Complainant through Lrd. Adv. Parchure
Opponents through Lrd. Adv. Likhit Gandhi
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Per : Mr. V. P. Utpat, President Place : PUNE
// J U D G M E N T //
(15/05/2014)
This complaint is filed by the consumer against the manufacturer and service provider for deficiency in service and defects in the goods under section 12 of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986. The brief facts are as follows,
1] The complainant no. 1 and 2 are son and father. The complainant no. 1 is residing at New Jersy, USA; hence he has filed this complaint through his father as a Power of Attorney. It is the case of the complainant that they have purchased one Refrigerator from the opponent no. 1 through opponent no. 2. The Refrigerator was purchased in the name of complainant no. 1 on 23rd March 2008 for an amount of Rs. 41,825/-. It gave satisfactory performance till the end of 2011. In the beginning of the year 2012, it was stopped operating and there was beeping sound from the Refrigerator. Hence, the complainant lodged the complaint to the opponent company, who had sent engineer on 9th March 2013. He had replaced some parts by charging an amount of Rs.900/-. In the month of September 2012, it has started to give trouble and on 7th September 2012 again some parts were replaced by the Service Engineer on payment of Rs. 330/-. After some days again the Refrigerator became inoperative. According to the Service Engineer, there was short circuit in the Refrigerator and he had recommended to scrap the Refrigerator by offering scrap value of Rs. 4,000/-. It is the case of the complainant that there is warranty of 5 years for the said Refrigerator and the opponents are under obligation either to repair the same or to replace the same. It is contended by the complainant that, as the opponents have failed to repair or replace the Refrigerator, they should pay compensation of Rs. 1,00,000/- for providing defective Refrigerator and for mental and physical harassment to the complainant.
2] The opponents resisted the complaint by filing written version and it has denied the contents of the complaint. According to the opponent, complainant no. 2 has no locus standi to file the present complaint. The so called power of attorney is given, was for the purpose of the transactions with the HDFC bank. Hence, the complainant no. 2 has no authority to file the present complaint. It is further contended that, the Refrigerator was used for more than three years and at that time there was no any problem. This indicates that there was no any manufacturing defect. Since the Refrigerator was out of warranty, paid services were provided to the complainant. As per the terms and conditions of the warranty, if any dispute arises between the parties, it should be referred to the Arbitrator at Delhi. It is also contended that the complainant had not made any complaint about the Compressor and no evidence about the defect in the Compressor is produced by the complainant. Hence, the complaint is not maintainable and the complainant is not entitled for any relief. The opponents have prayed for dismissal of the complaint.
4] After scrutinizing the documentary evidence, which is produced before this Forum, hearing the arguments of both the counsels and considering pleadings, the following points arise for the determination of the Forum. The points, findings and the reasons thereon are as follows-
Sr.No. | POINTS | FINDINGS |
1. | Whether complainant has established that there is deficiency in service as well as defects in the goods within the warranty period? | In the negative. |
2. | What order? | Complaint is dismissed. |
REASONS :-
5] The undisputed facts in the present proceeding are that the complainant no. 1 has purchased Refrigerator in dispute from the opponents. According to the opponents, the complainant no. 2 has no authority to file the present complaint and the product was purchased in the name of complainant no. 1 and so called power of attorney is executed for the purpose of HDFC bank loan transaction. It is significant to note that the complainant no. 2 is the father of complainant no. 1. The complainant no. 1 is staying at New Jersy, USA and the complainant no. 2 is using the said product. Hence, he is entitled to file the present complaint as a ‘beneficiary’.
6] The learned Advocate for the opponents mostly relied upon the terms and conditions of warranty, which are produced by the complainant himself and it reveals from the same that the warranty of the product is restricted for 12 months and the warranty for Compressor is restricted for 60 months. It reveals from the record that the Service Engineer of the opponents have provided service to the complainant, when the Refrigerator got problem, after three years from the date of purchase. In these circumstances, the Forum is of the opinion that the warranty period for the entire Refrigerator was expired within one year and thereafter for the period of three years the Refrigerator was giving good services to the complainant. That means there was no manufacturing defect in the product. It is the settled principle of law, in order to establish the manufacturing defect in the product or any part; it is the duty of the customer to establish this fact with cogent expert evidence. The complainant has failed to establish that the Compressor of the Refrigerator was not working and there is defect in the product and it reveals from the record that the opponent has provided services from time to time. Hence, there is no deficiency in service. The complainant has failed to establish that there is defect in the product. Hence, it is the considered opinion of the Forum that the complainant has failed to prove his case with cogent evidence. In the result the Forum answers the points accordingly and pass the following order.
** O R D E R **
1. The complaint is dismissed with no
order as to the costs.
2. Copies of this order be furnished to
the parties free of cost.
5. Parties are directed to collect the sets, which were provided for Members within one month from the date of order, otherwise those will be destroyed.
Place – Pune
Date- 15/05/2014
