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Sanjay (System Engineer)     24 September 2014

Requirement of sending legal notice in consumer case

Expert Forum Members,

Few days back, I hired services of a professional

and given him cash as advance fee,

for over two months, the said professional exchanged few emails,

in which everything is on record for what purpose i have hired him, and when we met in Delhi etc.

he cannot deny that, now after two months, he has stopped responding to my phone calls,

and emails,

The work which was assigned to him, he did not complete and and only the first (small part) of work he has done, lots of errors were found even in the small work he did (that too after a delay of over one month), 

 

Now after two months of assignements of work, he is not replying to emails and phones,

I want to approach consumer court in Delhi for his not able to provide promised services, 

my query is that, 

1. can i file the case on the basis of emall exchanged between us regarding the describing the nature of work

   and his assessment of work and replying quoting the price also.

2. Is it must to first sending him a legal notice, or i can myself send him a letter explaining the happenings of events and suggesting him to comply to the request of refunding my money, and else legal action against consumer protection act will be taken. 

 

Thanks in advance



Learning

 9 Replies

Hardeep (Business)     24 September 2014

If you have sufficient data including agreements , fee receipts etc you can yourself send him a notice properly drafted. That will form part of your complaint should you approach the consumer forum.

 

BTW, you don't need a lawyer to fight a case in Consumer Forums. How do I know ? - personal experience of winning one :-) 

 

DISCLAIMER : General information and advice provided is without any warranties as to suitability for any use, correctness and application to any specific case. Please always take proper legal counsel . However, if it helped anyone even a little a " thanks" would be appreciated and would encourage me to keep on making efforts :-) . I am also always open to corrections and further learnings from more experienced Seniors here.

1 Like

Kumar Doab (FIN)     24 September 2014

Agreed.

You can issue notice/legal notice and you can contest in person/thru lawyer.

Dr. MPS RAMANI Ph.D.[Tech.] (Scientist/Engineer)     25 September 2014

Generally a legal notice means a notice sent by a lawyer on behalf of a client. In consumer cases it is not essential to hire a lawyer. in fact in any case one can argue oneself without a lawyer. Sending a notice through a lawyer is only to ensure that the notice is properly drafted and that all points of law are taken into account. if you feel that you are competent you can yourself send the notice. On the other hand if you feel that the emails exchanged are sufficient and no further notice is necessary, you can straightaway file case in the Consumer Court. Again it is entirely up to you whether you file the case through a lawyer or directly.

Sanjay (System Engineer)     25 September 2014

Thanks a lot Hardeep ji, Kumar Doab ji &  Dr. MPS Ramani ji for answering my query,

 

@ Hardeep ji, I have no receipt of the advance amount which i have given, 

But there is sufficient proof in terms of email exchanged, that the said job is assigned after

agreement of total fees of the matter by both ends, and said professional also affirmed 

in one of the emails that what services he will provide for the fee under discussion (he wants

to raise the fee offered, little bit), he charged fee from three clients, one of them paid the cheque (for the same advance amount) while for rest of two he insisted to give it cash,

 

There are sufficients emails written to the professional at different times, reminding of delays

happening in even starting the work by him, in return for first one month the said professional said that

he is examining the documents thoroughly and always used the words like "No sooner..., then he will start", later on when his promised time lapsed, he said that he is bed ridden for 15 days, and on pain killers and sedatives, on his facebook page , he was seen hoisting the national flag in his office complex (all photos, with comments of people have taken for records) on 15th August, when asked through facebook messagebox, that on one side he is saying that he is on bed for last so many days, then how come he is seen in the picture hoisting the flag, he replied (rather lied) that he was brought there in wheel chair (however a wheel chair is not visible, in any of the photographs, if somebody is using a wheel chair, he will put it close to where he is required to stand momentarily), one of the comments these pictures is "where are you sir", said professional replied, that it is venue at his office (or near to office), if a person is bed ridden and his ailment is severe, he can be either at two locations, either at hospital /treatment centre, or most likely at home. 

After lapse of further few days, when he is asked that now its almost one and half month delay and you have not provided even a bit of the work, through facebook msgbox (coz to email he replied with standard answer), he said he is hospitalized,  and paused the communication that Dr. has come to visit him at his bed.  When I posted a get well soon message at his timelines, many of his friend enquired about his health and may be surprised to find him in hospital, next day he removed me from his friend list, 

 

I have all records (as visible to a other friends of a person in facebook) of his facebook activities, pictures, and posts during the days, when he maintained that he is bed ridden, 

 

in addition around 30-40 emails exchanged between both sides

Thanks

Hardeep (Business)     25 September 2014

Have you, in any of the correspondence, said you have already paid him so much money ? If so, how has that mail been replied ? If not, suggest a mail now stating so , reiterating the delay and asking him how soon can he finish etc...

 

Rest of what you say could be of use later but most important is to establish some monies have been given. Failing which you have a difficult and circumstantial case. 

Sanjay (System Engineer)     26 September 2014

Hardeep ji, 

There are number of emails i have written to him,  in last 10 days, asking 

him to refund advance money taken from us (three consumers) as the committed work

has not been completed (or whatever done, looks to be a thing done in haste without looking

into details as required), But there are two instances, which could clearly establish, that he has received

same advance money from all three of us,

1. one email the said professional s written to our one  consumer, asking the certain advance sum, to be paid to him, and quoting my name, that in the meeting with me, the advance sum and total fee as decided.

2. Once through Facebook Message, I asked the said professional that if he is not able 

   to start the work due to bad health, give us following two alternatives

  a. either handover the complete case work to some other professional 

or b. if it is not possible, then refund us the advance amount taken by you,

on this he clearly replied that, he is in hospital, as he will get to his home in one or two days,

 he would comply to one of the requests.

 

Thanks in advance, 

Any other expert member of this forum may  like to add his/her comment on this matter, is most welcome

Kumar Doab (FIN)     28 September 2014

If you have everything on record then you may proceed against him.

dr g balakrishnan (advocate/counsel supreme court)     07 October 2014

you say he is a professional, then you say he did not do work properly -  is it not contradictions in you? ...professionals are better than a lay man is assumed that way only you approached him - May be he found your issue is not something meaningful, probably that led him to decide bot to respond your further emails u sent and he sent that means very emails probably go against you if he has sound reasons which he may use as defense in consumer court too in your sec 21 consumer complaint of deficiency!

 

think a while, for desisting he doing his work he might have sent his precious time that time is chargeable too no service is free in today's world where even free water is charged under some o called purification is it not?

 

u buy biseleri bottles as if good water. do u file sec 21 consumer complaint on services rendering biselleri !

care itself prudence. unnecessary cases consume time and money, think a little do u have time to waste even if you have money to waste!

regds 

Dr. MPS RAMANI Ph.D.[Tech.] (Scientist/Engineer)     09 October 2014

"He is a professional, he did not do his work properly"  Absolutely there is no contradiction as dr. g balakrishnan is trying to arrive at. I am an engineer and thus a professional. Someone entrusts some work to me thinking that I will be able to do it for him. But I do not do the work properly for him. It may be that though I may be a professional, I did not know how to do the particular job and did not tell the client so before he engaged me. Or it could be that I was negligent.. Mr Sanjay only knows the exact nature of job and other details. Otherwise there are no contradictions in his statements.


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