A District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has directed baby and childcare retailer FirstCry to pay Rs 50,000 in compensation and refund Rs 2,130 with interest to a customer after finding that the company unjustifiably cancelled his order, withheld the payment and internally tagged him as a “fraud user.”
As per media reports, the dispute dates back to December 2024, when complainant Shaik Altaf placed an order for a children’s tricycle on FirstCry and paid Rs 2,130.06 through PhonePe. The order was cancelled the following day, but the refund was not processed.
According to the complaint, when Altaf contacted customer support, he was informed that the amount had been adjusted against a previous transaction from 2023. FirstCry alleged that he had returned incorrect products in an earlier order to obtain a refund while retaining the original items. Altaf denied the allegation, arguing that the earlier return had been accepted after quality verification under the company’s own policies and that he had never been informed of any issue regarding the transaction.
The consumer court ruling against FirstCry noted that the company had internally marked the transaction as a “fraud user order cancel,” effectively branding the customer a fraudster without conducting an inquiry or giving him an opportunity to respond. It held that the company failed to provide sufficient evidence to justify its actions.
FirstCry also argued that the order had been placed by another individual. However, the commission rejected the defence after examining the payment records and order details submitted by the complainant, finding the company’s supporting documents unreliable.
Reports also suggest that as relief for the online shopping refund dispute, the commission ordered FirstCry to refund Rs 2,130 with 9% annual interest from December 1, 2024, until payment is made. It also directed the company to pay Rs 50,000 as compensation for mental agony and harassment, along with Rs 5,000 towards litigation costs, within 45 days. The commission further asked the company to curb such unfair trade practices in the future.
