Septem (Project Manager) 27 September 2012

Agreement denied & money blocked with builder

Hello experts ,

i booked a under construction flat in Mumbai-western suburb in yr 2009 and paid a handsome initial amount to builder with cheque and also for stampduty. The agreement was prepared and stampduty was paid in Aug 2009. Since then I followed up builder to register the agreement so I can apply for loan of remaining amount.. the price if real estate was on lower side in 2009 because of recesssion,

After loads of communications and followups,In dec 2010, the builder refused the agreement and said he will sell it on revised price, which was icreased by then ( typical heavy weight builder with political support ).. Ultimately,after few more months I came to know that the entire project was on hold for some time and then handed over to other builder for finishing. I've obviously denied the demands of builder and asked for refund and cancellation which he agreed on paper with interest.. However so far he has not paid a single paisa..

Now,Unfortunately it seems I'm left with no option but to go legal way .. Request the experts on forum to advise on following....

It is all white payment and supported by numerous email/sms followups and also few registered AD letters, considering the background, please advise the chances of getting back my money with interest and approach how should I demand for it.
What is the procedure to file case in consumer court in Mumbai? Is there any other quicker way to get it done ?
What happens to the stamp duty paid in 2009? how can I get it refunded? will I get full money back? what is the procedure?

Apologies if my question sound like same old story on numerous other threads.. request your help in getting out of this problem..

Also request ppl to sugggest good lawer with sucess experience in similar cases..

Thnx in advance..

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3 Replies

Bhawani Mahapatra (Law Officer) 27 September 2012

Dear Septem

Its really difficult to advice properly without going through the terms & conditions of the agreement executed by you with your builder. So pl. upload copy of the same first.

Septem (Project Manager) 27 September 2012

Hello Bhavani,

I think it got wrongly conveyed.. Sorry for that..

The agreement is not yet signed and registered.. Only stampduty is paid.. Builder has avoided executing agreement after stampduty was paid as he must be expecting revised rate. I had several reminders to him for signing and registration of agreement by the time I learnt that the construnction it self was handed over to other builder.

Akhil Dave (Student) 27 September 2012

Dear Septem,

With the increasing in to the price, there such numerous matters came up. This matters falls in to Consumer Protection Act. I suggest you should approach good advocate to file case against builder. THere is Adv. Uday Vavikar at Mumbai who deals with consumer matters. AT Consumer fora, you can also represent the case but its adviseble to have legal professional support.