Consumers’ woes overflow
Banks top the list
As the world celebrates World Consumers Day, the grievances of people against misleading vendors and subterfuging commercial establishments are increasing with every passing year.
According to records at the Mysore District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum (MDCDRF), the year 2010 witnessed a total of 1070 cases being filed in 2010, while 2009 saw only 490 cases being filed.
While 2010 saw 621 cases being disposed, only four cases had extended from the year 2009. The number of cases have been increasing on a regular basis.
Dispose
The MDCDRF has disposed all complaints filed until the year 2008. The complaints filed have been increasing consistently with 432 cases being filed in 2008, while 2007 witnessed 358 complaints.
Despite reaching a high in 2005 with 403 cases, the complaints dropped to 349 during the year 2006.
The majority of the cases since the inception of the forum are against banks, insurance companies and private societies and builders. About 2939 cases were classified under the miscellaneous category.
Banks have a major portion with 1148 complaints, while insurance firms have 624 grievances.
Among the housing sector, both government and private societies/ builders are not far apart on the number of complaints. While government housing has 508 complaints against them, private societies have 734 grievances against them.
Road transport have the lions share with 164 complaints, while railways have 31 and airlines have 15 complaints. Complaints against defective household goods have reached 266. A total of 6,915 cases have been disposed among the 7,341 complaints being filed since 1989 to the end of 2010.
Speaking to Deccan Herald over the phone, MDCDRF Chairman T H Narayana Gowda said that at present cases of medical negligence and financial institutions bungling up are also coming up on a regular basis. Advising people, he urged to ensure that they keep the bills and receipts whenever they buy any goods or even undergo treatment.
