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The post How Senior Citizen Parents are Protected by The Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007? appeared first on .
]]>Once a person becomes old, he or she starts suffering from physical inability, loss of mental ability, and more problems. This kind of situation demands enhanced healthcare needs and essential financial support if they’re not earning anymore. To provide better provisions for the parent’s and senior citizens’ maintenance and welfare, the Ministry of Law And Justice initiated legislation “The Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007”, published on December 31, 2007.
According to this act, an individual who is an Indian citizen and is 60 or more years old would be considered a senior citizen. The act makes it a lawful responsibility of children and heirs to provide the necessary maintenance to parents and senior citizens through monthly allowance.
According to the Act’s section 4, a parent or a senior citizen who finds difficulty in maintaining himself from his own property or own income is entitled to claim maintenance. The eligible candidates can do so against his children (one or more) ensuring they are not minors. However, if they don’t have any child, they can claim maintenance against their relative (any legal heir not being a minor).
The Act is a fast and inexpensive process to get monthly maintenance for senior citizens and parents. In India, parents are provided the same respect as given to God. Their care, protection, and welfare are given the highest importance and are considered a priority for children. But, the scornful old joint family system and traditional values have just changed this principle.
In the present day, so many senior citizens and parents either have to live alone or are abandoned completely with not enough financial, medical, emotional, and social support. Many parents are even dealing with verbal and physical abuse from their own family members.
According to a report from the National Commission on the country’s population, the percentage of elderly people in the population is believed to increase to 12.4% by 2026. So, there is a significant need for a senior citizen act that provides them with the necessary life and helps in living a comparatively better life.
When a senior citizen has transferred his movable or immovable property as a gift or other similar transfer after the beginning of the act, but the circumstance that a transferee shall give him essential facilities and take care of the physical needs, is also linked with the transfer. In the situation when that transferee fails or denies doing those things, that property transfer shall be considered to have been made under influence, by fraud, or coercion. The tribunal can even announce that transfer as void.
Before the launch of this initiative, the only solution that senior citizens or parents had in those situations was to go to court. They ask the court for the maintenance and welfare of the children to whom they have transferred their own property. But, later that property would be the special property of the transferee. The senior citizen can’t do anything because they had no authority over that property. Thanks to this Act helps a parent and senior citizens reclaim their own property from the transferee.
Alongside parent or grand-parent, against their children who’re not minor and a childless senior citizen against their relative mentioned in clause (g) of section 2, the children’s or relative’s obligation, based on the situation, to maintain senior citizens increases to that citizen’s requirements to let them have a normal life.
The children’s responsibility to maintain their parents extends to either the father or mother or both parents’ requirements to let their parents have a normal life.
Senior citizens who have more than one relative permitted to get their property, the maintenance shall be given by that relative in the share in which they would become heir of the property.
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]]>The post What If The Bank Loses Original Property Documents? appeared first on .
]]>On the closure of a home loan if you find that your bank has misplaced your original property documents it could be very disturbing. Here is what you can do.
When you opt for a Home Loan, you submit all the original documents of the property to the lender. The lender has your original documents until you repay your loan. The documents are kept in the central repository all through the loan tenure. If they are needed for any purpose during the tenure, then they will be pulled out from the central repository and kept back once the work is done. At the home loan closure, you will be given back all original documents. The central repositories are mostly in Mumbai and maintained by 3rd parties. In this process, your documents are handled by many hands and there might be a moment when the documents get lost.
Losing the most critical important documents like the sale agreement or sale deed can create a lot of hassles in selling the property further. It will also not be possible to avail loan against a property with missing papers. Sometimes the bank may not accept their negligent act of losing original documents. When the lender does not take up the responsibility, the customer is left distressed, defenceless and vulnerable. In such a case, the property owner should take right and quick actions so that there is no further damage and things can be retrieved. The owner should act carefully and lenders should never turn away irresponsibly, neglecting their mistake. Here is what a borrower should do and follow the procedure as the inculcation of remedy.
