A man has won Rs 3.07 lakh in compensation from a company that failed to construct a staircase for his house, thereby spoiling his housewarming ceremony. A Thiruvananthapuram District Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission held the company guilty of deficiency of service as the contractor failed to finish the work, leaving the staircase without handrails in an extremely hazardous and unusable condition.President PV Jayarajan, Member Preetha G Nair and Member Viju VR were hearing a complaint filed by the man who stated that the staircase remained incomplete even after the housewarming ceremony, because of which he had to spend extra for a “temporary safety arrangement”.The October 15 order noted that the expert commissioner who was sent for evaluation of the staircase by the consumer commission had stated in his report that “the present condition of the staircase is highly dangerous and without the handrails of the staircase and balcony, the inmates of the house cannot be able to use the first floor of the building”.The man claimed he had entered into an agreement with the company, asking them to construct a staircase for his house. The man alleged that the housewarming ceremony of his house was done on May 15, 2024, but the construction of the staircase remained incomplete and in a dangerous condition, because of which a temporary safety arrangement had to be set up by another decoration companyThe man contended that he was forced to file a consumer complaint as, despite filing a police complaint against the company, the staircase was not completed.According to the order, even though the consumer commission had sent a notice to the company, no one appeared on its behalf before the commission, and the case continued ex parte.The district commission noted that “construction done by the opposite party (the company) is unsatisfactory and also the opposite party has received an amount of Rs 2.50 lakh as excess from the complainant (the man). So, there is deficiency in service on the part of opposite party as he has constructed the work to a tune of Rs 3.50 lakh, even though he has received Rs 6 lakh from the complainant.”Story continues below this adThe district commission further held the company liable for deficiency in service, directing it to refund Rs 2.50 lakh to the man and also pay Rs 50,000 for the mental agony suffered by him along with Rs 7,000 as litigation costs.TakeawayThe ruling establishes the obligation of firms to ensure proper services are given to their customers and that the concerns of consumers must not be ignored, causing them unnecessary inconvenience. For consumer-related grievances, individuals may contact the consumer helpline in their respective states and union territories (Kerala: 1800-425-1550) or call the National Consumer Helpline on 1915 for assistance.Don’t miss out on these stories:AIIMS Rishikesh ordered to pay Rs 60,000 after ‘wrongly declaring’ man as HIV positiveWoman fitted with Rs 2.45 lakh ‘defective dentures’, dentist ordered to pay Rs 3.15 lakhStory continues below this adNearly 6 lakh cases pending in consumer commissions, over 860 posts vacant: Centre