What to Do When a Company Won’t Honour Your Consumer Rights
You paid for something. It arrived broken, or it never arrived, or it was not what was advertised. You wrote to customer support. You got a ticket number, then a chatbot, then silence.
At that point most people give up. The amount is usually small enough that fighting feels like a waste of time, and the company is counting on exactly that.
It is a bad bet on their part, because a consumer rights complaint in India is one of the cheapest and fastest legal remedies available. You do not need a lawyer to file one. Court fees are nil for smaller claims. And the commissions genuinely do award compensation.
Here is how the process works.
What counts as a valid complaint?
The Consumer Protection Act, 2019 covers you if you bought goods or services for personal use, whether online or in a shop. It does not cover purchases made for resale or commercial purposes, though a person buying for self-employment is protected.
Complaints usually fall into one of these categories.
Defect in goods means the product itself is faulty. A phone that overheats, a car with a manufacturing problem, an appliance that stops working within the warranty period.
Deficiency in service is broader and covers most disputes. It applies where a service was promised and delivered badly, late, or not at all. Delayed possession of a flat, a bank that failed to stop an unauthorized transaction, an insurer rejecting a valid claim, a hospital that overcharged, a courier that lost your parcel. Deficiency in service is the ground most complaints are filed under.
Unfair trade practice covers misleading advertising, false claims about quality or standard, and hidden charges that were never disclosed.
Overcharging means being billed above the MRP or the agreed price. This includes convenience fees and service charges that were never disclosed at the time of booking.
The Act also covers product liability, so a manufacturer, seller, or service provider can be held responsible for harm caused by a defective product. That matters where a faulty appliance or vehicle has caused injury or damage beyond the value of the product itself.
The 2019 Act also brought e-commerce squarely within its scope. Under the Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020, marketplaces must display seller details, have a grievance officer, and respond to complaints within stipulated timelines. So e-commerce complaint redressal no longer depends on the platform’s goodwill.
Send a legal notice first
You are not legally required to send a notice before filing, but it is worth doing. A short, specific written demand resolves a surprising number of disputes, because it signals that you are prepared to escalate.
Keep it factual. State what you bought, when, what went wrong, what you have already tried, and what you want, whether that is a refund, replacement, or repair. Give a deadline of fifteen days. Attach copies of the invoice and your correspondence.
Send it by registered post or email to the company’s registered office address, which you can find on the MCA website. Keep the postal receipt. If the matter goes to a commission, that receipt becomes evidence that you tried to settle.
Where to file and what it costs
Jurisdiction depends on how much you are claiming, counting the value of the goods or services plus the compensation sought.
The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission handles claims up to fifty lakh rupees. Most individual complaints belong here. For residents of Gurugram, that is the district commission at the Gurugram court complex.
The State Commission handles claims between fifty lakh and two crore rupees. The National Commission in Delhi handles anything above two crore.
You can file where you live or work, where the opposite party carries on business, or where the cause of action arose. That last point matters for online purchases, because you can usually file in your own city rather than travelling to the seller’s.
Fees are modest. Claims up to five lakh rupees carry no filing fee at all. Above that, fees rise in slabs but stay in the low hundreds to low thousands of rupees.
The limitation period is two years from the date the cause of action arose. Miss it and you will need to file an application explaining the delay, which commissions may or may not accept.
How to file
Filing a complaint against a company can be done two ways.
The online route is through the e-Daakhil portal. You register with your email and mobile, fill in the complaint details, upload your documents, and pay the fee online. The portal is now operational across all states and is the faster option.
The physical route means filing the complaint in person at the commission’s filing counter, in the prescribed number of copies, along with the fee by demand draft.
Your complaint should contain the names and addresses of both parties, the facts in chronological order, the specific defect or deficiency you are alleging, the relief you want, and a list of documents. Sign it and attach an affidavit verifying the contents.
Attach the invoice or booking confirmation, warranty documents, the legal notice with its postal receipt, all correspondence, and photographs or videos if the goods were damaged.
What happens next
The commission issues notice to the opposite party, who has thirty days, extendable by fifteen, to file a written version. If they do not, the matter proceeds ex parte.
You then file a rejoinder responding to their version, followed by evidence by affidavit from both sides, and finally oral arguments.
The Act sets a target of three months for disposal, or five months if laboratory testing of the product is needed. Real timelines run longer, often a year or more, but consumer commissions still move considerably faster than civil courts.
The commission can order a refund, replacement, repair, or removal of the defect. It can award compensation for loss and mental agony, and costs of litigation. It can direct the company to stop an unfair trade practice, and in some cases order punitive damages.
Either side can appeal to the next level within thirty days. If you win and the company does not comply, the commission has powers of execution, including attachment of property and, in serious cases, imprisonment of the responsible officers.
When to bring in a lawyer
You can argue your own consumer case, and many people do successfully. The procedure is deliberately simple.
Bring in a consumer court lawyer when the claim is large, when the other side is a bank, insurer, or builder with experienced counsel, when the facts are technically complex, or when you are up against a real estate or medical negligence issue where expert evidence matters. The cost of representation is usually recoverable as part of litigation costs if you succeed.
Also consider it if you have already lost at the district level and want to appeal, because appellate arguments are narrower and more technical. Whatever route you take, start by writing everything down while you still remember the dates. Consumer cases turn on documents more than arguments.
Facing a company that won’t respond?
Our consumer court and consumer protection team handles complaints against e-commerce platforms, banks, insurers, builders, and service providers before the district, state, and national commissions. Book a consultation to find out whether your matter is worth filing and what you can realistically recover.
Disclaimer: This article is general information about Indian law and not legal advice. Outcomes depend on the facts of each case. Please consult a qualified advocate about your specific situation.
