Groceries fail to arrive in ‘promised 30 minutes’, Bengal man wins Rs 25,000

Case

The complainant stated that he had placed several prepaid grocery orders after seeing advertisements promising delivery within 10 to 30 minutes. He alleged that the deliveries were delayed by at least an hour, several orders were cancelled or returned without his consent, and in some cases delivery attempts were falsely shown. He also claimed that the platform’s live-tracking feature became unusable because deliveries were made by persons other than the assigned delivery partners.

The complainant further stated that despite repeatedly approaching the platform’s customer care, escalation desk and grievance officer, the issues remained unresolved. He had also approached the Consumer Affairs and Fair Business Practices (CA&FBP) authority before filing the complaint, but alleged that the company did not attend the mediation meeting.

Alleging deficiency in service, the complainant moved consumer commission seeking compensation. The opposite party failed to appear before the commission despite notice therefore the case moved ahead ex parte.

After examining the evidence, the commission held that the complainant had established the consumer-supplier relationship and proved that the platform had failed to provide services in accordance with its advertised delivery timeline.

It observed that while the company promised delivery within 10 to 30 minutes, the records showed deliveries were made at least an hour late and that some orders had been cancelled or returned. The commission therefore held that the advertisement was misleading.

The commission observed that the complainant’s unchallenged testimony established that the opposite party had failed to deliver the ordered products within the agreed timeline. It held that the company’s failure to supply the products as promised constituted a deficiency in service.

Allowing the complaint, the commission ordered the platform to pay a compensation of Rs 20,000 with an interest  at the rate of 7 percent per annum from the date of filing of the complaint. It also awarded Rs 5,000 as litigation costs. “OP is directed to pay all the above amounts together with interest to the Complainant within 30 days from the date of this final order, in default, Complainant is at liberty to put this award into execution,” the commission ordered.

Takeaway

The ruling underscores that e-commerce and quick-commerce platforms can be held liable not only for delayed or cancelled deliveries but also for making delivery promises they fail to consistently honour.

Consumers facing similar grievances may contact the consumer helpline in their respective states (West Bengal: 033–2252–0448) or dial the National Consumer Helpline at 1915 for assistance.