Recently the consumer forum of Kerala passed a judgement which is the first under consumer Act 2019 where besides the company, the actor endorsing it and the shopkeeper selling the product were all fined. A person bought a cream claiming that it will grow hair on the bald head within six weeks and it was endorsed by a well known actor also. When after six month nothing happened the consumer filed a case in consumer Forum. The Forum passed an order awarding monetary compensation to the consumer not only from the company which made the product and gave false, misleading claim besides adopting unfair practice but also fined the well known actor for endorsing the product and the shopkeeper for selling it.
Under the new consumer protection act 2019 which is consumer friendly and allow the person to file complaint anywhere irrespective of where he purchased it online. Some important provisions are-
The Act has focused on enforcing the consumer right with timely and effective administration of consumer dispute
The new act enhances the ambit of consumer law to cover and regulate goods and services including telecom, housing construction and all modes of transaction (online and teleshopping) for consideration but excludes medical disputes due to a Supreme Court judgement.
Product Liability is a new term introduced and under this when a consumer suffers an injury, property damage or death due to a defect in the product or service then he can file a claim for compensation under product liability. The manufacturer, service provider and seller will be held guilty under product liability.
Unfair contract under the law has now been defined as a contract between a consumer and manufacturer/service provider if it causes significant changes in consumer rights. It covers situations such as payment of excessive security deposit in an agreement, disproportionate penalty for a breach and unilateral termination without reason.
To protect consumer rights a regulatory body called Central Consumer Protection Authority is being setup.
Settlement is provided during adjudication.
The territorial jurisdiction of the consumer forum is expanded to include place where aggrieved consumer resides or works for gain also.
