Recently I read in a newspaper that the Central Government has established an authority called CCPA, which has ordered Amazon Sellers Pvt Ltd to recall defective pressure cookers from 2,265 consumers and reimburse them. I purchased a soup and juice maker from a renowned company, which worked only for two days. I lodged a complaint with their authorised service centre more than six months ago in vain. Can I approach the CCPA?
– Vikas Satpute, Mumbai.
CCPA, or Central Consumer Protection Authority, was established under the Consumer Protection Act, of 2019, to regulate matters relating to the violation of the rights of consumers, unfair trade practices and false or misleading advertisements, and to enforce consumers’ right ‘as a class’.
The CCPA has taken suo moto action – i.e. on its own – against the Amazon Sellers Pvt Ltd for selling domestic pressure cookers on its platform that do not conform to BIS standards. This action was taken for protection of consumers ‘as a class’. As such, you, as a single consumer, cannot approach the CCPA.
If you want to take action, you may lodge your complaint before the National Consumer Helpline on their website https://consumerhelpline.gov.in or call 1800-11-4000 or 1915.
Alternatively, you can try to resolve your grievance by pre-litigation mediation. Mediation is a party-centric alternate dispute resolution method, which is fast, less expensive and creates a win-win situation. If you are successful in resolving your dispute, consent terms are prepared and are treated as final. There is no appeal in such cases. The Mumbai Grahak Panchayat has started a mediation centre ‘SAMET’, where you can file your request online (mgpsamet@gmail.com).
If your complaint is not resolved by NCH or through such Alternate Disputes Resolution (ADR), you can approach the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (DCDRC). There is a provision in the Act whereby the DCDRC can refer your grievance for mediation, for which a timeline is specified to complete the procedure. This is another speediest method for dispute resolution.
A reputed doctor at Satara operated on my wife for an abdominal hernia. The operation was done by laparoscopy. At the time of admission, I was told that she would be discharged within a day or two. After the operation, the doctor told me that the operation was successful and everything was going smoothly. But later, my wife started complaining of severe pain in the abdomen. I expressed my concern to the doctor, who, without examining her, told me that this is quite normal. He also told me that my wife has a very low pain threshold and that she should try to improve it. My wife was crying in pain for the next two days. But I was getting the same answer from the doctor. On the fourth postoperative day, the doctor told me that my wife would have to undergo one more operation urgently to find out the cause of pain. Being helpless, I signed the consent document. Later on I was told that the intestine had ruptured due to which my wife was suffering from pain. After this second operation, she was kept in ICU for 15 days as there was some complication due to pus formation. She was discharged after a month. During this stay, she suffered a lot of agony and pain. Even today, more than a year after the operation, she has not recovered completely. I feel that there was negligence on the part of the doctor. Where can I lodge a complaint?
M Gajanan, Satara
You can lodge your complaint against the doctor for medical negligence before the District
Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission at Satara. If you are not a resident of Satara, you have the option of filing the complaint before the DCDRC in whose territorial jurisdiction you reside.
It is difficult to say anything without going through the papers, but apparently, from your narration, it sounds like a case of intestinal perforation and post-op infection, for which your wife needed prolonged ICU care. It is true that before labelling the pain as ‘normal postoperative pain’, the surgeon ought to have examined her. Especially so when the pain was severe.
Normally, with a laparoscope, the view of the intra-abdominal structure is magnified and clear. Under ordinary circumstances, the surgeon should have diagnosed the perforation during the operation. I would advise you to contact a medico-legal expert along with all the documents and seek his / her advice before proceeding with the consumer complaint.
(Dr Archana Sabnis is an expert on consumer laws who is practising at consumer disputes redressal fora at district, state and national levels since 2000. She is on the panel of conciliators of Maha RERA and is associated with the Mumbai Grahak Panchayat.)
