Bangalore District Commission Holds Reliance Retail Liable For Cancelling Scheduled Return Of Wrongly Delivered Product, Orders Refund & Compensation

Brief Facts:

Mr Jeevan Kumar (“Complainant”) ordered an Analog watch with Push-Button Claps, worth Rs. 83,700/- from Reliance Retail Limited on 06.01.2023. However, upon receiving the product, the Complainant discovered that it was the wrong item and not the one he had originally ordered. Distressed by this error, the Complainant promptly requested the return of the incorrect product and a refund on 10.01.2023.

Reliance Retail, after successful verification of the product, acknowledged the mistake and agreed to the Complainant's request. It assured the Complainant that it would pick up the wrongly delivered product and would process a refund as soon as possible. However, to the Complainant's dismay, it cancelled the return request on 23.01.2023, saying that the shipped item was the correct one and there was no mistake on its part.

Despite numerous attempts by the complainant to communicate and resolve the issue, Reliance Retail remained unresponsive. Frustrated by the lack of cooperation, the Complainant issued a legal notice on 08.02.2023, calling upon Reliance Retail to address and rectify the situation. It neither replied nor complied with the requests outlined in the legal notice. Thereby, the Complainant filed a consumer complaint in the Bangalore Urban-II Additional District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Karnataka (“District Commission”). During the proceedings, Reliance Retail despite being served notice, entered appearance but failed to file a version within the stipulated 45 days.

Observations by the Commission:

The District Commission noted that the Complainant sent several pictures of the wrong product received by him. In the beginning, Reliance Retail agreed to pick up the product and refund the amount but later rejected the request for pickup of the product and refund. Further, the District Commission noted that Reliance Retail neither replied to the legal notice nor complied with the request made in the legal notice. This according to the District Commission constituted a deficiency in service on the part of Reliance Retail.

Consequently, the District Commission ruled in favour of the Complainant and ordered Reliance Retail to refund the full amount of Rs. 83,700/- to the Complainant. The online retailer was also ordered to compensate the Complainant with Rs. 2,000/- and Rs. 1,000/- for the litigation costs incurred by the Complainant.

Case Title: Jeevan Kumar vs Reliance Retail Limited

Case No.: CC/116/2023

Advocate for the Complainant: In person

Advocate for the Respondent: V Aifradha