File complaint against interior designer for cheating under section 420 of IPC
2) she has deceived you not done any work and failed to refund your money
Interior designer not refunding advance payment
I am an NRI, I had hired an interior designer in January this year, her total fees were Rs.2,50,000/-, I was asked to pay 50% as advance and rest will be paid at certain intervals during the project. Her fees only included the planning and execution of the interiors etc. I paid her the 50% advance via online bank transfer, she promised to send a proper agreement and receipts of the payments made to her (payment was made in her personal account). During the COVID-19 lockdown happened and there was no actual work done during this period, she managed to send me some 2D plans (around 5-6 of them) but she was not able to give us the 3D and other detailed plans as mentioned in her scope of work. She provided some quotes from her vendors which were exorbitant so I decided not to go with her vendors. I was not at all satisfied with her work, and her rude behavior towards me and my wife so I terminated her services and asked her to give me an itemized bill of her work and deduct the charges incurred by her and refund me the remaining amount, she said the amount is non-refundable and refused to refund me the amount. I tried to send her a legal notice but her it was returned back due to “insufficient address”, my family kept calling her but she wouldn’t answer, so I asked someone to contact her posing as a client and got her address. I resent the legal notice to her new address but she unclaimed it. I started posting bad reviews of her firm online, since I had recommended her to many of my friends and family I didn’t wanted them to fall in the same trap as me. I noticed her website domain was available for purchase so I bought it and put up a notice to alert people of what she has done to me (without any personal attack nor any foul language). I have not signed any agreement which mentioned that the 50% advance I am paying is non-refundable, she keep mentioning the it was verbal agreement and she has the right to keep the 50%. I would like to know what options do I have in this case. Since she is trying to play the victim card and is threatening me filing a complaint against me for harassing a woman, stalking a woman, and extortion etc, so that I don’t leave her bad reviews.
Asked 4 years ago in Consumer Law
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27 Answers
You have given a legal notice. Send another one to her mail and through WhatsApp. That is valid acceptance of notice. File a complaint in the consumer forum immediately.
Also file a criminal complaint against her.
Unclaimed legal notice amounts to adequate service of notice as per law.
You can proceed to file complaint against her in consumer court for deficiency of services and unfair trade practices adopted by her where in you can claim refund along with interest, compensation and litigation expenses. She cannot forfeit whole of the amount as the latches and deficiency of services is on her part.
Ask your wife to file complaint against her in the Consumer Forum of your city that online too, make the details of all service that she had mention in the oral and what she had given you all in return. But before entering into contract one should have taken a legal contract details by third legal site and then paid her 50% amount. So now ask for the services what she had render that should be included in the itemized billing.
The issues you have raised here connotes unfair trade practice and deficiency of service.
So this is a fit case where you can file case before the consumer forum to redress your grievance and seek remedy.
In consumer forum you can get back most of your money apart form considerable damages and compensation.
You can file a consumer complaints against the said person after sending him a legal notice for deficiency of service. He will refund the amount after the notice otherwise need to approach consumer court
No case of harassment made out.Paste the legal notice on her review post and send on what's app. File consumer complaint.
Tell your wife to write review and constant demand of refund.
1. It is not a case of stalking or harassing an woman. It is nothing but passing views about quality of professional work performed by her.
2. She was the service provider in your case where you are the consumer. So, you can file a complaint case before the local District Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission (it is no longer called Forum from yesterday) against herself and her Firm/Company alleging deficiency in service ad unfair business practice claiming refund of the entire amount with interest, damage and cost.
The fact that she unclaimed your legal notice, raises a presumption in law that she has actually received the notice and having so received, has chosen not to reply
Since there is no reply and she is denying the refund, you will have to file a consumer complaint against her for deficient services
The remarks left by you on her website can be considered as fair comment if you have stated the necessary facts and posted the relevant documents showing deficiency of service
A person who is right and had provided the right services would never refuse the legal notice and unclaim it. Instead she ought to have accepted the legal notice and responded to it. Since she did not do that, an adverse inference in law can be drawn against her that she is infact guilty. An honest person would not avoid a legal notice nor would he be intimidated by it. To the contrary such a person would reply to the notice by stating the true and correct facts and deny the allegations contained against him in the legal notice.
File a police complaint against her under 420,406IPC
Send the written complaint to the SP of your area via registered post
Let me make it clear, purchasing the domain and maligning her tantamounts to defamation, so would suggest you to refrain yourself from doing it.
However coming to your actual query, I would request you to hire a lawyer and send her a legal notice to her current address, after that you can file a consumer case if you have proper evidence like email, messages indicating that you have hired her for the service and paid half of the amount and she has done malpractice.
Hope this helps.
