# Your new washing machine broke in a week. Here's the law. > In Punjab, the Punjab Consumer Protection Act 2005 sets out the steps: a written notice to the company, fifteen days for it to reply, then a claim in the Consumer Court within thirty days. The court can test the product in a laboratory and order repair, replacement, a refund, compensation and your lawyer's costs. - Topic: Consumer rights - Court: Statute: Punjab Consumer Protection Act 2005 - Citation: PCPA 2005, ss.28-31 - Watch: https://failegal.site/media/consumer (video https://failegal.site/media/consumer/reel.mp4, 0:54) - Published by FAI Legal on 2026-10-10 A new appliance stops working within days, the shop sends you to the company, and the company's helpline never answers. Most people give up and pay for the repair themselves. This matters to anyone in Punjab who has bought a defective product or a poor service, in a shop or online, and wants to know what the law lets them do. ## Key points - Section 28(1): a consumer who has suffered damage shall, by written notice, call on the manufacturer or service provider to remedy the defect or give damages. - Section 28(2): the manufacturer or service provider shall reply within fifteen days of receiving the notice. Under section 28(3) no claim is entertained without proof that the notice was delivered and not answered. - Section 28(4): the claim is filed within thirty days of the cause of action. The Consumer Court may allow a later filing if satisfied there was sufficient cause, within the limits in the proviso. - Section 31: the court can order the defect removed, a replacement, a refund, reasonable compensation, damages, and actual costs including lawyers' fees. Since the 2025 amendment, online purchases count. ## The rule in one line Write first, then go to court. Send the company a written notice and keep proof it was delivered. If there is no answer, file your claim in the Consumer Court within thirty days, and ask for the remedy you need. ## Step by step Step one: a written notice to the manufacturer or service provider saying the product or service is defective or faulty and asking them to remedy it or pay damages (section 28(1)). Keep the receipt and proof of delivery. Step two: wait for the reply. The law gives them fifteen days from receiving the notice (section 28(2)). Step three: if they do not respond, file a claim in the Consumer Court within thirty days of the cause of action, with proof the notice was delivered (sections 28(3) and 28(4)). The court may allow more time for sufficient cause, but not beyond sixty days from the end of the warranty period, or, if there is none, one year from the date of purchase. ## What happens in court The court sends a copy of your claim to the company and directs it to file a written statement within fifteen days, extendable by up to fifteen more (section 30(1)(a)). Where the dispute cannot be decided without analysing or testing the product, the court takes a sample from you, seals it and sends it to a laboratory, which reports within thirty days (section 30(1)(d)). You may have to deposit the lab fee, but the company pays it if the test supports you (section 30(1)(e)). The court has the powers of a civil court to summon witnesses and require documents, and must decide the claim within six months after the summons is served on the respondent (sections 30(3) and 30(5)). ## What the court can order If satisfied the product is defective or the service complaint is true, the court shall order one or more of these: remove the defect; replace the product with a new one free from defect; return the price or charges; pay reasonable compensation for loss caused by negligence; damages where appropriate; actual costs including lawyers' fees; recall the product; confiscate or destroy it; or remedy the defect within a set time (section 31). ## Bought it online? The Punjab Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2025 added an explanation to the definition of consumer: buying a product or hiring a service includes "offline or online transactions through electronic means or teleshopping or direct selling or multi-level marketing" (section 2(c)). ## The case at a glance - **Facts:** A statute explainer, not a case: a defective new appliance and a company that will not respond, under the Punjab Consumer Protection Act 2005. - **The question:** What a consumer in Punjab must do before going to court, by when, and what the Consumer Court can order. - **What the Court held:** Written notice first (s.28(1)); reply due within fifteen days (s.28(2)); claim within thirty days of the cause of action, with proof of notice (s.28(3), (4)); laboratory testing where needed (s.30(1)(d)); orders including repair, replacement, refund, compensation, damages and lawyers' fees (s.31). - **Why:** The Act makes the written notice a condition of the claim, so the company has a chance to put things right, and then gives the court wide powers if it does not. - **Limits:** This is Punjab law only; other provinces have their own consumer laws. A "manufacturer" covers a seller only in some cases (s.2(h)), and a person who buys for resale or a commercial purpose is not a consumer (s.2(c)). Deadlines are short, so act early. ## The law it relies on - **Punjab Consumer Protection Act, 2005, s.28:** "The manufacturer or service provider shall, within fifteen days of the receipt of the notice, reply thereto." "No claim shall be entertained by a Consumer Court unless the consumer or the Authority has given notice under sub-section (1) and provides proof that the notice was duly delivered but the manufacturer or service provider has not responded thereto." "A claim by the consumer or the Authority shall be filed within thirty days of the arising of the cause of action". - **Punjab Consumer Protection Act, 2005, s.30(1)(d):** Where the dispute cannot be determined without proper analysis or test of products, the Consumer Court shall obtain a sample from the complainant, seal it and "refer the sample to a laboratory along with a direction to make analysis or test". - **Punjab Consumer Protection Act, 2005, s.31:** Orders include "(a) to remove defect from the products in question; (b) to replace the products with new products of similar description which shall be free from any defect; (c) to return to the claimant the price", reasonable compensation, damages, and "(g) to award actual costs including lawyers' fees incurred on the legal proceedings". - **Punjab Consumer Protection Act, 2005, s.2(c), Explanation:** "buys or obtains on lease any product" and "hires any services" include "offline or online transactions through electronic means or teleshopping or direct selling or multi-level marketing". Substituted by the Punjab Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2025. ## What this does not mean - It does not apply everywhere in Pakistan. This is the Punjab Act; other provinces have their own laws. - It does not let you skip the notice. Section 28(3) says no claim is entertained without proof the notice was delivered and not answered. - It does not mean every seller is the "manufacturer". The Act's definition covers a seller only in some cases, so name the right party in your notice. ## Questions people ask ### How long does the company have to reply to my notice? Fifteen days from receiving it (Punjab Consumer Protection Act 2005, s.28(2)). ### How long do I have to file in the Consumer Court? Thirty days from when the cause of action arises (s.28(4)). The court may allow a later claim for sufficient cause, but not beyond sixty days after the warranty expires or, if there is no warranty period, one year from purchase. ### Can I get my lawyer's fees back? Section 31(g) lets the Consumer Court award actual costs including lawyers' fees incurred on the proceedings. ## Sources - Punjab Consumer Protection Act, 2005 (as amended in 2025), ss.2(c), 28, 30, 31 (text checked in FAI Statute Search) (official text: https://punjabcode.punjab.gov.pk/en/show_article/VGFXY1BhVGw-) ## What the reel says New washing machine dead in a week, and the company won't pick up? In Punjab there is a law for exactly this: the Punjab Consumer Protection Act 2005. Section 28: a written notice to the company. They have 15 days to reply. No reply? File a claim in the Consumer Court within 30 days (the court can allow more time for sufficient cause). The court can send the product to a lab (section 30). Section 31: the court can order the defect removed, a replacement, a refund, compensation, damages, even your lawyer's costs. Bought it online? Since the 2025 amendment, that counts too. Read the exact section in FAI Legal's Statute Search. --- Educational legal information, not legal advice. This is Punjab law; other provinces have their own consumer laws. Every case turns on its own facts. Speak to a qualified lawyer about your situation. Reading this page does not create a lawyer and client relationship. Review status: Pending advocate review. English: https://failegal.site/media/consumer ยท Urdu: https://failegal.site/media/ur/consumer FAI Media is part of FAI Legal (https://failegal.site), research on Pakistani statutes and judgments. Free to watch and read.