On 22.05.2003, my daughter Payel Chakraborty personally met Krishna Kumar, secretary and PRO of the Nehru Group of Institutions in Calcutta for her admission to Nehru College of Pharmacy, Thrissur, Kerala, for the B-Pharma course. Once the interview was over, Krishna Kumar asked us to submit a bank draft of Rs 10,500. But my daughter failed to secure admission in the college. Ever since, we have written several letters asking for a refund of the Rs 10,500 paid in the name of Nehru College of Pharmacy, as it failed to provide admission to my daughter. Three years have gone by and we are still writing letters for a refund. Can you please suggest some remedial measures?
Ashit Chakraborty, Calcutta

The Institution: No response.

The expert: From the complaint it is obvious that the Nehru Group of Institutions has failed to provide admission to Payel Chakraborty, daughter of the complainant, and as such, it is duty bound to refund the Rs 10,500 which it accepted through a bank draft. Unfortunately, three years have elapsed from the date of the deposit and, as such, the plea of unfair trade practice or deficiency in service on the part of the institution and its secretary cannot be placed before consumer fora. Kindly note that under Section 24A of the Consumer Protection Act, a complaint shall not be admitted unless it is filed within two years from the date on which the cause of action has arisen.

In the present case, if the complainant can convince the consumer forum that it is within two years from the date of filing the case against the institution or it’s been two years since its secretary assured him of a refund, the complainant can move the consumer forum for relief and redress.

Dead end

I invested Rs 10,000 in bonds with M/s Alpic Finance Limited. The amount has already matured but in spite of that, I have not received any money from the company. I have filed an affidavit at the high court in Mumbai (original civil jurisdiction), company application no. 100 of 2002. But my efforts to receive the matured amount have yielded no results. What do I do now?

Hironmoy Biswas,
G/11, Nabadarsha, HSG SOC, Birati, PO: Nilachal, Calcutta 700 134

The company: No response.

The expert: By an order dated August 2, 2002, passed by the Bombay High Court, Alpic Finance Ltd was asked to wind up. An official liquidator, Bombay High Court, was appointed in company application no. 100 of 2002 in company petition no. 853 of 2000.

In view of the order, you are requested to take further action in this matter and correspond with the Provisional Liquidator, c/ Official Liquidator, Alpic Finance Ltd, Bank of India building, M.G. Road, Fort, Mumbai 400023.

In view of the circumstances, the Official Liquidator appointed by the high court in Mumbai will offer a solution. So it is best to contact him for your relief and redress.

Room of one’s own

I booked a flat in Santoshpur under the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) ward no. 103, Borough no. XII in the name of my wife and married daughter and got possession of it in December 1991. At the time of registration in 1992, along with other flat owners, I got entangled in a court case that was vacated in 2005. Meanwhile, KMC arranged for a camp in Santoshpur in 1993 for mutation of the flats/houses.

I got my flat mutated on the basis of the possession certificate and on payment of a fee of Rs 2,970 and was told to collect the certificate from the Ramlal Bazar office. Accordingly, I approached the Ramlal Bazar office to collect the certificate. But there I was told that the certificate cannot be issued till the deed of conveyance is produced, despite the fact that they had collected regular tax from the date of taking possession of the flat till August 2006.

The strange part is that KMC charged a water tax of Rs 200 at the rate of Rs 50 per quarter, during the period 2003-04, though we did not draw a drop of water from the KMC source of supply. Instead, we used our licenced tubewell certified by the executive engineer (water supply), KMC, Borough no. XII. I approached the revenue officer, KMC, for a refund of the arbitrary tax charged. But to date, this Rs 200 and the mutation fee of Rs 2,970 are lying unadjusted, even though I have appealed to both the executive engineer (water supply, Borough no. XII) and the municipal commissioner.

However, the deed of conveyance was finally drawn out in my maternal grandson and my name in 2005. I submitted an application for change of name in the mutation (because I had not received the original mutation from KMC) on the basis of the deed of conveyance with the requisite fees and documents in January, 2006, to the Assessor, ward no. 103, Borough XII, with a request for a change of name — from my wife (now deceased) and my daughter to myself and my maternal grandson. This finally came into effect in August 2006 after I submitted Rs 1,362 — the net increase in valuation tax in the past six years as per the corporation rules.

I would like to know if I can ask KMC to adjust the outstanding amount of Rs 2,970 and Rs 200, which is still lying unadjusted. How else can I recover the amount of Rs 3,170?

P. Pramanik,
127, Santoshpur Avenue, Calcutta 700075.

The company: No response.

The expert: The matter complained about relates to the Municipal Corporation and is therefore not entertainable under COPRA as of now. In the awaited amendment of COPRA, it is expected to be included under the Consumer Protection Act. Till then, the complainant will have to wait. But still, it would be advisable to contact an advocate who is practising in municipal tribunals for proper redress.

‘Our parcels were not delivered’

We sent two parcels from Calcutta to Hyderabad through DTDC Courier and Cargo Services Ltd, weighing 22 kg and 49 kg, respectively, with the official receipt containing bar code nos. K-19389783 and K-19389784, respectively. These parcels were booked by surface and cost us Rs 24 per kg. They were to be delivered within five days to the destination in Hyderabad.

On September 23, 2006, we contacted our relative in Hyderabad to find out if he had received the parcels. To our utter surprise, there was no news of these two large parcels. We began to contact various DTDC officials all over the country. All they said was they needed time to check and the time ranged from two days to over a fortnight. It’s been over a month now and the DTDC officials refuse to admit that the parcels are lost. We have spent a lot of money and wasted precious time pursuing all the designated DTDC personnel, right from Calcutta to Hyderabad, and even those at the head office in Bangalore. But our efforts to locate the parcels have been in vain. What should we do?

Kanika Sarkar, on behalf of M/s Aaina

The company: Out of the 25 bags of consignments sent on 17.09.2006 in a brake van, two consignments belonging to M/s Aaina were misplaced/lost by the Railways while in transit. The Hyderabad Railways had given a short delivery certificate to this effect. We have lodged a complaint with G.S. Parcel, Shalimar Godown, Howrah on 03.10.2006 to trace the missing consignments. They are trying to trace the consignments and we are awaiting the outcome of their investigation. The partners of M/s Aaina are aware of these facts. Copies of the short delivery certificate issued by Hyderabad Railways and our complaints to G.S. Parcel, Shalimar Godown, Howrah would clarify the matter.

Kaushik Bhattacharya, Assistant General Manager (East), DTDC Courier & Cargo Ltd

The expert: From the company’s response it appears that the courier company is trying to avoid its responsibility. It is unfortunate that a company of repute, instead of taking the complaint seriously, is trying to shirk its responsibility. In such circumstances, it is better to approach the consumer forum for speedy relief and redress.