Chennai: Muthoot Finance told to pay compensation of Rs 25,000 as pledged gold weighed less on retrieval 

CHENNAI: A consumer forum has directed Muthoot Finance to pay a compensation of Rs 25,000 to one of its customers since the gold pledged by him weighed 0.3 grams lesser at the time of redemption. 

P Ashok Kumar, the complainant, pledged his jewellery with the Muthoot Finance branch at Villivakkam, obtained the loan amount and redeemed the said gold jewellery on December 18, 2013. At that time, he found variation in the weight of jewellery. Totally, there was a 0.3gm variation.“The complainant, as a consumer believing the opposite party, entrusted his jewellery and obtained jewel loan,” said the forum. 

“While returning the jewellery, the variation found in the weight is an unfair trade practice of the opposite party. To curtail this kind of practice of the opposite party to his customers, it would be appropriate to direct him to pay a sum of Rs 25,000.”Muthoot Finance too, in a letter to the complainant, had acknowledged the variation in the weight of the jewellery.However, the company in its defence said the variation in weight was ‘meagre and negligible’ and further the difference was because of the dust and the dirt present in the jewellery. 

They also said while weighing in the weighing machine without closing the door, there is a possibility of disturbance in the air. They went a step further to add that on an earlier occasion, the complainant’s jewellery was auctioned by the company and it was with the motive of wreaking vengeance that the complainant had filed this complaint.

“After pledging the jewellery, the same was within the custody of the opposite party,” the District Consumer Redressal Forum, Chennai (North), headed by the president K Jayabalan said in its order on March 23. “The opposite party too admits the variation in weight, while delivering the jewellery to the complainant at the time of redemption. Hence, the opposite party only has to explain how that variation in weight occurred,” it said.The forum added that in the letter to Kumar, Muthoot Finance only admitted the variation in weight, but did not state any reason for the same and thus established that the reason was an afterthought. 

Minor variation

P Ashok Kumar pledged his jewellery with Villivakkam branch and redeemed the said gold jewellery on December 18, 2013 and at that time found a variation of 0.3gm. The company in a letter to the complainant acknowledged the variation in the weight.