Consumer court has directed to pay Rs 2,000 for failing timely delivery through Speed Post

District consumer court has directed to pay Rs 2,000 in damages to a Warje resident for failing to ensure timely delivery of a food parcel via Speed Post from Pune to Sydney 

Pune: The district consumer court has directed the senior post master of the City Post Office here to pay Rs 2,000 in damages to a Warje resident for failing to ensure timely delivery of a food parcel via express mail service (Speed Post) from Pune to Sydney during the 2014 Diwali festival.

Complainant Prakash C Patil booked the parcel, containing sweets and food items, on October 22, 2014 for delivery to his son in Sydney. He was assured that the parcel would reach his son within eight to 10 days, but it actually reached after 17 days. The sweets and food items were rendered unfit for human consumption, causing undue physical and mental agony to the parents.

The department refunded Rs 5,062 postal charges to Patil after he moved the consumer court, but neither acknowledged any deficiency in service on its part nor paid the value of parcel. Patil preferred pursuing the matter before the consumer court. The department resisted the complaint, arguing that Patil was not a "consumer" of the postal department, nor the complaint was maintainable. It denied having caused any deficiency in service or having assured Patil about eight to 10 days delivery time and insisted that the parcel was dispatched on the day it was booked.

According to information secured by Patil under the Right to Information Act, the parcel ought to have reached Sydney within 10 days. But it reached the destination after 17 days. The bench of consumer court president V P Utpat and expert member Kshitija Kulkarni took note of this aspect in its order on June 6 and observed that the delay amounted to deficiency in service. "Complainant has proved his case and is entitled to value of food articles and compensation totally worth Rs 2,000," the bench ruled. - Vishwas.Kothari@timesgroup.comPatil had also furnished some photographs showing the damaged condition of the food articles that reached his son. "It appears on persual of the photographs that the sweets/food articles reached the destination in damaged condition and were not fit for consumption. The postal department did refund the postal charges but did not pay the value of food articles and this amounts to short-coming," the bench observed.

The consumer court has given 45 days' time to the postal department to pay the parcel value and the compensation amount to Patil, failing which an interest at the rate of 9% per annum would be applicable.