Consumer and Competition Law: Complaints Under the 2019 Act and CCI

Who counts as a consumer under the Consumer Protection Act 2019?

You are a consumer if you bought goods or hired a service for a price, paid or promised, for your own use. The definition in section 2(7) also covers anyone who uses the goods or benefits from the service with the buyer's approval, so a family member treated in a hospital, or a spouse named on a flat allotment, can complain too. It makes no difference whether you bought in a shop, over the phone, through a website or on an app.

The main exclusion is commercial purpose. If you bought goods for resale, or bought something to use in a profit-making business, you are usually not a consumer for that purchase. There is an exception for goods and services used only to earn a livelihood by self-employment, so a taxi driver who buys one car to drive himself, or a tailor who buys a machine, can still file. Builders often argue that a buyer who booked two or three flats was an investor; commissions look at the facts, and owning a second flat does not automatically make you a trader.

Services given free of charge are outside the Act, as is a contract of personal service such as employment. Fully free treatment in a government hospital is generally outside it, though a hospital that charges some patients may still be answerable to those who are treated free, depending on the facts. If you are unsure whether you qualify, that question is worth settling before you spend time on anything else, because it is the first objection the other side will raise.

What can you complain about in a consumer court?

The Act allows complaints about defective goods, deficiency in service, unfair trade practices, restrictive trade practices, unfair contracts, overcharging beyond the printed or displayed price, and goods or services that are hazardous to life and safety. Deficiency is defined in section 2(11) as any fault, shortcoming or inadequacy in the quality, nature or manner of performance that the provider was required to maintain by law or by contract, or claimed to provide. That covers most everyday failures: a flat not delivered, a claim rejected without basis, a refund never processed, a service that was simply not done.

The 2019 Act added two things that the older 1986 law did not have. The first is the idea of an unfair contract in section 2(46), which lets a consumer challenge one-sided terms such as excessive security deposits, penalties that run only one way, or a clause letting the seller end the contract at will. State Commissions and the NCDRC can declare such terms void. The second is product liability under Chapter VI, which makes manufacturers, service providers and sellers liable for harm caused by a defective product, separately from a simple refund claim.

What the consumer court does not do is decide complicated questions of title, fraud needing detailed criminal investigation, or disputes that are really about a business partnership. If the case turns on whether a sale deed was forged, or on months of witness evidence, the commission may tell you to go to a civil court. Choosing the right forum at the start avoids losing a year.

Which consumer commission hears your complaint?

Pecuniary jurisdiction depends on the value of the goods or services paid for, under the Consumer Protection (Jurisdiction of the District Commission, the State Commission and the National Commission) Rules 2021. It is not based on the compensation you claim.

If you paid ₹45 lakh for a flat and claim ₹30 lakh as compensation for delay, the case still goes to the District Commission, because the consideration paid is under ₹50 lakh. Many complainants still draft their prayer as if the old rules applied, where the claim decided the forum, and end up in the wrong commission.

Where can you file: your city or the company's?

Section 34(2) lets you file where the opposite party lives or carries on business, where any part of the cause of action arose, or where you yourself live or personally work for gain. The last option is new in the 2019 Act and it matters. A person living in Dwarka who bought a laptop from a seller in Bengaluru through a marketplace can file in the Delhi District Commission that covers Dwarka, rather than travelling.

Where there are several opposite parties in different places, the cause of action test usually lets you sue all of them in one commission. In a builder case you may join the developer, the landowning company and sometimes the bank that disbursed a tied-up home loan. Joining the wrong parties, or leaving out the one who actually holds the money, is a common reason why an order cannot be enforced later.

Provisions of the Consumer Protection Act 2019 that come up most

How long do you have to file a consumer complaint?

The limit is two years from the date the cause of action arose. The difficulty is working out that date. For a defective car, it is usually when the defect showed itself and the dealer failed to fix it. For an insurance claim, it runs from the date of the final repudiation letter, not the date of the accident. For a flat that is still not handed over, commissions have generally treated the failure to give possession as a continuing wrong, so time does not run out while the builder keeps the money and delivers nothing.

Repeated letters and emails do not by themselves extend limitation. A reply from the company saying the matter is under review does not restart the clock either, unless it amounts to a fresh decision. If you are close to the two-year mark or past it, file with an application for condonation of delay explaining each period, supported by documents such as medical records or correspondence. Commissions are reasonably understanding of genuine delay but expect an explanation, not a general statement that you were busy.