1. Never accept any original document from the bank when in doubt – When you know one of the original documents is missing or a few pages of the document are missing, do not accept the documents. If you take those, the bank may say that you have taken all documents as you have signed the acknowledgement. Even if the lender assures you that they will find the missing document, do not accept the rest.
2. Do not sign any acknowledgement saying you have received the documents – Usually, banks ask you to sign an acknowledgement or undertaking even before giving you original documents. Never sign before checking the documents.
3. Give a written complaint to the bank concerning lost documents – As soon as you get to know about lost originals, register a written complaint with the bank and describe in detail the lost original document by the bank. Also, take a complaint copy with the manager’s signature and bank seal.
4. Register a police report/ FIR- It is a must to register a police FIR when you lose any government-issued document. Make sure you mention that the Bank has lost your original document which you had given for collateral.
5. Submit a copy of the Police FIR to the bank – Once you submit the copy of the Police FIR to the bank, take acknowledgement from them about receiving the Police FIR copy.
6. Submit court affidavit to banks – In the court affidavit state that the original property documents are lost by the bank. And submit the same to the bank.
7. Public notice in two newspapers – The bank will publish a public notice, one in an English newspaper and one in the vernacular language of the state. The notice states the property details and mentions that the original property documents are lost by the bank. If the public has any objection then it can be filed within 15 days.
8. Indemnity bond from the bank – Bank will issue an attested & notarized indemnity bond on stamp paper stating that original documents are lost by the bank with details of the property, Police FIR and public notice published in 2 newspapers.
9. Duplicate share certificate – Ask for a duplicate share certificate from the housing society by submitting a Police FIR copy and stating original property documents lost by the bank.
10. Certified copies from the registrar’s office – Bank will pay the required charges and get the duplicate copy from the registrar.
11. Encumbrance Certificate from Registrar Office – Get the latest Encumbrance certificate from the registrar’s office after all the above processes.
12. File a complaint in the consumer forum – A complaint in the Consumer forum can be filed to claim compensation from a bank for service scarcity. The compensation claimed can be equivalent to double the value of your property.
13. Penalty on Bank – The lender is liable to pay Rs 100 per day after 15 days of loan closure till the documents reach the owner.
The lender /bank is responsible for losing the document and it is their responsibility to run around and do all the above steps. All the costs of getting the new documents will be borne by the bank. But you need to take a copy of every legal document in the procedure for your reference including public notice, FIR copy, indemnity bond, duplicate sale deed etc.
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]]>The post What Should You Do If Your Housing Project is Delayed? appeared first on .
]]>Buying a home is not easy, especially in urban areas. A person puts all his savings into making down payments and then takes a hefty loan whose EMI he has to pay for the rest of his life if income does not increase as predicted.
And what if the same project gets stalled or delayed? Nothing is more heartbreaking than this. According to real estate consultant Anarock’s report, about 174,000 homes are stalled across seven cities whose value is over Rs 1,40,613 Crore. The maximum number of stalled projects is in National Captial Region (NCR), 113,860 and then in Mumbai Metropolitan Region (41,720).
There are many reasons behind the delay of a project, such as financial strain on the builder, raw material supply hindrance, labour shortage, etc. Whatever the reason, the hardship of stalled project has to be borne by the buyers most. And with such projects, the buyers have the least options to do. If concerning authorities have not initiated the insolvency proceedings against the builder, then here are a few things buyers can do.
Approach The Real Estate Regulator – The first option for the buyers is that they can complain against the builder to the real estate authority. It is Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA)
The RERA will either help buyers get refunds or instruct the builder to speed up the construction process. Besides that, the homebuyers have a few more rights – the right to receive payment against the delay and the right to get the interest. The interest is calculated based on the ROI mentioned in RERA for each month of delay till the possession.
Apart from RERA, Real Estate Appellate Tribunal (REAT) also takes care of the rights of homebuyers. RERA has the right to hold or overturn the order passed by RERA. Additionally, one can contest the REAT order in the high court.
