ORDER SANJEEV JINDAL, PRESIDENT.
Shorn of unnecessary details, briefly stated, it is the case of the complainant that since he was in need of baby care worker to look after the newly born baby of the age of 3-4 months in his house, so, he searched online and came to know about the OP-company namely "Broomees India PVT LTD" which provided such kind of service, pursuant to which, he contacted the OP and after getting a message from it on 11.04.2023, on demand of the OP, as per its policy, he made a payment of Rs.31,767.61/- through digital mode along-with GST
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against duly issued receipt vide invoice No.INV-BR-010287 dated 11.04.2023. Consequently, a contract/agreement dated 12.04.2023 was executed between the complainant and the OP for full time helper with 12 months guarantee, and, accordingly, the OP's "Runner Boy" dropped the worker namely Ruby at the residence of the complainant at around 5:00 PM. The worker, namely Ruby, thus, joined her service and started working for the purpose she was appointed @Rs.20,000/- per month but to the surprise of the complainant just after the joining, she asked for one day leave which was allowed by the complainant, in the light of the clause of the agreement to the effect that two of the leaves were allowed to the aforesaid worker, and, if the worker did not take leave, two days' salary would be paid to her extra.
On 28.04.2023, the subject worker i.e. Ruby again asked for leave by showing her health issues, pursuant to which, the complainant raised a an object against her to the effect, that if the aforesaid worker kept on taking the leave, then, the purpose of the complainant for appointing her would not be solved but despite the objections raised by him the said worker left away the job and never turned up since 28.04.2023. Thus, the complainant brought the aforesaid matter to the notice of the OP and asked for replacement in lieu of the aforesaid worker in accordance with the terms and conditions of the subject
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agreement which reads as under:
"1. Replacement will be given to the customer subject to the following issues faced by them, only in case the worker provided by Broomees India:
1.Is not skilled for the job
2.Is unwilling to work
3.Has behavioral issues or has medical conditions which cause an issue with the work or could be a concern for the customer or their family members
2. Replacements will be provided at no additional charges. However, the transportation charges (within the state of booking. (for full-time / live-in workers only)) will be borne by the customer for all Replacements
3. Refund will be provided ONLY if Broomees India is not able to find a replacement even after 10 days have passed after the date of release of the last worker supplied by Broomees India, for the same scope of work and hours as decided earlier, subject to pro- rata deductions at actuals, in the form of credit notes coupon codes cashback into wallet only (validity: 6 months)" On the aforesaid requests made by the complainant to the OP, the latter i.e. the OP, first of all gave false assurances that the replacement of the subject worker would be given in a day or two but to no avail. To cut the long story short, when all the repeated requests made by the complainant for replacement of the subject worker or in alternative to make the refund of the deposited amount of Rs.31,767.61/- were not heeded by the OP, as it stopped picking-up even the calls of the complainant, then, having left with no other option, alleging the deficiency in service to the aforesaid effect on the part of the OP, the complainant had to file the present complaint. Hence, this compliant.
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2. On 30.09.2024, the OP had to be proceeded against ex-parte when it did not opt/bother to appear in this court on the said date despite it's due service.
3. The complainant in his ex-parte evidence tendered his affidavit i.e. Ex. PW1 and certain other documents i.e. Ex. P-1 to Ex. P-5 and closed his ex-parte evidence on 10.02.2025 by stating in writing in the court.
4. We have heard the complainant and have gone through the material placed on the record of this file, carefully.
In his affidavit Ex. PW1 as referred above, the complainant has reiterated the averments as has been made by him in his present complaint almost on the similar lines in the same fashion. Therefore, the contents of the affidavit in question are not being reproduced hereinafter in order to avoid repetition.
The complainant in his evidence has also tendered certain other documents i.e. Ex.P-1 to Ex. P-5 including the documents i.e. Ex. P-1 i.e. copy of email correspondence, Ex. P-2 i.e. copy of tax invoice dated 11.04.2023 and Ex. P-3 i.e. the copy of customer details and agreement for 12 months from the date of agreement, which duly confirm the aforesaid version of the complainant.
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5. There is nothing on the record of this file to disbelieve and discredit the aforesaid ex-parte evidence of the complainant as the OP has preferred to be proceeded against ex-parte instead of defending the present lis. Since, the OP in this case has been proceeded against ex-parte and there is no evidence on it's behalf on the record of this file, so, on this score also, the evidence produced on the record of this file by the complainant goes unrebutted, and, as such, this Commission does not find any reasons to disbelieve the same.
6. Thus, in view of our aforesaid discussions, the OP is hereby held guilty of providing deficiency in service to the complainant. As such, the present complaint preferred by the complainant is hereby allowed. Accordingly, the OP is hereby directed to refund of Rs.31,767.61/-/- along-with interest @ 9% per annum from the date of payment i.e. 11.04.2023, till its realization to the complainant. The OP is further directed to pay a compensation of Rs.15,000/- to the complainant for causing harassment, aggrieved, humiliated, physical pain and trauma along-with Rs.11,000/- as litigation expenses. The remaining reliefs as have been claimed by the complainant in his complaint are hereby specifically declined being unwarranted, unnecessary and uncalled for. The OP is directed to pay the aforesaid awarded amount within 45 days from the date of uploading of
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this order after the expiry of 24 hours (one day) therefrom, failing which the amount will attract interest @ 12% per annum, for the same period, till actual realization.
7. If the order of this Commission is not complied with, then the complainant shall also be entitled to file the execution petition under Section 71(1) of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 and in that eventuality, the OP may also be held liable for prosecution under Section 72 of the said act which envisages punishment with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than one month, but which may extend to three years, or with fine, which shall not be less than Rs.25,000/-, but which may extend to Rs.1,00,000/-, or with both. The copy of the order be supplied to the parties free of cost as per the rules. The Order be promptly uploaded on the website of this Commission. File be consigned to the record room, after due compliance.
Announced.
27.11.2025
(Sanjeev Jindal) President,
(Jyoti Siwach) (Khushwinder Kaur) District Consumer Disputes Member Member Redressal Commission, Gurgaon