Victor Ezeja
Peace Mass Transit Blames ‘Overzealous Staff’ After Losing Court Battle On ‘No Refund Of Money After Payment Policy’
Peace Mass Transit Ltd one of the leading transport companies in Southeast has alleged that what led to the court case involving it and a customer was due to attitudes of some of its staff which affect its corporate quest for delivering efficient services.
According to a statement released on Friday by the General Manager, PMTPMT, Ifeanyi Enete, the transport company is taking steps to address the outcome of the judgment.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelA High Court in Enugu on Thursday passed a judgment which declared as unlawful, the “no refund of money after payment policy” usually adopted by service providers when dealing with customers.
Justice C. O. Ajah of the High Court made the declaration while ruling on a case involving Peace Mass Transit Ltd as a defendant and one Patrick Chukwuma, a legal practitioner with the law firm of Eze, Dimude, Eze & Co as a plaintiff.
Chukwuma reportedly, had filed a suit against Peace Mass Transit Ltd after his encounter on 10 February, 2021, with staff at the motor park where he paid for transport fare from Obollo Afor to Enugu and waited for hours but no movement as a result of no passenger, prompting him to demand for a refund of the money he paid for the ticket which was refused by the transport company staff who insisted that they have a “no refund of money after payment” policy which is always written on the transport fare ticket.
This got the legal practitioner angry who told them it was unlawful to do that as the law mandates refund of payment after service but they remained adamant, making him leave and later went to filed the suit.
In the suit, Barr. Chukwuma through his team of lawyers led by Barr Toochuwku sought for a declaration that by virtue of section 120 of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act 2018, the consumer has the right to cancel or terminate 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 judge after thoroughly examining the arguments of the councels, ruled in favour of the plaintiff 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.
Justice Ajah equally held that the refusal of the defendant to refund the money was illegal and therefore awarded damages against the defendant to the tune of N500,000 to be paid to the legal practitioner as compensation for violation of his rights.
The Peace Mass Transit General Manager said the company would review the judgment and come up with the next line of action.
Enete said the company usually do refund in the event of “unforeseen service failure, particularly when it is operationally impossible to fully deliver.”
He pleaded with customers to continue patronizing the company, while promising to conduct training and retraining of staff for proper customer relationship.
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with seven years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Master's degree in Mass Communication.
