Don’t be ‘generous’ to a fault

Pushpa Girimaji

Recently, I purchased three pairs of jeans for Rs 4000 under an offer of ‘buy two and get one free’ at a shop in a mall. However, after just one wash, the jeans just gave away near the thigh region and is unusable. When I took it back to the retailer, he said he was only the franchisee and the responsibility for the product rests only with the manufacturer. Is this correct? He also told me that I would not get any redress from the manufacturer either because he was closing down his business. Having spent Rs 4000 on worthless clothes, I really feel cheated. What do I do?

Please tell the retailer that having sold the jeans and collected the money for it, he has to take full responsibility for the defect and give you a refund. Or else you will go to the consumer court, seeking not just a refund, but also compensation and punitive damages. And please follow it up with a complaint to the consumer court. You can also inform him that you have a responsibility towards fellow-consumers and you would therefore relate your experience on social networking sites and advise friends not to patronise this particular shop.

You can also tell him that in several cases, the consumer courts have made it clear that the responsibility for the quality of a product rests as much with the retailer as the manufacturer and the retailer cannot escape liability for a defective product by pointing a finger at the manufacturer.

In Blue Chip India Vs Dr Chandrashekara Patial (RP 2884 of 2006, decided on 13-10-2006), for example, the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission dismissed the contention of the dealer that the complainant should have brought the manufacturer, too, into the dispute as the responsibility for the quality rested with the manufacture. The apex consumer court disagreed and pointed out that since there was no privity of contract between the consumer and the manufacturer, the consumer need not bring him into the complaint.

Similarly in M. Subba Rao Vs Avula Venkata Reddy, (RP no 3292 of 2003, decided on March 22, 2007), the National Consumer Commission asked the seller of defective seeds to compensate the farmer. And when the seller raised the issue of the manufacturer’s liability, the Commission said if the seller had some such grievance, it was open to him to recover the compensation amount paid to the consumer from the manufacturer. But he, the seller, had to compensate the consumer. How can we, consumers, ensure that shopkeepers do not take us for a ride like this?

Several studies have shown that Indian consumers are by and large very passive and do not assert themselves when it comes to their rights. In fact, they do not even demand a cash receipt. It is this attitude that had emboldened trade and industry to ride roughshod over them.

The next time you go shopping for clothes, first ask the retailer about the redress available to you if the apparel turns out to be defective. If he is not willing to take it back and give you a full refund, don’t buy from him. If consumers follow this practice strictly, retailers will be forced to re-write their policies vis-à-vis defective goods that they sell.

Whenever you take back your purchase with a complaint about the product, the least that one expects is an apology and a quick refund. But retailers in India still have you believe that the responsibility for the defect rests solely with the manufacturer. So invariably, complaints are met with the standard response that any redress depends on the manufacturer and if he does not take back the defective product, then the retailer can do nothing about it! And this is despite the Consumer Protection Act of 1986 that gives consumers the right to a refund against defective goods and several apex consumer court judgements focusing on the liability of the retailer. So become more assertive and stop patronizing shops that do not respect your rights as a consumer. And always demand and get a cash receipt with all details of purchase filled in, whenever you make a purchase.