How a consumer complaint moves, from notice to final order

The sequence is broadly the same in every District Commission, State Commission and the NCDRC. The timelines in the Act are targets; actual dates depend on the bench and its workload.

1. Send a legal notice, if time allows

   A notice is not compulsory, but it puts your claim in writing, gives the other side a chance to settle, and often produces a reply that shows their defence. Fifteen days is a reasonable period to allow. Do not wait for a notice if limitation is about to expire.

2. Draft and file the complaint

   The complaint sets out the facts in date order, the deficiency or unfair practice, the amount paid, and the reliefs claimed with figures. It is supported by an affidavit and indexed documents. It can be filed on the e-Jagriti portal or at the filing counter of the commission.

3. Admission hearing

   The commission checks jurisdiction, limitation and whether there is a case to answer. The Act expects admission to be decided within 21 days of filing. If admitted, notice is issued to the opposite parties.

4. Written version from the opposite party

   The opposite party has 30 days from receiving notice to file its reply, which the commission can extend by 15 days. After that the right to file a reply is generally closed, and the case proceeds on your evidence.

5. Evidence and rejoinder

   Both sides file evidence by affidavit, with documents. You can file a rejoinder answering new points in the reply. Cross-examination is uncommon; commissions mostly decide on affidavits and documents, though they can call for oral evidence or an independent opinion.

6. Final arguments and order

   Written arguments are often filed and oral arguments heard briefly. The order states what is to be paid or done and the time for compliance, usually 30 to 45 days. Either side can appeal, and if nothing is paid you move to execution.

The commission can refer a case to its consumer mediation cell at any stage where both sides agree. A settlement recorded through mediation ends the case without an appeal, which is why a sensible offer at the mediation stage deserves a proper look.

Builder delay: should you go to the consumer commission or RERA?

Homebuyers can choose. The Supreme Court held in Newtech Promoters v State of UP (2021) that the remedy under the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act 2016 is in addition to, not instead of, the consumer remedy. So a buyer in a delayed project can file before the Delhi RERA, UP RERA or Haryana RERA, or before the consumer commission, but should not run the same claim in both at once.

The consumer commission is often chosen where the buyer wants compensation beyond interest, where the builder agreement has one-sided terms that can be attacked as an unfair contract, or where the project was not registered with RERA at all. RERA is often quicker for a straightforward refund with interest under section 18, and its orders can be recovered as arrears of land revenue. Where the developer is already in insolvency before the NCLT, both routes are largely frozen by the moratorium and your claim usually goes to the resolution professional instead.

Commissions commonly award refund of the amount paid with interest where possession is delayed beyond a reasonable time, or, where the buyer wants the flat, compensation for the period of delay along with a direction to hand over possession with an occupancy certificate. The builder's standard defences are force majeure, delay by the authority in granting approvals, and the buyer's own default in paying instalments. A complaint that anticipates these, with the payment record and the builder's own demand letters attached, is half argued already.

Insurance claim rejected: what the consumer commission looks at

Most insurance cases in consumer courts are about repudiation: a health claim rejected for non-disclosure of a pre-existing disease, a motor claim cut down by the surveyor, a life claim refused because the insurer says the deceased hid an illness. The commission asks whether the ground for rejection is actually in the policy, whether the insurer proved it with records rather than suspicion, and whether the alleged non-disclosure had anything to do with the claim.

For life insurance, section 45 of the Insurance Act 1938 says a policy cannot be questioned on any ground after three years from its date, and within three years only on proof of fraud or of a material misstatement. Insurers still reject claims on vague grounds. In health claims, a common pattern is a rejection citing a condition the policyholder never had, or one so minor that no reasonable underwriter would have refused cover for it. Copies of the proposal form, the policy schedule with all terms, the hospital records relied on by the insurer, and the investigator's report, if one was prepared, are the core of any such case.

Before a consumer complaint, you can approach the insurer's grievance cell and then the Insurance Ombudsman, which costs nothing and can be quick for smaller claims. If the ombudsman's award goes against you, you can still go to the consumer commission. Our banking and insurance page explains the ombudsman route in more detail.

