Consumer Awareness

Heavy rain damage covered under policy for 'flood' and 'inundation'

The National Commission concluded that the policy's coverage for flood and inundation would include losses caused by heavy rains

Police department held liable for lapsed policies

The National Commission dismissed the police department's defence of discontinuing the premium deductions based on oral instructions, without obtaining a written confirmation

Force majeure plea must be backed by evidence

The National Commission relied on past Supreme Court judgments to conclude that failure to hand over timely possession entitled the allottee to a refund along with interest

Consumer affairs secretary warns e-commerce sites on dark patterns

The government has been working towards eliminating the usage of dark patterns by e-commerce platforms

Revive policy or accept surrender value

The National Commission noted that if the policyholder wanted reinstatement, he should have made a written request and cleared the premiums

Basic fire policy doesn't cover self-ignition

The National Commission, on reviewing the Fire and Standard Perils Policy, found that spontaneous combustion is excluded unless additional coverage for it is specially purchased

Typo can't be basis for denial of claim

The State Commission concluded the insurer could not take advantage of a typographical error on the bank's part to repudiate a legitimate claim

Illegal construction can lead to claim denial

Since the insured didn't oppose the illegal addition to the structure, the National Commission held the claim for loss of stock had been rightly repudiated

Doctor liable to penalty for causing disability

The National Commission observed that evidence indicated Dr Gupta was conducting private practice while employed with a government Primary Health Centre, which was a serious misconduct

Consider consequences before stopping EMI

The National Commission observed that once proceedings before the Debt Recovery Tribunal were completed, Ahmed could file a fresh complaint if a deficiency in service existed

Insured cannot claim same expense twice

The National Commission concluded that reimbursement for the same head of expense, namely surgeon's fees, cannot be claimed twice

Govt starts hackathon to fight dark patterns on e-commerce websites

Dark patterns are defined as practices or deceptive design patterns using user interface/user experience interactions on any platform, designed to mislead or trick users

Indians trust YouTube and Whatsapp over the mainstream media: Report

A report emphasising the importance of fact-checking found that 92 per cent of Indians felt confident in their ability to distinguish fact from fiction

Medical devices must display essential information on packaging: Govt

The department of consumer affairs has mandated that pharmaceutical clearly display important information on their packaging so consumer can make informed decisions

Govt issues guidelines to hold influencers responsible; safeguard consumers

The guidelines go on to say that individuals should not endorse products or services that they have not personally used

States to set up district-wise price monitoring centre for essential items

A senior government official indicated that the Center is making every effort to manage the prices of basic commodities through the Price Monitoring Division

Odisha consumer court orders mall to pay Rs 25K for charging for carry bag

The court has directed the shopping mall authorities to release the compensation amount within 30 days from the date of the receipt of the order

Govt issues new guidelines to curb misleading ads; bans surrogate ads

The guidelines, notified by the consumer affairs ministry have come into force with immediate effect specify due diligence to be carried out while endorsing in advertisements

Letter to BS: Firms should focus more on customer satisfaction than profits

In spite of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, the consumer's awareness about the quality of product or service remains low.

Covid-19: Quirky campaigns to bring lasting change in people's behaviour

How can governments and health agencies drive lasting lifestyle changes to combat Covid-19?