Buyers Can Take The Legal Route – The second option available to home buyers is taking the legal route. The National Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission is a quasi-judicial commission that was set up in 1988 under the Consumer Protection Act 1986. It is the authorized body to file a complaint against the builder by homebuyers against the delayed project.
The major cities like Delhi, Mumbai, etc., have city-forum while states in India have state-forum. Homebuyers can register their complaints at these forums. They can also ask for a refund if the project has got delayed for more than a year.
Depending on the property value, courts have been segregated, and homebuyers can visit the respective forum and lodge complaints at NCDRC for the dispute redressal. For property up to 20 Lakh, the complaint needs to be lodged at District Commission. For property up to 20 Lakh to 1 Crore, the state commission needs to be approached, for the property above 1 Crore, the national commission has to be approached.
Selling The Property – If exiting from the property is what you think is a solution, then you might be wrong. Stalled property’s cost is compromised because of delays in the project and other infrastructure development. So, finding a buyer will not be easy. Moreover, you will have to sell it at loss.
Don’t Stop Paying EMI – No matter what, you should never stop paying the EMI of the loan to the bank. Doing this will negatively impact you in many ways. The bank or any other financial institution has the right to take necessary action against the defaulters.
To make sure that the project finishes on time, the homebuyers must remain proactive. They must take action as soon as they realize that the project is missing the timeline.
Homebuyers must keep track of project progress, and if the builder denies sharing information, it is a clear indication that there is something wrong. They should seek help from concerning authorities as soon as possible.
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]]>The post Rights of Air Travellers in the Case of Flight Delays or Cancellations appeared first on .
]]>Flight delays or cancellations can disrupt work schedules. Missing important meetings or losing valuable business transactions can ultimately cause economic loss. In these untoward situations, airline carriers have specific responsibilities towards passengers. You must have noticed a sign at the check-in counters intimating the passengers to ask for their rights when a flight is cancelled or delayed. Additionally, the airline provides a copy of the Passenger Charter with the ticket to help the passengers know about their compensatory rights in such conditions. The Passenger Charter, issued by Civil Aviation Ministry, states the airline passenger’s rules and rights.
As per the guidelines by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), airline passengers have the following rights with respect to flight delays
Scenario: Passenger has checked-in on time, but the expected delay is of:
2 hours or more where the total time of flight is up to 2.5 hours, or
3 hours or more and the total flight time is between 2.5 hours to 5 hours, or
4 hours or more and the total flight time is more than 5 hours.
Right: To receive free of charge meals and refreshments.
Scenario: The expected delay is more than 6 hours.
Rights: a) An option of either an alternate flight that departs within 6 hours or a full refund of the ticket amount.
b) Rescheduled time of flight should be communicated at least 24 hours prior to the originally scheduled time of departure.
Scenario: The expected delay is more than 24 hours or more than 6 hours for flights scheduled to depart between 2000 hours and 0300 hours.
Right: Free hotel accommodation.
Rights of passengers when the flight is cancelled:
Scenario: An airline informs passenger about the flight cancellation two weeks to 24 hours before the scheduled time of departure.
Right: Arrangement of alternate flight or refund as acceptable to the passenger.
Scenario: An airline does not inform a passenger about flight cancellation 24 hours before the scheduled time of departure and the passenger has missed connecting flight booked on the same ticket number.
Rights: The airline should either provide an alternate flight as per passenger’s suitability or compensation, in addition, to a full refund. However, if the passenger has not provided adequate contact information at the booking time, no compensation shall be payable.
Compensation of Rs.5, 000 or basic one-way fare plus airline fuel charge, whichever is less, when the total flight time is up to one hour.
Compensation of Rs.7, 500 or one-way basic fare plus airline fuel charge, whichever is less, when the total flight time ranges from one to two hours.
Compensation of Rs.10, 000 or basic one-way fare plus airline fuel charge, whichever is less, when the total flight time is more than two hours.
