If you feel cheated after purchasing a product or service and are planning to go to the Consumer Court, know that instead of approaching the consumer courts directly, it is more effective to file a complaint with an Online Consumer Forum. Yes, consumer court complaint is the wisest decision to make, however, it is important that you follow our detailed checklist, which will give you fair chances of being heard and quick and desired response to your complaint.
Before you actually initiate the complaint procedure it is important that you invest quality time to go through the steps mentioned below. This will help in keeping your focus on the genuine issues and on what you want as the response to your complaint:
What is wrong?
1) What defect is there in the product or service?
2) Write these defect points in detail, so you have them clear in your head?
What are your rights?
Make sure you gather information on your rights from fair trading or consumer affairs website i.e. from government official websites. It is important to make this search from a reliable source, if not the government website, as there are multiple forums available online, however not all provide reliable and up-to-date information.
If your issues are somehow complicated and involve a lot of money, it is a good idea to opt for some legal advice. For some hiring a legal help might be an expensive affair but it might also save a lot of money in the long run.
What do you want?
This is very important, as this is the sole purpose of filing a complaint:
1) Do you want the company to pay a refund, a repair or a replacement? This also depends on the nature of the defect.
2) Do you want the company to release an apology? At times, the defected product hurt consumer�s sentiments and the consumer files a complaint just to make the company aware of this and make sure the same is not repeated for others.
What documents do you have?
Make sure you gather all the documents with regard to product or service purchase, like receipt or invoice, photos, original packaging, letters or emails.
Make quick notes on:
Do not waste time
It is important to react promptly. The earlier you try to fix the issue, the more likely are your chances of getting the desired response.
Stop using the faulty product, if you try to make it work, it is likely that you are making a situation worse.
What if all that mentioned above doesn't work?
If as a distressed consumer you are not getting any satisfactory solution from the company, it is time to make a formal consumer court complaint on an online consumer complaint portal. These portals are easy to operate and filing consumer complaints here is quick and easy. There will be a minimal cost involved in the overall procedure.
Remember the saying "Don't throw good money after bad."
So, its time you take charge and gather information necessary to file a consumer complaint.