When the stitch goes wrong

Pushpa Girimaji

I wanted to wear an exclusive lehenga-choli for my sister’s wedding. I bought exquisite material from a boutique and gave it for stitching. The boutique collected quite a steep amount for stitching too and promised to deliver it within a week. Despite repeated reminders, they did not deliver the dress in time and gave it just an hour before the wedding. To my distress, I could not wear it as the choli did not fit me. I want the boutique to pay for its negligence. How do I go about it?

The boutique is guilty of negligent service on two counts: 1) delayed delivery; and 2) bad stitching. What makes it more distressing is the fact that you had ordered it for a special occasion and even after spending so much, you could not wear it.

You first write to the boutique, detailing their negligent service and demanding complete refund and compensation. You can also send them a copy of the receipt along with the complaint, but keep the original with safe with you. If the boutique does not comply, lodge a complaint with the consumer forum.

Do boutiques and tailors come under the purview of the consumer courts?

Yes, Consumer Protection Act gives a consumer the right to seek redress against deficient services. Under the Act, the definition of service is so wide that it includes all services except those rendered free of charge and those rendered under a contract of personal service.

In one of the earliest cases filed against a tailor, the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission did consider whether the services rendered by tailors came under the jurisdiction of the consumer courts because the tailor argued that stitching clothes for clients came under the category of “personal service”, excluded under the CP Act.

In this case, the complainant, AC Modagi, had given a pair of pants for stitching to Cross Well Tailors. On the date of delivery, he paid Rs 75 towards tailoring charges and collected the garment. However, it was unfit for wearing and attempts at repair by the tailor only made it worse. Modagi asked the tailor to refund the cost of the fabric and the stitching charges, but the tailor refused to oblige.

The District Consumer Forum directed the tailor to pay him Rs 365 towards the cost of the fabric and tailoring charges, besides Rs 200 as damages and Rs 100 towards cost of litigation. It also ordered that an interest of 12 per cent be paid on this entire amount from the date of the complaint till the date of payment.

The State Consumer Commission, before which the tailor appealed, set aside the order on the ground that the complaint was not maintainable under the CP Act as the service rendered by a tailor was a “personal service”.

However, the apex body disagreed. It observed that here the tailor was independent of any supervision or control of the consumer while he was cutting the cloth or stitching it. While doing his work, the tailor was bound to obey the direction given by the consumer about the design and size, but no further.

Thus, the service rendered was a professional service and not a personal service, it held. “A tailor charges a sum for the stitching work done by him. He is not paid the amount as wages,” the court clarified. (Sri AC Modagi vs Cross Well Tailor and Others, revision petition no 75 of 1990)