If certain extraordinary circumstances cause flight cancellation, then the airline is not liable to pay compensation. Political instability, natural disasters, air traffic restrictions, computer glitch, riots, explosion, government order affecting the aircraft, strikes and labour disputes, etc. causing cessation, and the slowdown or interruption of work are some such circumstances.
Scenario: Passenger reports for the original flight and waits for an alternate flight.
Right: Airline must provide free of charge meals and refreshments in respect of waiting time.
Scenario: The alternate flight offered is scheduled to depart/arrive from/to an airport or terminal other than the originally booked terminal or airport.
Right: The airline will bear the cost of transferring the passenger to/from the airport or terminal from/to the airport or terminal booked. If the airline informs about the change of at least 6 hours prior, the passenger is liable to make his/her own arrangements.
Ways to avail your rights
You can lodge a complaint and claim compensation at help desks placed at departure stations.
If not satisfied with the resolution, you can file the AirSeva app or web portal’s grievance.
If you are still not satisfied, approach any statutory body or court set up under the relevant applicable laws.
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]]>The post Consumer Court, RERA and NCLT- Home buyer can approach all the three simultaneously appeared first on .
]]>Punjab & Haryana High Court recently in the case of Experion Developers Pvt Ltd vs State of Haryana and others has observed that a homebuyer while fighting a case in a consumer forum can also pursue remedies under Real Estate Regulatory Authority as well.
A division bench of Justices Dr S Muralidhar and Avneesh Jhangan held that it is not mandatory that a pending matter in front of consumer forum has to be transferred to adjudicating officer of RERA. Senior Partner and Chairman of Aureus Law Partners, Niki Kantawala says “ The same is beneficial for a lot of stranded homebuyers whose money is stuck at the developer’s end and are waiting year-by-year for their lawful possession. This would help in getting a faster remedy.”
Time and again our judiciary has reiterated that legal remedies available to home buyers under Consumer Protection Act and RERA are concurrent. In the past, the Delhi High Court in September 2019 , rejected 62 petitions filed by various developers arguing that buyers can’t sue them at multiple forums. But Delhi High Court ruled in favour of home buyers and supported the stand that aggrieved can approach both at the same time.
When RERA was freshly implemented, RERA chiefs of various state had a view that buyer should not be allowed to approach consumer forum when an existing real estate law is in effect.
In fact, even Supreme Court in 2019 in Pioneer Urban Land & Infrastructure Ltd Vs Union of India case had held that “remedies given to the allottee of flat/apartment are concurrent, and such allottees are in a position to avail remedies under CPA, RERA as well as trigger the provision of Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code.”
Courts have made it clear that remedies to a consumer run parallel to each other and do not interject each other so that one is not deprived of any recourse. This question is raised again and again because of Section 71(1) of the RERA act. But SC had clarified that Sec 71(1) gives an option to withdraw from consumer fora to go before RERA but this is in addition to Section 88 which states that provision of the Act are “in addition to, and not in derogation of the provisions of any other law for the time being in force.”
Distinguishing the role of AO under RERA Act and the role of other authorities, the bench of Punjab & Haryana has clarified that the scope of relief with AO(under RERA) would be limited to compensation or interest. The bench has held that –
“If, however, such person opts to withdraw his complaint before the consumer fora to come to the AO, the scope of the relief he seeks would be limited to the compensation or interest. He will, therefore, have to take a conscious decision. If the relief he is seeking in the complaint before the consumer fora is in addition to seeking compensation or interest in the form of compensation, for instance refund of the amount and interest thereon, then he will have to take a conscious decision on restricting his relief before the AO to one of compensation or interest by way of compensation.”
So its upto the buyer what is the remedy that he wants, senior lawyer Niki Kantawala explains, “ Thus the consumer can go to all the three forums i.e Consumer Court, under RERA or the NCLT. However the nature of reliefs has to be different. So to say, that if the Consumer is seeking a relief of refund of money paid, then, the consumer should go to either the Consumer Court or the NCLT. However, if the consumer is only seeking of compensation and penalty etc for delay- then RERA would be the right Forum. The consumer can complain in NCLT too simultaneously. However, it would be ideal in cases where the buyer is keen to exit the project.”
