Recently, I saw an advertisement of a jeweller, claiming his making charges were “lowest” and if anyone disproved his claim, he would refund the entire amount paid. I wondered if any customer had proved him wrong and got the jewellery for free.

Well, he’s not alone in using this kind of “absolute guarantee” as a gimmick to sell the product. You will see such promises of “full refund if not satisfied with the product” from a variety of manufacturers and service providers. While some claim that their product is the best, yet others claim that their price is the lowest. And for good measure, they throw in a challenge to the consumer to prove them wrong and get a refund or a cash prize.

Such ads are certainly tempting, but if you disprove their claim, do they really pay as promised? A consumer, who demanded free pizzas for late home delivery (or failing to deliver within the promised time) was told that the franchisee would refund the cost of the pizzas and the franchisee in turn said that the principal would pay. Eventually, neither did. An ayurvedic company that promised to refund the price of the product if it failed to give guaranteed results, never responded when dissatisfied consumers demanded their money back

So what are the rights of consumers in such cases? First and foremost, making a false or a misleading claim about the quality or performance of a product or a service, is an unfair trade practice and consumers who are victims of such practice have a right to compensation under the Consumer Protection Act. Similarly, not keeping up the promise made at the time of purchase — that the consumer would get a full refund if not satisfied with the product — is also an unfair trade practice.

In the case of Tesol India vs Shri Govind Singh Patwal (RP No. 2501 of 2010, decided on September 14, 2010) for example, the college had given an absolute guarantee about overseas jobs with handsome pay packages to those who completed the course. However, it failed to keep up this promise, resulting in several students filing complaints before the consumer court. Some of the students here even alleged that the college had promised to refund the entire fee if they failed to get them good placements. Holding the institution guilty of unfair trade practice, the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission awarded compensation to them.