Forum asks interior designer to pay for incomplete work

In an order passed by consumer forum against an interior decorator, who left work halfway and later claimed that there was no written agreement, observed that it is not a criminal case and should be adjudicated on the principle of 'preponderance of probabilities'.

The complaint filed by Shivaji Nagar resident Subhash Joshi said that he had hired an interior decorator Prashant Date for renovating his 30-year-old flat. Joshi said he needed to expand his house to accommodate his extending family and after calling for quotations from various interior decorators, he found Date's rates reasonable and hired him.

In his plaint, Joshi alleged that Date didn't finish the work for months where doors were not fit and kitchen trolleys were not installed to the extent that his family had to use the neighbour's washroom.After constant reminders for finishing the work, Date did not entertain Joshi and thus the latter lodged a complaint against him in the Pune District Consumer Disputes Redressal.

While Joshi claimed that he gave Rs3 lakh to Date, the latter contested it, stating that only Rs75,000 was given and that Joshi didn't did complete the payment because of which work was stalled.In his defence, Date denied the charges and said there was no written contract of agreement for the work and no specifications for standard of material and period of completion of work were mentioned. The forum observed that the case was not of criminal nature but civil and hence it should be adjudicated on the principle of 'ponderance of probabilities' which means assuming the evidence when there isn't any.

While the opponent claimed that Joshi's family obstructed his men from completing the work, the forum relied on the fact that Joshi employed another contractor to finish the job. "Hence a legitimate inference can be drawn that complainant was in a hurry to complete the work and must have co-operated," it said.

Joshi claimed that he had made a payment of Rs3 lakh and demanded a compensation of Rs1 lakh for the payment made to other contractor besides mental and physical trauma, the forum observed that there was no evidence of payment made for more than Rs75,000 and hence the forum partially allowed Date to pay Rs25,000 as lumpsum payment to Joshi.

Visit link:
Forum asks interior designer to pay for incomplete work