CCPA imposes penalties of Rs 1 lakh on Rau's IAS Study Circle, Rs 50,000 on Seekers Education for misleading ads

Consumer protection regulator Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has imposed penalties on Rau's IAS Study Circle and Seekers Education for misleading advertisements.

The CCPA said that Rau's IAS Study Circle had made false claims in its advertisements, such as claiming that its students had secured top ranks in the civil services examinations. The CCPA also said that Seekers Education had made misleading claims about the placement opportunities offered by its institute.

The CCPA has imposed a penalty of Rs 1,00,000 on Rau's IAS Study Circle and Rs 50,000 on Seekers Education. The CCPA has also directed the two institutes to withdraw their misleading advertisements and to publish corrective statements.

Following an investigation, it was discovered that 111 of the 143 aspirants belonged to the Interview Guidance Programme (IGP). The IGP Course, unlike other courses, is not a full-time course, according to CCPA. The IGP Course becomes available only after an individual has passed the UPSC-CSE Prelims and Mains examinations.

"Hence, claiming that an aspirant is a 'successful student' of RAU's IAS Study Circle, in absence of necessary disclosure with regard to the course opted by the aspirant, constitutes misleading advertisement under the Act," the CCPA said.

Therefore, the claim "Hundreds of Rau's IAS Study Circle students aced the UPSC exam this year as well" can undeniably mislead consumers with regard to the actual role played by the opposite party in successfully clearing the exam by an aspirant, it added.

With regard to the Seekers Education, the CCPA said, "....claiming a success ratio of 99.99%, in absence of any substantiation, misleads consumers in general and the targeted section i.e., aspirants preparing for such exams in particular,"

The Authority passed an order against 'Seekers Education' for publishing an advertisement making the claim "Be it online or offline, We are the best' and '99.99% in JEE 2021' in the Trichy edition of Dinamalar newspaper on May 9 2021.

Additionally, it also passed an order against Tekshiv Systems Pvt Ltd for selling poor quality domestic pressure cookers under the 'Quba' brand on e-commerce platforms. The CCPA said it violated the mandatory standards as prescribed under the Domestic Pressure Cooker (Quality Control) Order, 2020.

Apart from that, the CCPA has taken action against online travel portals Yatra, HappyEasyGo and Easymytrip for not reimbursing consumers of the booking amount for the bookings cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the statement said.

Besides travel portals, the CCPA has passed orders against several companies indulging in violation of consumer rights, misleading advertisements and unfair trade practices.

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