Hyderabad: Consumer panel fines Paytm Rs 3,000 for delaying money transfer

Hyderabad: Hyderabad District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has directed Paytm--India's largest mobile payments and commerce platform -- to pay Rs 3,000 compensation to a consumer for causing mental distress.

The case is related to a money transfer. Neither the money was received by the recipient, nor there was any refund.

The Case:

Mavarpu Parmesh, a consumer, downloaded the Paytm app from the Google Play Store for making payments and transferring money.

On September 15, 2022, around 9:19 am, the consumer encountered a problem. Despite transferring Rs 12,000 to his friend B. Srinivas, the money was not received by the recipient. The consumer’s Paytm App was linked to his SBI Bank Account. The transaction showed deductions but the recipient did not receive any money.

He contacted both the recipient and Paytm customer service representative, but the issue remained unresolved and there has been no refund from Paytm. Paytm customer care representatives informed that the money will be refunded and credited to the same account if not processed. The complainant waited for some time but there was no refund.

According to the Commission order, when the complainant contacted customer care again, they were not responding properly. The complainant felt that he was cheated by Paytm.

After the consumer found the bank statements in his account showed only a deduction of the amount and no refund, he filed a complaint against Paytm in the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Hyderabad (III).

Commission Observations

Hyderabad District Consumer Redressal Commission bench consisting M. Ram Gopal Reddy (President), D. Sreedevi (Member), and J. Shyamala (Member) observed that Paytym failed to appear before the Commission, and did not respond to the consumer.

It observed that Paytym subjected the complainant to severe mental agony and harassed him by not providing services as promised. As such the opposite parties have violated the terms and conditions of service and expectations of the complainant

The commission noted that despite the complainant's follow-up, Paytm failed to reimburse the amount promptly. The commission relied on the memo filed by the consumer on June 5, 2023, providing evidence of a six-month delay in receiving the reimbursement, further substantiating the deficient service.

The commission directed Paytm to pay Rs 2,000 as compensation for the delayed transaction and Rs 1,000 as litigation costs within 45 days.