Medical negligence complaints against doctors and hospitals

Paid medical services fall within consumer law, and many medical negligence claims are decided by consumer commissions. The test is not whether the treatment failed, but whether the doctor or hospital fell below the standard of a reasonably competent practitioner in that field at that time. An honest error of judgment, or a choice between two accepted methods, is not negligence. Leaving a surgical instrument inside a patient, operating on the wrong site, failing to monitor a patient after surgery or discharging a patient in obvious distress usually is.

These cases are won on records. Ask the hospital in writing for the complete medical records, including nursing notes, consent forms, investigation reports and the discharge summary; hospitals are expected to provide them on request. Where the negligence is not obvious on the face of the record, the commission may want the opinion of an independent doctor or refer the case to a medical board. A complaint built on grief and anger, without a doctor's view of what went wrong, rarely survives.

Name the hospital as well as the treating doctor. The hospital is generally answerable for the doctors it engages and for its own systems, such as nursing, infection control and equipment. If the hospital was a government one and treatment was entirely free, check first whether the consumer route is open at all. Separately, a complaint to the state medical council can lead to professional action against the doctor, but not to compensation.

E-commerce complaints, online purchases and dark patterns

Online purchases are fully covered. The Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules 2020 require marketplaces and inventory sellers to display the seller's details, the return, refund, exchange and warranty terms, and the country of origin, and to appoint a grievance officer who acknowledges complaints within 48 hours and resolves them within a month. Platforms cannot impose cancellation charges on buyers unless they bear similar charges when they cancel an order themselves, and cannot manipulate prices unreasonably.

The usual problem is the blame game between marketplace and seller. Name both. The marketplace will say it is only an intermediary; whether that holds depends on how far it controlled the listing, payment, delivery and returns. Commissions have often held platforms responsible where they collected the money and promised the refund.

The Central Consumer Protection Authority has also issued guidelines against dark patterns such as false urgency, basket sneaking, drip pricing and subscription traps, and against misleading advertisements. A single consumer's loss is still best taken to the District Commission, but if a practice affects many buyers, a complaint to the Authority can lead to a class-wide order, recall or penalty.

Bank, travel, courier and other service complaints

Banks are service providers for consumer law purposes. Wrongful levy of charges, failure to release title deeds after a loan is closed, mishandling of a locker, wrong reporting to a credit bureau and refusal to reverse an unauthorised transaction are all regular subjects of consumer complaints. For many of these, the RBI Integrated Ombudsman Scheme 2026 (which replaced the 2021 scheme from 1 July 2026) is a free and faster first step, and an adverse ombudsman decision does not stop you from going to the commission later.

Airlines, travel agents, courier companies, electricity distribution companies over billing, and property brokers have all been taken to consumer commissions. If the dispute is that money is owed to you under a contract and there is a clear refusal to perform, it is usually a consumer case. If the dispute is over a loan you are refusing to repay, it is not; that goes to the bank's recovery process and, at ₹20 lakh and above, to the Debts Recovery Tribunal.

What compensation can a consumer court award?

The commission can order the opposite party to refund the price with interest, replace the goods, remove the defect, pay compensation for loss and injury, pay punitive damages where the conduct was wilful or callous, stop an unfair trade practice, issue corrective advertisement and pay litigation costs. Compensation must be linked to actual loss or suffering; a demand for ₹1 crore over a ₹30,000 phone does nothing except make the complaint look unserious.

Interest on a refund is commonly awarded in the range commissions consider fair for the period, often between 6% and 12% a year depending on the case, and is sometimes higher where the opposite party charged the consumer a high penal rate itself. Mental agony compensation is awarded, but in modest amounts. Costs are usually small. The realistic aim of most consumer cases is to get your money back with interest, plus a reasonable sum for the trouble.

The Central Consumer Protection Authority and complaints affecting many buyers

The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA), set up under section 10, deals with violations of consumer rights as a class, unfair trade practices and false or misleading advertisements. It can investigate, order recall of unsafe goods, direct refunds, ban a misleading advertisement and impose penalties on manufacturers and endorsers, which rise for repeat violations. Complaints can be made to it in writing or through the National Consumer Helpline.

The Authority does not award you personal compensation. It is the right body where the harm is spread across many consumers, such as a misleading health claim on a food product or a hidden charge built into every booking on an app. For a group of homebuyers or customers who want compensation, the class complaint under section 35(1)(c) before the appropriate commission is the better tool, filed by one or more of them on behalf of all with the commission's permission.