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]]>The post How to File a Consumer Complaint Online? 6 Things to Know appeared first on .
]]>There may have been a number of times when you would have made up your mind to make a complaint against a company on the grounds of a substandard product or service. But it never happened because you could not take out the time to visit the forum. Not anymore, Consumer complaint system goes online, and now filing a complaint is just a click away.
1- You will be able to electronically file your complaint through the online portal https://edaakhil.nic.in. Once you open the site go to the Complainant/Advocate section and register your email id. For registration, you must have a valid identity card like- your voter card, PAN card, passport, Ration card, BPL/AAY card or a driving licence- any one of them. This ID proof has to be uploaded and it needs to be in PDF format.
2. After your account is activated you need to log in. You will once again click on the Complainant/advocate section and this time you will log in with your e-mail id, password, and a captcha code.
3. Now you are on the home page of your account. You will select ‘Filing’ and there will be a drop-down menu. This will give you various options like – file a new complaint and rejoinder, check case status, pending draft, pending payment, and view the approved cases list.
4.For filing a fresh complaint you need to have to upload a few documents. Keep this paperwork ready-
Index
List of dates
Memo of parties( with complete address and contact details)
Complaint with Notarised attested affidavit
Fee payment detail- if you are making an offline payment then a demand draft in favor of the respective forum
Supporting documents in favor of complaint- receipt, voucher, etc
Application for condonation of delay with an affidavit if there has been a delay of more than 2 years when the incident occurred.
5. You will now give all the case details and the claim amount that you are seeking. Fill out the details of the opposite party and if you want to add a few more associates of opposite parties then include their details too. This is when you will upload the documents and submit your complaint. Once you finalize and submit you will not be able to make any changes.
6. Payment can be made online or offline mode. If you choose offline mode then you will have to make this payment through demand draft.
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]]>The post New Consumer Law for the New Age Consumer appeared first on .
]]>The Consumer Protection Act, 2019 (“Act”) came into force on 20th July 2020. Finally, the 34-year-old Consumer law was reviewed, revised and replaced by the Consumer Protection Act of 2019. The effort has been made to just not change the wine but the bottle too.
It marks a significant and a watershed step in improving, expanding and reinforcing consumer protection through various new grounds of complaint like misleading advertisement, endorsement, unfair contract, product liability. The Act also focuses on mediation and e-commerce which has been one of the major inclusions in the Act.
This new law, with its many new provisions, is trying to empower the new-age consumers. Many facets of this law tackle those aspects which were never a part of consumers’ lives in the ’80s when the old law was formulated. Indian consumer, his buying pattern, his market and the product in the market went through huge change but the law remained the same so it was high time that this law changed too. Let’s have a look at some of the changes that this Act will bring in.
E-commerce:
The definition of “consumer” has been widened by including persons who engage in offline or online transactions through electronic means or by teleshopping or direct selling or multi-level marketing. This has brought e-commerce within the purview of the Act. E-commerce has been defined as buying or selling of goods or services including digital products over digital or electronic network under the Act. Generally, e-commerce players evade liability by presenting themselves as aggregators. However, The Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020 have been framed in furtherance of the Act, to prevent unfair trade practices in the e-commerce market. Such rules provide for various compliances. It provides for appointing grievance redressal officer, requirement of sellers through an undertaking to give accurate information etc. Furthermore, to ensure compliance with the Act and Rules a nodal officer is required to be appointed by e-commerce entities, however, his exact power and role has not been outlined.
New Grounds for complaint:
Product Liability: The Act provides for product liability action under Chapter VI. It means that consumers can claim compensation for any injuries suffered from a defective product. This action can not only be brought against the product manufacturer but also against a product seller and product service provider. Now, the sellers on e-commerce platform dealing in faulty/unauthentic products will also be made liable. Further, in a situation where the manufacturer of product is not known or cannot be found the product seller can be made liable. This significantly enhances the realm of protection available to the consumers against various persons involved in the supply chain of the product.
