Bengaluru: With a full-time job and an infant at home, a Bengaluru woman turned to an online domestic-help platform in search of dependable childcare support. But the house help failed to report for duty despite payment, setting off a dispute that ended up in consumer court which ordered the platform to pay over Rs 32,000 in refund and compensation to the complainant.The saga began when Suwetha Muthanna, 40, found herself in urgent need of domestic help. She turned to the internet for a solution and discovered BookMyBai — the consumer-facing brand of Mumbai-based Nano Job Consultants Private Limited — which offers online sourcing and placement of house helps.Suwetha registered on the platform, paying Rs 1,000 as a registration fee. She then paid an additional Rs 21,420 as directed by the company, with an agreement that a domestic help would commence service at her residence on March 30, 2024. However, the house help — identified as Sujatha — neither reported for duty nor appeared at her home on the agreed date.Suwetha said when she sought a replacement, the company promised one but failed to act promptly. Left without help and unable to manage her professional commitments alongside childcare, she was forced to make alternative arrangements through friends. She then formally requested a cancellation of her subscription and sought a full refund of Rs 22,420, reaching out repeatedly through emails, WhatsApp and phone calls. The company, however, flatly refused, citing its internal policy of issuing refunds only in the form of vouchers.Fed up, she sent the firm a legal notice on May 27, 2024, and also lodged a grievance with the National Consumer Helpline. As she was left with zero response, she filed a consumer complaint on Sept 4, alleging unfair trade practice, deficiency of service, negligence, mental agony, transport expenditure and litigation costs.In its defence, BookMyBai argued that Sujatha was selected by Suwetha from multiple profiles shown to her, and the complainant insisted on a Saturday joining date even though the house help was ready to join earlier in the week. The house help, they claimed, fell ill on the morning she was due to report. The company also maintained that it had arranged a replacement named Selvi, who could only join the following Monday, and that a two-day delay did not amount to deficiency of service. On the refund question, the company contended that it had already issued a voucher for the full amount paid and that this was in line with its stated terms and conditions, known to the complainant at the time of registration.After hearing both sides, the commission noted that the company failed to produce any convincing evidence to support its claims. It held that retaining the money without providing the promised service amounted to a deficiency in service and an unfair trade practice.The commission, comprising president Vijaykumar M Pawale and member Anuradha V, on May 18 ordered BookMyBai to refund Rs 22,420 with interest at 8% per annum from March 28, 2024, till realisation, along with Rs 10,000 in compensation for mental agony and litigation costs.
