Cashing in on refunds and replacements: Manav Bajaj

Former advertising professional Manav Bajaj crossed the fence to the consumers’ side to set up Consumer Sathi, along with Rahul Sanal, to take on companies for their rights. He tells Praveena Sharma that his Consumer Sathi, set up with funds raised from Axis Bank last year, questions the tall claims that are undelivered by many brands and gets compensation, refund or replacement that is rightfully due to consumers.

How strong are the consumer laws in India?

Consumer laws in India are very weak but that is what we are fighting for. The government was supposed to amend the laws some years back but they haven’t done it till now. Here, if you go to a company individually, they don’t take you seriously but if a private limited company goes to other companies for the claim it becomes easier. The whole exercise of getting compensation, refund or replacement from companies is difficult and costly.

What made you start Consumer Sathi?

A few bad experiences as a consumer led me to set up Consumer Sathi early last year. What triggered was a Diesel bag with a price tag of Rs11,000. It tore in a month despite the company’s tall claims of impeccable quality. My request for replacement was denied. It was only when I sent them a legal notice through my friend that they relented and offered a replacement. By then, I no longer wanted a replacement and claimed the refund. The whole episode made me realise how tough it was to exercise your rights as a consumer. I decided to start Consumer Sathi to offer legal services to aggrieved consumers at a nominal cost of between Rs 500 and Rs 3,000.

How many complaints have you received till now and what is the resolution rate?

We received 600 complaints. We have an 85% resolution rate. We screen through complaints received on our website and take up only those which seem genuine. Most cases get resolved at the company level, only a few reach the consumer forum. Our team of consumer lawyers draft the legal notice and send it to companies, and if there is no response or resolution within a specified period, we ask our customers to go to the nearest district court. We also use the social media to spread awareness about such cases. We have got compensation from companies of brands like Apple, Starbucks, McDonald, Skoda and others.

In the Skoda case, where the consumer was sold a Skoda Superb with a manufacturing defect, a replacement was given in six months. Another case that stands out is Starbucks’, with a whopping compensation of Rs1.5 lakh for plastic pieces in our customer’s cold coffee.

From which sector do you get maximum complaints?

It is the insurance space. Food and beverage is also on the top when it comes to the number of complaints because food adulteration is very rampant in our country. There are many complaints from the automobile and telecom sectors too.

Is there enough consumer activism happening in India?

There is not much awareness among people. It is improving but needs to pick up further.

Have you come across tough cases?

One of toughest cases was AppsDaily, a mobile insurance company. They never respond to complaints. We have 7-8 cases of this company. We went to the court and a settlement was done outside the court.

What are your future plans?

We have started work on a mobile app, which should be out within 3-4 months. I am also looking to tie up with lawyers in different cities across India. Right now, our team of three lawyers work from Delhi to draft legal notices and resolve consumer complaints with companies from here only.