The Karnataka State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has urged the Jammu& Kashmir Bank Limited, to pay up Rs 14,47,000 to a consumer.

M Anees-ur-rahman had taken a loan of Rs 7,22,84,441 from this bank, agreeing to re-pay it with interest. Later, they approached the Karnataka Bank to discharge this loan for them, which was done.

 But the J & K bank recovered a sum of Rs 14,47,000 from the account of the complainants towards pre-closure charges. This being deficiency of service, Mr Anees-ur-rahman complained to the district consumer forum which dismissed his complaint.

He went in appeal against this order to the State Commission. The Commission President Justice Chandrashekaraiah and member M Shama Bhat ruled that the district forum was not right in dismissing the complaint.

There had been no agreement between the consumer and the opposite party under which the bank could collect the pre-closure charges. Hence, it was guilty of deficient service.

They ordered the bank to refund Rs 14,47,000 to the complainant with interest at six per cent per annum from the date of filing the complaint before the district forum till realisation.

Schools that don’t   return your money
How do you cope when a school does not return money that is legitimately yours? Two consumers had this problem with a school and were helped by a consumer court in Bangalore.

Dr S C Roy, scientist at the National Institute of Animal Nutrition in Bangalore had applied to a school here for admitting his daughter to LKG class.

His daughter was selected and he paid Rs 5000 as advance for admission. He asked for a receipt but it was not given. He insisted but the staff only gave him a selection slip in which the amount paid as advance was not mentioned.

Due to unavoidable circumstances he decided to admit his daughter to another school. But when he went to get back his money, the school refused to return the advance deposit. He complained to the IV additional consumer forum which found the school guilty of deficient service and ordered it to pay back Rs 5000 to Dr Roy along with costs of Rs 1000.

Another consumer, Dr Jyotirmoy Ghosh, a scientist at the National Institute of Animal Nutrition and Physiology, also had the same experience with this school.

He too had to contact the IV additional district forum that ordered the school to return his Rs 5000 advance deposit to him within a month, along with costs of Rs 1000.

The court has ruled that by not refunding the deposit amount, the school had been guilty of deficiency in service to the two consumers.

Evergreen Plantation
The IV Additional District Consumer Forum has ordered the V G P Evergreen Plantation Ltd. in Jayanagar to pay back Rs 20,000 to complainant E D Gopinath who is still waiting to get a farmland at Kambam near Madurai, for which he had given money.

The firm had promised to give it to him within 120 days after receiving the full amount of Rs 8,550 in 1995. The firm has also been asked to pay up Rs 5,000 as compensation to the complainant.