also failed to give any positive reply against her query. She claims that for the above illegal act and cheating done by Mahindra Finance in collusion with Oriental Insurance Company Ltd., she had suffered a lot physically and mentally and lost her income also.
Thereafter the complainant sent a legal notice through her advocate to the Opposite Parties on 18.05.2015 which was received by the opposite parties on 22.05.2015 but they did not give any positive reply and remained silent till filing this complaint.
Having no alternative the complainant filed this complaint before the Forum/Commission claiming to direct the opposite parties to pay the following compensations :
Loss of income 50,000/-
Over drawn insured amount 10,000/-
Compensation 50,000/-
Cost of litigation 20,000/-
Harassment and suffering 50,000/-
…........................................................................
Total - Rs. 1,80,000/-
(Rupees one lakh eighty thousand only)
After registering the case notices were issued to all the opposite parties and accordingly O.P. No.2 after receiving the notice filed petition for filing written statement on 05.12.2015. O.P. No.1 was absent before the Forum on that day after receiving notice failed to appear before the Forum and ex-parte order was passed against O.P. No.1. Lateron O.P. No. 1 and O.P. No.3 had submitted W/S together on 10.02.2016 and the Forum was pleased to pass order stating that – “O.P. No. 1 & 3 has submitted W/S together. Same cannot be accepted since case against O.P. No.1 has already been proceeded ex-parte vide order dtd. 05.12.2015”. Again on 21.09.2016 ex-parte order was passed against the O.P. No.2 also. The complainant submitted her evidence swearing affidavit with exhibits on 16.06.2017. The Opposite Parties No.1 & 3 submitted their evidence in affidavit on 07.02.2018. The complainant filed written argument on 06.09.2018 and the O.P.No.1 & 3 submitted their written argument on 31.03.2021.
The W/S filed on behalf of O.P. No.1 & 3 could not be taken into consideration in deciding this complaint as their W/S was not accepted by the Forum as per order dtd. 10.02.2016.
DECISION AND REASON THEREOF
In this case complainant Smti. Rumi Sharma submitted her evidence in affidavit stating that she is the registered owner of a three wheeler Alpha Passenger vehicle bearing Regd. No.AS-04-AC/5320 of Engine No.A2J0669876 and she purchased the vehicle under finance from Mahindra Finance, Dibrugarh in the year 2013. Ext. 1 & Ext. 2 are the Registration certificate and Finance agreement. At the time of purchasing the vehicle under finance from Mahindra Finance the complainant paid a sum of Rs.91,000/- only as advance amount and the Finance Company gave an estimate of installment as hereunder :
- 3450 + 450 = 3900 x 1 = 3900/-
- 3700 + 450 = 4150 x 19 = 78,850/-
- 3700 x 15 = = 55,500/-
The vehicle was duly insured with National Insurance Company Ltd. vide policy No.200300/31/12/6300001488 for the period from 18.02.2013 to 17.02.2014 and paid insurance premium of Rs.4954/- through Mahindra Finance. Ext. 3 is the Insurance Certificate. The complainant from the date of purchasing the vehicle had regularly paid the installments to Mahindra Finance and paid all the installments. Ext.4 to Ext. 39 are the receipts of paying installment. After expiry of the first insurance policy the complainant again insured the vehicle with Oriental Insurance Company Ltd. through Mahindra Finance for an another period of one year from 18.02.2014 to 17.02.2015 and the complainant paid insurance premium amount of Rs.10,142/- for the said period. Ext. 40 is the copy of that Insurance Certificate. After expiry of that period also Mahindra Finance again insured the vehicle of the complaint with Oriental Insurance Company Ltd. for a further period from 18.02.2015 to 17.02.2016 vide policy No.322100/31/2015/4324 and paid insurance premium of Rs.10,663/-. Ext. 41 is that Insurance Certificate. After few days from the payment of insurance premium the complainant noticed that the insurance premium is increasing every year which created doubt in her mind and she consulted with other owner of same class of vehicle purchased with her at the same time and it had come to her knowledge that the other vehicle owners of same class of vehicle are paying half of the amount paid by the complainant and that it had also come to the notice of the complainant that her vehicle had been insured under four wheeler insurance instead of three wheeler insurance. Thereafter the complainant visited the office of the Mahindra Finance Ltd. Dibrugarh to inquire about the matter. The Officer and employees of Mahindra Finance did not give here any positive reply, instead they tried to conceal the fact by saying that the price was increased by Modi Govt. Oriental Insurance Co. as well as the employees of Mahindra Finance misbehaved the complainant. She also visited the office of Oriental Insurance Co. Ltd. but they also failed to give any positive reply against her querry. She claims that for the above illegal act and cheating done by Mahindra Finance in collusion with Oriental Insurance Company Ltd., she had suffered a lot physically and mentally and lost her income also.
Thereafter the complainant sent a legal notice through her advocate to the Opposite Parties on 18.05.2015 which was received by the opposite parties on 22.05.2015 but they did not give any positive reply and remained silent till filing this complaint. Ext. 42, 43 and 44 are the copy of legal notice, postal receipt and acknowledgement notice.
The complainant filed this complaint before the Forum/Commission claiming to direct the opposite parties to pay the following compensations :
Loss of income 50,000/-
Over drawn insured amount 10,000/-
Compensation 50,000/-
Cost of litigation 20,000/-
Harassment and suffering 50,000/-
…...................................................................................
