Visakhapatnam: Most complaints in consumer courts are against realtors and insurance companies besides electronic showrooms in North Andhra. The legal fraternity says that a slump in the market and the failure of real estate developers to meet contract terms had resulted in rising litigation in consumer courts against the builders.
President of Forum of Legal Professionals, senior advocate Kuppili Muralidhar, said over 800 cases were pending with the consumer forums in Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram and Srikakulam districts of North Andhra. Nearly 60 per cent of the 800 cases were against the real-estate developers and private insurance companies.
Recently complaints relating to high end mobile phone manufacturing and service defects were also flooding the consumer forums. Defective components of the costly mobile phones of various companies and deficiency of service by the service centres are cited as the main causes by consumers, he said.
Complaints in consumer forums are not only against private insurance companies but also state-run Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) and New India Assurance.
Complaints included those regarding unfair business practices such as customers have to pay more premium and, delay in paying claims.
Sometimes the people invested in insurance lured by attractive advertisements, said an advocates in Vizag.
In most real estate-related complaints in the city, the complainants say that there was deficiency in service due to long delay in handing over possession of property, or unfair trade practice on account of absence of necessary approvals from the GVMC and VUDA, said Mr Y. Srinivas, an advocate in the city.
Most consumers wanted a refund, or handing over of property.
A real-estate businessman on condition of anonymity said that some developers were taking up more projects with an eye on profits and were struggle to complete them in time. The delay was giving rise to litigation.
