FIA directed to take action against fraudulent online businesses

With the booming online business in Pakistan, there have been numerous cases reported of phony online businesses which try to fleece consumers through substandard products.

Acting against such businesses, the district consumer protection court has asked the Federal Investigation Agency Karachi director of cyber crime division, to launch an investigation into fraudulent companies which have been fooling consumers in the name of online shopping.

As is the case with brick-and-mortar companies, one cannot look and feel the product before buying from an online store, hence leading to more chances of the seller fooling a buyer.

One such case was brought into the notice of the court by a citizen who had alleged that an online store committed fraud with him.

Muhammad Umar of Gujrat filed a complaint with the district consumer court judge Bakht Fakhar Behzad on Feb 28, 2017. In the complaint he said that he had purchased a black leather jacket through shipment No. 772177601294 and customer reference No. A 01-28-2017 through website www.apnidukaan.com. The product was delivered to him by TCS, Gujrat, and the product was found defective.

The complainant mentioned address in the complaint address of respondent as Apni Dukaan, 504, Al-Amin Tower, Main Nipa Chowrangi, Gulshan Colony, Karachi. The respondent was summoned through Leopard Courier Service and the envelope returned to the court inscribed with “there existed no shop on the above-mentioned address.”

The judge in the case himself tried to uncover what was happening by visiting the Facebook page of the business and found out that the website did not respond to his requests. The judge further said that he himself had noticed that a lot of such businesses had sprouted in Pakistan and that something needs to be done to rectify the problem.

The judge has directed the FIA Cyber Crime Circle, Karachi, to investigate the matter.

The judge has issued the order under section 11 of the Punjab Consumer Protection Rules, 2009, directing the registrar of the court to send copy of the order to the federal interior minister Islamabad, FIA director general, industries secretary, Directorate of Provincial Consumer Protection Council and Gujrat deputy commissioner.

Short URL: https://www.newspakistan.pk/?p=55027

Posted by fatimaarshad on Jun 16 2017. Filed under Latest News, Pakistan. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.