Chandigarh coaching institute reneges on commitment, to pay

CHANDIGARH: The district consumer disputes redressal forum directed

A K Vidya Mandir

, a coaching institute based in Sector 36, Chandigarh to refund fees and pay compensation to a student for the time period for which the institute did not organise classes.

In his complaint,

Jatin Gupta

, a student from

Zirakpur

said the coaching institute offered the classroom coaching programme to students in his school-Dikshant International School, Panchkula. The course offered was “Elite An Integrated 2 years school-cum-coaching program” in Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics for two consecutive years in Class XI and XII.

He took admission in the two-year integrated course on March 29, 2016 by paying registration fee of Rs 5,000, which, he was assured, would be adjusted in the total fee. Subsequently, he deposited Rs 5,000, Rs 20,000, Rs 25,000 and Rs 25,000 at regular intervals with the institite. He was required to pay the final installment of Rs 20,000 on April 1, 2017. However, he came to know that the institute would not impart coaching for Class XII in Physics, Chemistry and Maths in the second year from April, 2017. Therefore, he did not deposit the final installment.

He met executives from the coaching institute to impart coaching for Class XII but to no effect. According to the complainant, he was to receive two-year integrated coaching in Rs 1.05 lakh, out of which, he paid Rs 80,000. It was averred that he requested the center to refund the proportionate fee as the integrated coaching was stopped after one year but his requests were not heeded. Finally, he got a legal notice served on the centre on June 9, 2017, asking it to refund the proportionate fee of Rs 25,000. Even this did not yield results.

Despite the notice being served , representatives of the coaching centre did not appear. As a result, it was ordered to be proceeded against ex-parte on October 12, 2017. The forum maintained that failure on the part of the coaching center to honour its commitments amounts to deficiency in service and unfair trade practice. The institute was asked to refund proportionate fee of Rs 25,000, Rs 2,500 as compensation for mental agony and physical harassment and Rs 5,000 as litigation expenses.