Misleading Advertisements and Endorsement Liability: The Act seeks to impose stringent penalty on manufacturers and endorsers for misleading advertisements. It attracts penalty up to 10 lakhs and imprisonment which may extend up to 5 years, it also provides for prohibiting an endorser who is a part of a misleading advertisement from being a part of any endorsement for a period of 1 year. This will compel celebrities to carry out due diligence before advertising false claims.
Unfair Contracts: These are contracts having such terms which cause significant change in the rights of consumer, for instance insurance contracts where the terms are skewed in favour of the company. The Act gives power to the ‘State Commission’ and ‘National Commission’ to declare any terms of contract, which is unfair to any consumer, to be null and void. This will fetch massive relief for the consumer.
Unfair Trade Practices: The Act includes certain new categories of unfair trade practices i.e. non issuance of bill or cash memo for goods or services rendered, refusal to take back or withdraw defective goods, failure to refund money within the period stipulated in the bill or 30 days, and disclosing personal information given by the consumer in confidence. This will at least, in absence of any data protection law, allow the consumer to take action for disclosing confidential information.
Establishment of an Authority:
The Act seeks to establish a Central Authority namely, the Central Consumer Protection Authority (“CCPA”) to promote, protect, and enforce the rights of consumers related to misleading advertisements and unfair trade practices as a class. The power to recall goods has also been granted to the CCPA. The Act incorporates CCPA in the definition of “complainant”, thereby allowing it to initiate action on its own. To enforce the said provision the Act further provides for establishment of an investigation wing headed by a Director-General to inquire and investigate, upon a reference by the CCPA. District Collectors have been tasked and entrusted to undertake certain functions pertaining to inquiries and investigations. This will certainly allow the CCPA to protect the interest of the consumers. But it is unclear how the CCPA will practically function. There is also some overlap between the powers of investigation wing and the District Collector, which prospectively may cause a conflict of interest.
Procedural Aspects:
Jurisdiction: The Act eases the filing of the complaint by allowing the consumer to file a complaint where he resides or personally works for gain. Further, the Act provides for a change in pecuniary jurisdiction. Where the consideration paid for the goods and services does not exceed Rs.1 crore the complaint shall be filed before the District Commission where it exceeds Rs.1 crore but is less than Rs.10 crores the complaint shall be filed before the State Commission and where it exceeds Rs.10 crores the complaint shall be filed before the National Commission. However, the Act is silent on whether the matters pending before the Commissions will be transferred as per the new jurisdiction. If such pending cases are transferred it will further lead to a mammoth pile, and without a doubt further delay in deliverance of justice to consumers. Further, the District Commission lacks the infrastructure to deal with the increased number of cases owing to the change in the pecuniary jurisdiction.
Mediation: Upon filing of a consumer complaint under the provisions of the Act, if the Commission is of the view that there are elements of settlement in the dispute, it may refer the matter for mediation in accordance with Chapter V of the Act. The inclusion of mediation in the Act is an attempt to fasten the dispute resolution process and reach early settlements. However, what the government has failed to take into account is that mediation may be inadequate as it is only when all the amicable means of resolving a disputes have failed that the consumer seeks justice before courts. Thus, the induction of another step of mediation may add to the delay. Furthermore, it is evident from history that the consumer lacks bargaining power and therefore, he is less likely to secure adequate compensation without the interference of the Commissions.
The Act is quite comprehensive as it also provides for penalties including imprisonment for manufacture, sale, distribution etc. of adulterated and spurious goods. It also establishes Consumer Protection Councils at the Central and State levels for protecting consumer’s interest and spreading awareness, and makes a provision for electronic filing of complaint.
The New act is an attempt to empower the consumer on paper but it will be the implementation and execution which will decide the fate of Indian consumer. With lakhs of pending cases in consumer fora, the unending web of adjournment, staff scarcity and delays – the only thing which is in consumers’ hand is to pray that one doesn’t end up with a faulty product.
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