Goods once sold ‘can’ be taken back

Pushpa Girimaji

Last month, I paid Rs 4,000 for three pairs of jeans at a shop in a mall where one pair of jeans was being offered free on purchase of two. However, after just one wear, one of the pairs tore from the thigh! So I took them all to the shop, but the store manager just refused to give me a refund. He said he was only the franchisee of the jeans manufacturer and it was the responsibility of the manufacturer to give a refund for a defective product. He asked me to contact the manufacturer, and when I did, I was told that the manufacturer was closing his unit and, therefore, cannot give me a replacement or a refund. What do I do?

It’s unfortunate that even three decades after the Consumer Protection Act came into being, retailers have not understood the rights of consumers given under the law or, to put it differently, their responsibilities vis-à-vis consumers. You have a right to a refund and the retailer has to take back the defective denims and return your money. Having collected the money and sold the jeans, the retailer cannot now point to the manufacturer. So, please tell him that if he does not return your money, you will go to the consumer court, seeking not just refund, but also compensation for the harassment caused to you and punitive damages from the retailer for his behaviour. And please follow it up with a complaint to the consumer court; you also have a right to redress of your grievance and compensation for the loss and harassment suffered.

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 apex consumer court 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. National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission 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), while asking the seller of seeds to compensate the consumer for the defect, the National Commission said if the dealer had any grievance, it was open to him to recover the compensation amount (paid to the consumer) from the manufacturer. But he cannot shirk his responsibility and say that only the manufacturer is responsible for a bad product.

How do I ensure that I do not end up dealing with shopkeepers who do not respect consumer rights?

The next time you go shopping for clothes, I suggest that you 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 or a defect-free replacement, don’t buy from him. If consumers follow this practice strictly, retailers will be forced to rewrite 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 to 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. This is despite the Consumer Protection Act of 1986 that gives consumers the right to a refund against defective goods.

Well, don’t take that kind of attitude meekly. Become more assertive and stop patronising shops that do not respect your rights as a consumer — and this includes those shops that routinely say on their receipts that they do not exchange or take back goods once sold!