The dilemma of going to consumer court as a bigger group or otherwise

Consumer forums are fast turning into the most convenient way for real estate consumers for redressal of their vows associated with a real estate property that they have put their hard earned money in. Year 2015 saw the number of registered consumer court cases against builders almost doubling up from the previous year. While there is a definite interest and awareness among buyers with respect to consumer forum as an option, the haste in approaching to do so could lead to a weaker case sometimes. One of the decision that needs to be taken prior to going for a consumer case against builder is whether to go solo or as a small group or as a bigger association. We discuss some of the pros and cons of the available options.

First of all, going solo or as a small group (<5) with common issues and interests is not much different. You are better off going as a small group in such cases.

Benefit of going solo/as a small group:

1. With common interests and issues, it becomes all the more difficult for builder to find reasons for diverting attention of the court to other superficial issues.
2. The likelihood of builder contesting your points is less due to the relatively less financial burden on the builder. This results in a quicker resolution in most cases.
3. Possibility of judgment conversion (Actual payment of compensation is more).

The other possible and most sought after option these days is to go as a bigger group (>10) or as a registered buyers association. The buyers can form a registered association (steps given to form one given at https://go4reviews.in/2015/04/steps-to-form-a-legally-registered-association-of-buyers/)  and can then approach court with a common plea.

Benefits of going as a bigger group/association:

1. The pressure on the builder is all the way more. The court also tends to pass a strong judgment in favor of buyers group.
2. More and more people mean individuals need not find as much time for the case as a select few can take rounds to be physically present for the case.

Both the approaches however have their own set of disadvantages:

One of the biggest disadvantage of going solo/as a small group is that you would be left to fight it alone. Your physical presence would most likely be a must in all cases. Also, for employing a decent lawyer, you may end up putting more money than what you would while proceeding as a bigger group.

On the other hand, going as an association has its own problems. There would be people from different interests (some may not classify as consumers at all) and that makes the case a weaker bet. Also, the judgment conversion ratios are historically less as the builder tries its best to avoid the financial burden. As a result, the case may be far stretched in comparison.

Which one you choose would depend upon your personal constraints but one thing is for sure. Given the extent of misery and harassment meted out to a buyer, each buyer who is an actual consumer, shall approach consumer forum for resolution.

Also read:

https://go4reviews.in/2015/05/when-not-to-go-for-consumer-case/ 

https://go4reviews.in/2015/06/suggested-lawyers-for-consumer-case-against-builder/ 

https://go4reviews.in/2015/06/success-rate-of-consumer-cases-against-builders/

Comments/Feedback invited.

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Last Updated on December 28, 2015 by Go4Reviews