Vadodara: Consumer court reprieve for jeweller in gold resale

VADODARA: You cannot be considered a consumer if you are selling the gold to the same jeweller from whom you had purchased the yellow metal earlier.
This interesting observation about when a person can be called a consumer and until when does the liability lies on the seller was pointed out by a consumer court here while deciding a woman’s complaint filed against a prominent jeweller from the city.
The woman named Bharati Mahale, a resident of Tarsali, had complained to the consumer court in 2009 that the jeweller who has a showroom on Jetalpur Road had purchased 40 grams of gold at the price of Rs 13,700 for 10 grams while the market rate was Rs 14,300. She said that due to the jeweller’s lower price, she suffered a loss of Rs 2,400, so she requested the court to help her get the amount along with compensation of Rs 25,000. The gold that Mahale had sold to the jeweller in February 2009 was purchased from the same showroom in August 2008.
In response to Mahale’s complaint, the jeweller argued that the price of gold keeps fluctuating in the bullion market throughout the day and at the time when she purchased the gold, the price was Rs 13,700. The jeweller then questioned Mahale’s case that how can she be called a consumer because she had sold the gold and made a profit. It was also argued that Mahale had sold the gold by her own consent.
The consumer forum considered the jeweller’s argument and turned down Mahale’s case. The court also noted that although the jeweller is a trader, but in the context of Mahale’s case, he is the consumer and since Mahale had sold the gold and made profit, she cannot be called a consumer.