The CCPA issued an Order against Vajirao & Reddy Institute, StudyIQ IAS Study and EDGE IAS to discontinue the misleading advertisements with immediate effect.

  The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has imposed a penalty of ₹7 lakh each on Vajirao & Reddy Institute and StudyIQ IAS, a...

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The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has imposed a penalty of ₹7 lakh each on Vajirao & Reddy Institute and StudyIQ IAS, and ₹1 lakh on Edge IAS for advertising misleading claims regarding the results of the UPSC CSE 2022 and 2023, respectively.

New Delhi.

Asal baat news.  

The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA), headed by Chief Commissioner Smt. Nidhi Khare and Commissioner Shri Anupam Mishra, has issued orders and imposed penalties for violations of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019. A penalty of ₹7 lakh each has been imposed on Vajirao & Reddy Institute and StudyIQ IAS, and ₹1 lakh on Edge IAS for advertising misleading claims regarding the results of the UPSC CSE 2022 and 2023, respectively. These actions are taken to protect and promote the rights of consumers and to ensure that no false or misleading advertisements are made for any goods or services that contravene the provisions of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.

Vajirao & Reddy Institute in its advertisement made the following claims-

1. “617 selections out of 933 in UPSC CSE 2022”
2. “7 in Top 10 AIR”
3. “16 in Top 20 AIR”
4. “39 in Top 50 AIR”
5. “72 in TOP 100 AIR”
6. “We are ranked at 1st position among the list of top UPSC Coaching Institutes in India”

CCPA found out that Vajirao & Reddy Institute prominently displayed successful candidate’s names & pictures and simultaneously advertised various types of paid courses on its official website. However, the information with respect to the course opted by the said successful candidates in UPSC Civil Service exam 2022 was not disclosed in the abovementioned advertisement.

The CCPA found out that all the claimed 617 successful candidates were enrolled in the Interview Guidance Programme. It is the right of the consumer to be informed about the specific course that successful candidates had taken from the coaching institute to make it into the final selection of CSE. For the potential consumers, this information would have contributed in their making an informed choice about the course to be opted for their success at CSE.

By deliberately concealing about the specific course opted by each of the successful candidates, the Vajirao & Reddy Institute made it look like all the courses offered by it had the same success rate for the consumers, which was not right. These facts are important for the potential students to decide on the courses that may be suitable for them and should not have been concealed in the advertisement.