CHENNAI: A consumer lawsuit in Chennai involving a 50-paise coin, still legal tender but not enough to buy a toffee, yielded for the litigant a return of 2999900% after the disputes redressal commission ordered a local post office to pay back the amount along with a fine of Rs 15,000.
The dispute dates back to December 3 last year, when Manasha from Gerugambakkam visited Polichalur post office to send a registered letter. He paid Rs 30 at the counter, expecting the clerk to return 50 paise since the postal fee for the specified destination was Rs 29.50.
When Manasha insisted that the balance be returned, he was informed that the system automatically rounded off the amount to Rs 30. He then offered to pay the exact amount through UPI, which the post office declined by citing a technical issue.
Manasha mentioned in his complaint to District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission that India Post 's alleged practice of rounding off daily transactions could lead to significant amounts of money being siphoned off, even resulting in black money and a loss of GST revenue for the government. The post office stated that amounts involving less than 50 paise were invariably "ignored" and that the software had been programmed to round off any such amount to the nearest rupee.
On Manasha not being allowed to pay through UPI, the post office explained that the "Pay U" QR digital payment mode had been malfunctioning since Nov 2023 and was discontinued in May 2024.
After hearing both sides, the commission said the post office had admitted to " overcharging " due to a software glitch , which amounted to an unfair trade practice under Section 2(47) of Consumer Protection Act, 2019.
The dispute dates back to December 3 last year, when Manasha from Gerugambakkam visited Polichalur post office to send a registered letter. He paid Rs 30 at the counter, expecting the clerk to return 50 paise since the postal fee for the specified destination was Rs 29.50.
When Manasha insisted that the balance be returned, he was informed that the system automatically rounded off the amount to Rs 30. He then offered to pay the exact amount through UPI, which the post office declined by citing a technical issue.
Manasha mentioned in his complaint to District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission that India Post 's alleged practice of rounding off daily transactions could lead to significant amounts of money being siphoned off, even resulting in black money and a loss of GST revenue for the government. The post office stated that amounts involving less than 50 paise were invariably "ignored" and that the software had been programmed to round off any such amount to the nearest rupee.
On Manasha not being allowed to pay through UPI, the post office explained that the "Pay U" QR digital payment mode had been malfunctioning since Nov 2023 and was discontinued in May 2024.
After hearing both sides, the commission said the post office had admitted to " overcharging " due to a software glitch , which amounted to an unfair trade practice under Section 2(47) of Consumer Protection Act, 2019.
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