Local Post Office will have to pay 15,000 rupees as they did not return 50 paise to a customer

A post office is now liable to pay a compensation of 15,000 rupees to the customer for failing to return 50 paise. Mansa of Girugambakkam, Chennai, once went to the Polichalur Post Office to post a letter in December 2023. The postage charge was Rs 29.50, and he paid Rs 30. When he asked the post office clerk to return 50 paise, the latter told him that the system would round off the amount to Rs 30. During such a situation, 50 paise cannot be returned. He opposed this offer of theirs, offering to pay through UPI, but the post office refused to take money on UPI, citing technical problems. After this, Mansa sent a complaint to the Consumer Commission.

During the hearing, Mansa said that the practice of round-off is a violation of consumer rights. On the opposite side, the post office officials said that it was stopped due to problems with digital payment. After hearing the arguments of both parties, the Consumer Commission accepted that due to a malfunction of the software, the post office charged an extra amount of money, which comes under unfair trade practice according to the Consumer Protection Act. The Commission directed the post office to pay compensation of Rs 15,000 instead of 50 paise.