Property related frauds, project delays and defaults happening to an agreement that has been mutually signed, are some of the incidents that a home buyer has to witness if at all he or she is about to buy a project that has been constructed by an unprofessional developer or been cheated by a brand. The lengthy kind of trials in the court sessions shall only add upon insult to the injury that has been caused in the first place. If you are looking forward to making things work easier, then approaching consumer court shall be a wiser decision to make from a buyer point of view. To lodge a complaint in consumer court, you don’t need to have a lawyer by your side, as the court allows the home buyer to represent the cases themselves.

how to File a Case in Consumer Forum

Step 1: 

The consumer court complaint procedure starts with sending out a notice to the construction developer or company, beforehand filing up an official complaint. The consumer must send out a notice that represents the deficiency in terms of service or the unfair practices they had to meet in the first instance from the opposite party. This notice is vitally used to check if the other party is ready to derive compensation that can satisfy the consumer in one way or another. If at all the developer has said to be neglecting or rejecting the notice, the consumer has every other right to raise a complaint in consumer court regarding the same.

Step 2:

The consumer needs to submit an official complaint that comes under the Consumer Protection Act that came into existence in 1986. Hire services from a renowned lawyer to start with the next procedure to file a case in consumer court by filling up the complaint form in the right way. Submit the filled form to the commission. Make sure to lodge a complaint under the district forum that comes under the jurisdiction in which the opposite party’s office or house space is said to be located.

Step 3:

To register a complaint in consumer court you need to submit the respected fee in the form of a demand draft. The consumer forum does follow up with different jurisdiction to accept the complaint, make sure you are approaching the right one.

• If at all the claim is said to be less than 20 lakh Indian Rupees, then the District Consumer Disputes Redress al Forum shall come forward to hear upon the plea.
• If at all the claim is said to be more than 20 lakh Indian Rupees but less than one crore Indian Rupees, then the State Consumer Dispute Redress al Commission shall look into the lodged complaint.
• If at all the claim is said to be more than one crore Indian Rupees, then the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission shall entertain the complaint.

Consumer Court Fee Details:

The following are the fee details that need to be cleared first hand to file a complaint in the consumer forum.

For the district forums:

• Rs.100 for up to Rs.1 lakh claim
• Rs.200 for between Rs.1 to 5 lakh claim
• Rs.400 for between Rs.5 to 10 lakh claim
• Rs.500 for above Rs.10 lakh and up to 20 lakh.

For the State forums:

• Rs.2000 for above Rs.20 lakh and less than Rs.50 lakh
• Rs.4000 for above Rs.50 lakh and less than Rs.1 Crore.

For the National Commission:

• Rs.5000 remains as the standard amount.

Type Of Frauds you Can Complaint Against

You can wisely start with the procedure to file a complaint under consumer protection act against a builder or a brand, if at all they have been providing,

• Construction without acquiring proper approvals from the authorities
• Sub-standard work
• Booking related fraudulence
• Construction happening on an illegally acquired land
• Hidden charges
• Frequently changing the layout plan and the structures without getting formal approval
• Canceling the project without a prior notice
• Adding up development charges
• Post-ponding the possession date
• Bringing in a third party interest
• Not able to provide a completion certificate.

How to file a case in consumer court India online:

If you are a consumer who has been facing any kind of grievances related to the quality of a product, brand or service, you can file a case in consumer court India online. Different kinds of complaints can be raised depending upon the issues you have been pushed to face by the opposite party. Other than visiting the concerned consumer court that comes under the jurisdiction of the opposite party’s living area, you can also raise a consumer complaint only by following the below-mentioned steps.

Website:

Visit the government-run portal named (core.nic.in) Consumer Online Resource and Empowerment Centre to register consumer cases online. It is a grievance registration system that is said to be running under the support of the Department of Consumer Affairs in India and the supervision of the Consumer Co-ordination Council as well.

Registration:

To file a consumer complaint in India through online resources, you as a consumer must first register with the site. Provide valid details like your name, phone number, email address, and the office or residence address of the complainant, along with a unique user ID and password to create an account.

Lodging a complaint online:

The online customer consumer court accepts complaints that are filed against any service provider or registered brand. The online complaint registration forum has multiple dropdown menus that include all the brands that have been registered with the official Department of Consumer Affairs.

The Process:

The consumer forum form shall hold onto details of the people involved in the case along with valid documents supporting the complaint raised in one way or another. While filling up the online form, the consumer can also enter down the consequences, and the relief sought they are looking forward to attaining through the consumer court.

The Status:

Once the form has been submitted online, the complaint shall be assigned in the form of an electronically generated number. This particular number is used to track the current status of the raised complaint until it has been resolved and disposed of.

The points to note:

• One can raise any number of complaints under the national consumer forum by providing the same login credentials to track them all under one roof.
• The consumer court notice that is sent to the concerned brand or party can be tracked by the consumer by logging into their respective registered accounts.
• The complaints can either be filed in Hindi or English.