A Vadodara-headquartered homoeopathic clinic has been asked to pay Rs 10,000 as compensation to a SAS Nagar man for a failed hair growth treatment.
In an order on Wednesday, the district consumer disputes redressal forum here also asked Tara Homeopathic Clinic, which has a branch in Sector 32, to refund the Rs 18,400 the complainant, Phase-11 resident Mangat Singh, had paid for the treatment, and pay him Rs 5,000 as cost of litigation Mangat Singh had accused the clinic and Dr Smiti Joshi, who manages the clinic's branch, of unfair trade practices and deficiency in services. He claimed that though he had been assured that his hair would grow back in three months after using medicines prescribed by the clinic, nothing happened even after a year.
The complainant said he approached the clinic after reading a "misleading" advertisement in a newspaper.
"I was given some medicines with an assurance that my hair will grow back in three months, but there was no hair growth even after a year," he said in the complaint, adding that the clinic had been defrauding many others.
Though Dr Joshi did not reply to the complaint, Tara Homeopathic Clinic, in its reply, denied giving a three-month guarantee on hair growth: "The complainant had agreed for the treatment only after understanding and signing the terms and conditions. It was brought to his knowledge that there was no guarantee of re-growth."
The clinic said the complainant had not suffered any loss of health or physical problem due to the treatment. "In fact, the complainant has not followed the entire course of medicine," it said in its plea.
Unimpressed, the consumer forum said, "The complainant had paid the money and had hired the services of the clinic, hence the clinic's defence cannot be considered."
{{/usCountry}}Unimpressed, the consumer forum said, "The complainant had paid the money and had hired the services of the clinic, hence the clinic's defence cannot be considered."
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