Man ‘loses’ ₹0.5 to India Post, gets back ₹15,000.5
Ram.Sundaram@timesofindia.com 23.10.2024
Chennai : A mere ₹0.5 — a coin many haven’t seen in years — sparked a consumer lawsuit in the city. The local post office responsible for the extra charge was ordered to pay a ₹15,000 fine and return the ₹0.5. On Dec 3, 2023, Manasha of Gerugambakkam visited the Pozhichalur post office to send a registered letter. Although the total fee was ₹29.5, the employees demanded ₹30. When Manasha requested the balance, he was informed that the system automatically rounded the amount to ₹30.
He offered to pay the exact amount through UPI, but staff at the post office declined it due to a technical issue. Frustrated, Manasha filed a complaint with the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission. He said India Post’s practice of rounding off millions of daily transactions could lead to signifi cant amounts being siphoned off, potentially resulting in black money and a loss of GST revenue to the govt. The post office retaliated by saying that amounts involving less than ₹0.5 were ignored, but when the total was ₹0.5 or more, it was rounded off to the nearest rupee by the software. Regarding rejection of digital payments, the post office said that the ‘Pay U’ QR digital payment mode was malfunctioning since Nov 2023 and was discontinued in May this year.
After hearing both sides, the commission found that the post office admitted to overcharging due to a software glitch, which amounted to unfair trade practice under Section 2(47) of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019. The post office was ordered to pay ₹10,000 as compensation for Manasha’s mental agony, ₹5,000 towards legal expenses and told to return the ₹0.5 that was overcharged.
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