Ordered wedding dress on Instagram, never got it: Boutique told to pay Rs 36,880
A Kerala consumer commission ordered an Instagram-based boutique to pay compensation to a customer for failing to deliver a wedding dress. The ruling clarifies that social media sellers are subject to the same consumer protection laws as traditional brick-and-mortar businesses.
Why it matters
This sets a legal precedent for accountability in the growing social media commerce sector, protecting consumers from fraudulent online sellers.
NEW DELHI: A district consumer commission in Kerala, on July 17, ordered an Instagram-based boutique to pay compensation to a woman after finding that it took full payment for two wedding dresses but delivered only one, and never refunded the money for the other despite repeated promises. The commission held that sellers doing business over social media are bound by the same consumer protection laws as any other shop, and cannot dodge their duty to deliver or refund just because the deal happened on Instagram.How did the Instagram shopping dispute begin?According to the order, the complainant had seen the boutique's dresses on an Instagram story. She ordered two dresses and paid Rs 3,760 in full through Google Pay in February 2025.
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