SOMETIME ago,a consumer came to me with a complaint about an expensive furniture bought form a fancy shop in gurgaon. Apparevntly, she had seen an indticately caeved sofa set at the showroom and since that had already been sold, asked for an identical set to be made. However,when the pieces were deliv-ered at her house,she noticed that the quality of wood was rough.there were what looked like bubbles that had burst and generally considering the pricw that she had paid for it, the final product was really a big disappointmentand cer-tainly not similar to what she had seen and chosen. One piece was even wobbly and not stable.She complained and asked him to  replace the entire set or give her money back.The retailer did neither, despite calls.After some time, he would not even ouck upher valls in a situation.Like this. The consumer ought toget back not inly her money, but also compensation for the harassment sufferd and eteep emough to and out a clear massage to the retailer that he canoontConsumers this way and get away with it. Since she  had spent almost a lakh of rupes befor the consumer court,seeking  a refund , compensation,punitive damages and costs .i told her  how to write out a complaint.Don’t forget to attach an attested copy of the cash peceipt”I said. That‘s when she told me that she did not have a vase peceipt! The retailer apparently told her that she would unnecessarily pay a lot of tax if he issued her a receipt.”By trying to save a (relatively) small sum on the tax, you have paid for the furniture, but also your right to redressal of your grievance through the consumer courts,” I told her. Eventually,I suggested that she write a letter to the retailer about the problem with the furniture that she had  bought from him and so long as he did not dispute the purchase or the amount; she can perhaps use it as evidence .I also suggested that if she taken a friend or a relative at the time of purchase through an affidavit and use that in her complaint  befor the consumer court. I quote this example to highlight the importance of case receipts and that fact that most consumers they do not insist on it and collect it either because they do not want to offend the retailer or because they want to save on the tax. And they suffer the consequences when the product that they have purchased turns out to be defective.The Consumer protection Act defines a can-summer as a person who buys any goods or hires any service for a consideration in the absence of any service for a consideration, the consumer does not acquire the right to complain under the law. So a receipt to prove that the complainantis indeed or the service that they are second, you need the receipt not only to show what you have bought and for how much, but also to indicate the person (or the shop) from whom you have bought it. So a cash receipt is an absolute must.While consumers are mostly unaware of this, the traders are too well versed on how to protect their interests. So a large percentage.