Terming refusal to refund coaching fee midcourse as gross unfair trade practice, the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Chandigarh, has directed FIITJEE Limited to refund the ₹69,909 fee to a Panchkula resident.
The commission also directed the institute to pay ₹25,000 as compensation for causing mental agony and harassment to the complainant, along with ₹7,000 as litigation cost.
In her complaint, Nisha had submitted that her son got enrolled in a four-year classroom programme for JEE-Advanced 2020, starting April 2016.
₹1.92 lakh were paid through post-dated cheques as total fee for the programme.
However, her son was never satisfied with the coaching provided since day one. Neither were the teachers capable of making him understand the lectures nor they addressed his complaints.
Also, she was told by the coaching centre that the fee for Classes 11 and 12 through Sri Guru Gobind Singh Collegiate Public School, Sector 26, Chandigarh, was included in the total programme cost, but later she was told to deposit admission and tuition fees, etc.
Besides, her son was never provided study material. So, he left the classes in October 2018. When they sought a refund from the institute, they were turned down, forcing Nisha to approach the consumer court.
Denying any deficiency in services, FIITJEE Limited sought dismissal of the complaint. The institute submitted that the fee was paid by Nisha after choosing the plan as per her convenience. Fee once paid was not refundable and her son left the course midway on his own sweet will.
Holding the institute guilty of unfair trade practice and deficiency in service, the commission, presided over by Rajan Dewan held that FIITJEE Limited was not justified in retaining fee for remaining period.
“A student or a trainee may leave midstream if he/she finds the service deficient, substandard and non-yielding, and to tell him/her that fees once paid is not refundable is gross unfair trade practice on the part of coaching institutes,” it said in its order, while directing FIITJEE Limited to refund ₹69,909 with 8% interest since October 2018.
What the consumer court said?
The commission’s order read as follows:
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