Total - Rs. 1,80,000/-
(Rupees one lakh eighty thousand only)
The O.P. No.1 and O.P. No.3 jointly submitted their evidence in swearing affidavit in this case on 07.02.2018. Denying their liability the O.P. No.1 & 3 submitted in their evidence that the complaint of the complainant is not maintainable under law as well as on facts. They submitted that upon request of the complainant for availing financial assistance to purchase the vehicle, the O.P., Financer after being satisfied with the credential of the complainant had provided loan to the tune of Rs.94,000/- to the complainant and agreement value(including interest) to be repaid by the complainant was Rs.1,29,250/- only and with the financial help of these O.Ps. the complainant purchased her Mahindra Alpha Passenger vehicle as her own choice and got the said vehicle insured with the insurance company of her own choice.
The opposite party being a finance company is a completely separate legal entity from the insurance company. The opposite party had only agreed with the complainant to collect the monthly insurance premium along with the loan installments from the complainant and forward the said monthly insurance premium to the respective insurance company. The O.P. being a finance company had nothing to do with matters with respect to the insurance company except to collect from the complainant, the insurance premium amount as decided between the insurance company and the complainant along with its loan installments and forward the said collected insurance premium amount to the insurance company. Accordingly the O.P collected the insurance premium amount from the customer and forwarded the same to the insurance company.
In May, 2015, the complainant intimated the O.Ps that her vehicle has been insured under a four wheeler vehicle insurance policy instead of a three wheeler vehicle insurance policy. Accordingly the O.P./financer intimated the same to the insurance company on email and requested the insurance company to verify the details of the insurance policy and to do the needful.
Subsequently, the insurance company rectified the policy and refunded the excess policy amount on June, 2015. The answering O.Ps had even requested the insurance company over email to send a confirmation regarding the said rectification of the policy on their letter head to the complainant. Ext. A is the copy of rectified insurance policy.
The O.P. strictly denies that it has done any illegal acts in collusion with the insurance company. The O.P. reiterated that on being intimated by the complainant, the O.P. immediately informed the insurance company and got the insurance policy rectified and excess insurance amount refunded to the complainant. From this act of the O.P. it is evident that the O.P. never cheated the complainant and has provided its services diligently to the complainant. Hence, the allegation of the complainant is completely false, fabricated and baseless and are all figments of imaginations created for the sake of making out a case and to mislead the Ld. Forum/Commission and the complainant be put to strict proof of the same.
Moreover, the O.P. has nothing to do with insurance of the vehicle of the complainant as it is the O.P. No.2 who is the insurance company dealing with Insurance of Vehicle. They filed a copy of rectified insurance policy marked as Ext.-“A”. These O.Ps. through their evidence claimed that the complainant has failed to make out a case for interference by the this Learned Forum and she is not entitled to get any relief as has been prayed for in the present case and as such the complaint petition of the complainant is liable to be dismissed with cost. The complainant and O.P. No.1 & O.P. No.3 submitted their written arguments in length. From perusal of written argument of complainant it is seen that the W/A of the complainant is a repetition of her complaint and evidence submitted by herself. Written argument submitted by O.P. No.1 and O.P. No.3 is also nothing but the repetition of their written statement.
Points to be decided
- Whether the complainant is a consumer under the provisions of Consumer Protection Act, 1986.
- Whether all the Opposite Parties are liable for negligence and deficient services towards their customer.
- Whether the complainant is entitled to get the reliefs claimed.
From perusal of complaint petition, documents submitted and the evidences given by the complainant along with exhibits, this Commission finds the complainant to be a consumer under the provisions of Consumer Protection Act, 1986 or Consumer Protection Act, 2019.
From minutes perusal of all the documents/exhibits, evidences and exhibits filed by the opposite parties, we may come to a conclusion that O.P. No.1 and O.P. No.3, being the Finance Company providing financial assistance to the complainant is liable to the extent of any discrepancy regarding receipt and payment of installment to be paid and to be received by either party. But in this case no such complaint is made against O.P. No.1 and O.P. No.3. It is evident that on receipt of intimation from the complainant regarding discrepancy in computing the f insurance premium and class of vehicle insured, the O.P. No.1 and O.P. No.3 immediately informed the insurance company for correction of policy and for refunding the excess policy amount. Their claim is supported by Ext. “A”. As discussed above we find nothing for making O.P. No.1 and O.P. No.3 liable for deficient and negligent act.
As regard O.P. No.2, it is seen that this O.P Insurance Company did not pay any heed towards the grievances of the complainant. Only after receipt of pleader’s notice and after receiving email from O.P. No.3, O.P. No.2 had taken steps for correction of the policy and rectified the amount of insurance premium. From these observations we find O.P. No.2 of deficient services and negligence in serving their valued customers. Moreover we have got no evidence regarding refunding of excess insurance premium amount.
On the basis of above observations this Commission is pleased to direct the O.P. No.2, the Oriental Insurance Company Ltd., Dibrugarh Branch to pay to the complainant-
- An amount of Rs. 10,000/- as overdrawn insurance premium with interest at 7 percent p.a. from the date of filing the case till payment of the said amount.
- An amount of Rs.30,000/- for physical suffering and mental agony suffered by the complainant.
- An amount of Rs.20,000/- being the overall compensation and cost of litigation.
All the above amounts be deposited into the credit of this Commission by the Opposite Party No.2, Oriental Insurance Company Ltd., Dibrugarh Branch within 30 days from receipt of this judgement.
Send copy of this judgement to the Opposite Party for compliance.
The instant C.C. 32/2015 is accordingly disposed on contest.
Nibedita Bose Jadav Gogoi P.R. Kotoky,
Member Member President,
District Consumer Dispute District Consumer Dispute District Consumer Dispute
Redressal Commission, Redressal Commission, Redressal Commission,
Dibrugarh Dibrugarh Dibrugarh
