NT NETWORK
PANAJI
Two in almost every four cases in consumer forums are related to housing, followed by complaints related to the insurance and banking sectors, according to an analysis done by the State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (SCDRC).
Cases pertaining to real estate and insurance default invariably occupy the top two slots in the State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission and district redressal forums’ complaint list.
The state commission and districts fora have received over 2,300 complaints against real estate developers since inception and in this month, around 33 complaints were received by the consumer forums against unfair practices of builders.
Complaints related to the settlement of medical and life insurance claims constituted the bulk of petitions coming up before the consumer redressal forums. It has received 963 complaints against insurance companies and the number is increasing.
The SCDRC, which is the highest consumer court in the state, has received 1,072 complaints against developers as compensation demanded in the range of Rs 20 lakh to Rs 1 crore.
It is learnt that non-delivery of possession in time and failure to honour the promises made in the brochures are the major areas of conflict between real estate developers and home buyers. There are numerous cases wherein builders have taken more than the required time to finish projects, leaving home buyers with financial losses.
In north Goa, which has the highest number of consumer grievances in the state, cases pertaining to malpractices of builders and insurance companies were highest with 799 and 413 complaints, respectively of which 161 are still pending for disposal. In south Goa, the number of complaints related to housing was about 430 and insurance-related matters numbered 121, while the disposal rate is almost 90 per cent.
“The maximum number of cases today in consumer courts is against builders. We get a large number of cases related to real estate. The number of consumers approaching us for non-delivery of flats in time has been increasing. We have a number of cases related to cheating by builders. This includes cases related to refund of money or not fulfilling the promises made to the customers. We have several cases of builders, who are repeat offenders,” said an official of the district consumer disputes redressal fora.
Experts said consumer forums receive more insurance-related cases for two reasons. First, consumers prefer approaching these forums to civil courts where one has to pay court fee. Second, consumers, who largely buy insurance products in good faith without even going through the contract conditions properly, are confronted with tricky conditions to deny compensation by insurance companies.
Consumer disputes related to banking, especially withholding of the amount due on a fixed deposit after its maturity and charging interest at a rate higher than the rate stipulated in the loan agreement are also increasing in the state. The highest number of complaints consumer court has received in the banking category is 125, while the consolidated figure of both the districts shows 332 complaints against the banking sector.
The forum also has cases pertaining to disputes related to railways, airlines, medical negligence and electricity. The least number of complaints were against railways and medical negligence and the disposal rate is almost 80 per cent.