Regards
I will definitely go ahead and file a case in Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission, but I would like to know about the legal implications on me regarding the registering of an available domain name which was on her company name. I put up a notice mentioning all the facts and what I have faced, how the money was charged and was not refunded. I created it since I was unable to trace her and I had recommended her to many of my friends and family. The domain was active only for 5-6 days after which I deleted it and I was only able to get her to reply when I started posting about her bad service. I would like to know if she stands a chance of filing against me for Defamation, Harassment, Threatening, Illegal Stalking (according to her) when I am the actual victim of fraud here. She sent me this email: You are defaming me by making fraud websites on my name and calling me fraud and scamster ,which is illegal and a criminal offence. You have made a website of another person without his/her permission which is a criminal act. You have also been abusing me on public platforms like social media ,spreading false information and harassing me. You are liable for penal action for your acts. You are also reminded that not just criminal defamation but I will also be suing you for civil damages for defamation. You are also going to be tried for illegally stalking a woman, surveillance , following and issuing threats. You are illegally trying to extort money from me through harassment and causing loss of business. Your allegations are baseless and you have proven that you are a notorious person. You will also be receiving a detailed legal notice in due course. Due to your threats & harassment I will also be approaching the police . So be warned. Any further attempt to defame me will only add to the severity of the offence.
Asked 4 years ago
The domain name was available and you bought it there is no law barring you to buy it. In fact, a lot of people run a business of buying various domain names and then selling them. So, there is no illegality. The contents of the website needs to be elucidated to ascertain whether they were defamatory or not. It is a trite law that anything which is the truth is not considered as defamation.
She is trying to threaten you so that you don't ask for refund. Go ahead as advised.
If the initially web sites is created by her from her account pay or transactions then its her own website, now this can be checked if the first website which were available for 5-6 days belongs to whom and from whose IP address and Account the money has been transferred on that basis you can file a case against her. From now onwards you don't talk with her instead send a legal notice for her act.
1) she can file case of criminal defamation and civil suit for damages against you
2) truth is best defence in defamation case
3) no offence of stalking has been committed by you as you merely seeking to recover your money
She is trying to blackmail you so that you should not complaint against her. You need to decide whether to contest ger false complaint or succumb to her blackmail
File police complaint against her as soon as possible
No it will not harm unless you have stated something which is false and can be proved by her or you have put any objectionable or obscene material.
Any act amounts to defamation when you spread lies about a person or entity. Truth is the only defense in case of defamation or libel.
As you did suffer, faced harassment and were cheated you vented your ire at her quality of services. That is not defamation. She is no lawyer. Let her say whatever she wants.
She definitely has a case against you
You could at the highest give a bad review about her services
But you took over her domain and posted notices on it
That was indeed overstepping and you have come on the wrong side of the law
You have a good case against her for deficient service which is evident from the fact that she did not claim your legal notice despite it being sent to her correct address
The other things you did was simply not required
You can only give a review about her services on social media and ought not to have gone to the extent of making personal allegations
You have not committed defamation. And review portion is for this purpose only to post review on conduct and quality of party.
You can post again.
All her allegations baseless and can be refuted by due reply by an advocate.
1. She had offered to sell her domain name which you have purchased and you became the owner of the said domain name/website.
2. She can only file a defamation case against you for which she shall have to prove that whatever you have mentioned in the notice put in the said website you had purchased from her.
3. All other allegations leveled by her have no legal; leg to stand upon.
4. She is just trying tom scare you by threatening you that she will take all sorts legal action if you further take such steps to recover your money.
It is but natural that a woman professional of this type of fraudulent nature will resort to false criminal charges against the customer in order to deviate them or to avoid returning their money.
There is no wrong in sending the legal notice, since it has been returned, you may file a money recovery suit in the civil court or before a consumer forum for recovery of your money as well as the compensation for the harassment and mental agony you suffered due to this rude behavior, irresponsible and fraudulent attitude besides other issues.
If she is filing a defamation case or any criminal case like stalking etc, you can challenge the same properly as per law, don't be frightened about her stunts, she may not indulge in such activities becasue she knows that you are more intelligent than her and you are aware of the legal facts, hence she may take a cautious step in this regard.
Her this email would have been drafted by her advocate, hence you stop corresponding with her through email or any other mode hence forth.
You can proceed with the proposed legal action against her for getting your grievances redressed.\
you should be within your limit while indulging in such actions especially against women, because they have the benefit of weaker sex and they may implicate you in many such false cases, whether they are true or false, you may have to participate the legal proceedings to prove them false, in a long stretched legal battle.
Hence you may better be in your limits.
You concentrate on your cases alone.
Your anxiety or curiosity may land you in trouble, hence better concentrate on your proposed cases alone.
File Criminal Complaint against her U/S 406,420 of ipc.
You can also issue a legal notice through an advocate and file complaint Before District Consumer Court.
no need to worry at all. its just a pressurizing tactic. you have good case on merits if you have sufficient proof to show that you suffered due to deficiency in services m. So defamation can not be proved against u.
- You should lodge a complaint against her /firms unfair trade practice before the police for the offence of cheating , breach of trust ,and threatening to implicate in false cases, after narrating all the facts. Even online or if your wife is living in India , then she can lodge the complaint on your behalf as well.
- Further, as you have already send the legal notice , then can file a complaint before the Consumer Forum court on the ground of deficiency of services , and thereby prayed for refund the paid amount with compensation .
1. If you have already sent her legal notice which she refused to claim then you can file recovery suit or the legal proceedings mentioned in the legal notice by your advocate.
2. You can claim your refund after deduction of her service charges.
3. You shouldn't have purchased the website from her name but act done by you was not defamatory as she committed fraud with you which is a fact.
