The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (DCDRC) in Chandigarh recently ordered the beauty brand Nykaa to pay ₹4,000 as compensation to a customer for delays in refunding the payment for an undelivered product.
A bench consisting of President Pawanjit Singh and Member Surjeet Kaur noted that although Nykaa eventually refunded the amount, it was only done after the customer sent a legal notice.
"[Nykaa] kept the complainant waiting for the product for about one month and on 23.08.2023, after receiving the legal notice from the complainant ... refunded the paid amount ... it stands proved ... that the OPs [Nykaa] had wrongly & illegally withheld subject amount with them for quite some time and without any reason and had refunded the same to the complainant only when she was compelled to engage an advocate who sent a legal notice," the DCDRC stated.
The commission found that Nykaa's actions amounted to a deficiency in service, justifying compensation for the customer.Therefore, Nykaa was ordered to pay the customer ₹4,000 for mental agony and harassment, as well as to cover litigation expenses.
The customer had ordered skin care products on July 26, 2023, and paid ₹2,823.24 online through the Nykaa App. However, she received no updates on her order status. Despite reaching out to Nykaa's help center and being reassured that her urgent delivery request was being processed, the product was not delivered.
The customer sent a legal notice to Nykaa on August 21, 2023, prompting the refund.Subsequently, she approached the district consumer court to address the delays in Nykaa's response to her grievances.
Nykaa argued that a full refund of ₹2,824.21 had been issued, negating any cause for action. They also asserted that they were merely an intermediary and not responsible for service deficiencies. The district consumer forum, however, was not swayed by Nykaa's argument.
The court concluded that Nykaa had unjustifiably withheld the customer's money and only processed the refund after she was compelled to engage an advocate to send a legal notice. As a result, the consumer court ruled against Nykaa and ordered it to compensate the customer.
Advocate Anshul Jindal represented the customer, while Advocate Bhavraj Singh Gulati appeared for Nykaa and its additional director.
TAGS: DCDRC Compensation Consumer Forum Nykaa Business Marketing