Competition Act 2002: when a consumer problem is really a market problem

The Competition Act deals with the market rather than a single transaction. Section 3 prohibits anti-competitive agreements, including cartels on price, limiting supply, sharing markets and bid rigging, and agreements up and down the supply chain that harm competition. Section 4 prohibits abuse of a dominant position, such as unfair or discriminatory prices or conditions, denying market access or using dominance in one market to enter another. Sections 5 and 6 regulate large mergers and acquisitions, called combinations, which need the Commission's approval above notified thresholds.

Any person, including a consumer, a trade association or a competitor, can file information with the Competition Commission of India under section 19. If the Commission forms a prima facie view under section 26(1), it directs the Director General to investigate. Penalties for contraventions are calculated on turnover and can be very large. Appeals go to the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal and then to the Supreme Court, and compensation for loss caused by a proven contravention can be claimed before the NCLAT.

For an individual, a CCI matter is rarely the quickest way to recover money; it is slow and the outcome is a market-wide order. It suits businesses that are shut out of a market, dealers squeezed by a dominant supplier, or groups of buyers facing a clear cartel. Advocate B.K. Singh's first question on any such brief is whether the facts show a market problem at all, or simply a bad contract that a civil or consumer case would fix faster. Matters that arise from company disputes are covered on our corporate law page.

Consumer commission or Competition Commission: which one fits?

Documents to collect before a consumer complaint

Bring originals to the first meeting and keep a scanned set. Most consumer cases are decided on these papers.

Mistakes that weaken a good consumer case

The most damaging mistake is filing in the wrong commission because the claim, not the amount paid, was used to decide jurisdiction. The next is leaving out a necessary party, such as the insurer when suing a TPA, or the marketplace when suing an untraceable seller. Inflated claims for compensation, written to sound tough, tend to irritate the bench and bury the real loss.

Others are quieter. People accept a part payment or a credit note and sign a full and final settlement form without reading it. They keep the only copy of the agreement in a builder's file. They argue in the complaint, with adjectives, instead of stating dates and documents. And they miss the time to file a rejoinder, so the insurer's version of events goes unanswered. Advocate Sadhna Singh, who handles most of our consumer drafting, starts every file with a one-page list of dates for exactly this reason.

When a consumer case is not worth filing

Sometimes the honest answer is that a consumer complaint is not the right step. If the amount is small and the company has a working escalation process, a firm email to the grievance officer and the National Consumer Helpline often resolves it in weeks. If you signed a settlement and accepted the money, reopening it is difficult unless you can show coercion or fraud. If your case depends on proving the other side committed forgery or cheating, a criminal complaint or civil suit may be needed first.

Where the opposite party is a company already in liquidation or under an insolvency moratorium, a consumer order will be hard to enforce, and filing a claim with the resolution professional is the realistic course. We would rather tell you this at the first meeting than take on a case that costs more in time than it can return.

Costs, time and how we take on consumer matters

Fees are discussed at the first meeting and agreed in writing, stage by stage: drafting and filing, hearings to final order, and appeal or execution if needed. Commission fees are nil up to ₹5 lakh and modest on a slab scale above that; photocopying, notarisation and other out-of-pocket costs are separate. A District Commission case commonly takes one to three years to a final order in Delhi NCR, and appeals add to that. No one can promise a date.

Advocate Sadhna Singh usually reads the papers first and prepares the complaint, and Advocate B.K. Singh takes the arguments in State Commission and NCDRC matters and appeals. You can read more about Advocate Sadhna Singh and Advocate B.K. Singh. For other types of dispute, see our full list of practice areas, and for disputes that may settle without a hearing, our page on mediation and other ADR.

What to do this week if you have a consumer dispute

• Write down the date the problem arose and the date of any final refusal, so limitation can be worked out.
• Work out the total amount you paid, since that decides which commission hears the case.
• Ask the company in writing for a final answer and keep the reply.
• Request complete records from the hospital, insurer or builder in writing.
• Do not sign a full and final settlement or accept a credit note until you have read what you are giving up.
• Scan every document and put it in date order.
• Send us the papers through the online enquiry page if you want a view on the forum and the claim.