Enugu court nullifies policy of no refund of money after payment by service providers

An Enugu State High Court has set aside the policy of no refund of money after payment by service providers.

Hon. Justice C. O. Ajah nullified the policy in his judgment delivered on Thursday, April 7, 2022, in a suit instituted by an Enugu-based legal practitioner, Patrick C Chukwuma, of Eze, Dimude, Eze & Co, against Peace Mass Transit Limited challenging the company’s policy of “no refund of money after payment”.

On July 28, 2021, Barr. Chukwuma had purchased a ticket from the Obollor-Afor branch of Peace Mass to convey him to Enugu. Following a two-hour delay occasioned by the absence of passengers, he returned to the ticketing office and asked for a refund of the 500 naira he paid as the transportation fare. However, Peace Mass staff refused to refund the money, insisting that their company policy was that money paid for transport fare cannot be returned to the passenger and citing the statement written on their ticket to that effect.

When Barr. Chukwuma tried to explain to them that their policy was unlawful, as the law mandates them to refund fares for services that have not been provided they retorted in a rude manner, prompting him to leave their park and seek alternative means of traveling back to Enugu. A letter written by the lawyer to Peace Mass Group of Companies demanding an apology and refund was neglected, prompting the lawyer to institute Suit Number: E/514/2021 Patrick Chukwunwike Chukwuma v Peace Mass Transit Limited, on October 2, 2021.

The suit asked the court to determine a sole question which was “whether the Defendant’s policy of “no refund of money after payment” is in violation of Section 120 of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act 2018 especially when the contractual obligation to convey the Plaintiff to his preferred location was terminated”. The Plaintiff, through his legal team led by Barr. Tochukwu Odo, amongst other grounds, argued that the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act 2018 is the primary law on questions of consumer transaction in Nigeria. He also argued that by virtue of Section 120 of the law, the consumer has a right to cancel any advance booking, reservation or order for any goods or services subject only to the deduction of a reasonable charge by the service provider. The Defendant through their counsel, Barr. Titus Odo, raised technical arguments on the jurisdiction of the court and mode of commencement of the suit.

But Hon. Justice C. O. Ajah in his judgment dismissed the objections of the Defendant and upheld the arguments of the Plaintiff. The Judge after a thorough analysis of the provisions of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act 2018 vis a vis the conduct of the parties in the case decided that the policy of no refund of money after payment is illegal, null and void in light of the provisions of Sections 120, 104, 129(1)(a) and (b) (iii) of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act 2018.

The court thereafter made a declaration that the refusal of the Defendant to refund the Plaintiff the money paid for the transportation fee from Obollor-Afor to Enugu is unlawful. The court further ordered the Defendant to pay the sum of 500,000 naira as damages to the Plaintiff.