Chandigarh: Claiming that he has rightful claim over first prize of a contest launched by a telecommunication company as he scored 34,160 points in the competition by playing day and night and after spending huge money on SMSes, JP Nanda, a Phase 10 Mohali resident, knocked the doors of the consumer court. Holding the company guilty, UT consumer forum directed Tata Tele Services Limited to pay Rs two lakh prize money along with Rs 50,000 as compensation and Rs 5,000 as litigation costs.



Finding the company deficient in its services, the forum, headed by Jagroop Singh Mahal, held “In the absence of proper record, we cannot believe that anybody else had scored the points higher than the complainant in the said contest. Since the company had indulged in an unfair trade practice and tried to befool the public by introducing a scheme which benefited the company to the tune of several crores, they will have to pay compensation.”



According to the complaint, Nanda received an SMS on his mobile phone regarding a contest called ‘Horror Haveli’, which was later changed to ‘Pechan’. Nanda said that he spent Rs 6 per minute for assessing the service and was promised a car if he manages to score the highest.



Nanda alleged that he played the game till August 12, 2007 and scored 34,160 points, which was also confirmed by the company. “However, after August 14, 2007, the company closed the contest without giving any prior declaration and did not even disclose the result,” he added.



Nanda sent a legal notice to the company after it declined to entertain his grievances. The company also replied to Nanda’s letter. “It stated that Nanda did not qualify to win the car, but did the mention the reason.”



In its reply, Tata Tele Services Limited stated that instead of car, the contest’s bumper prize was Rs two lakh and the winner of the contest was from Mumbai.