DISTRICT CONSUMER DISPUTES REDRESSAL COMMISSION, PALAKKAD

Dated this the 4^th day of October, 2023

Present : Sri.Vinay Menon V. President

            : Smt. Vidya.A., Member

   : Sri. Krishnankutty N K, Member

                   Date of filing: 07/11/2022                                                             

CC/217/2022

   Abhilash P V

S/o Vijayan P V,

    Puzhakkal House,

Manikkassery P.O, Kongad,

Palakkad - 678 631. -                    Complainant

(By Adv. Kiran G Raja)

                                                                V/s

•  The Manager

Customer Care Xiomi Technology India

Pvt.Ltd., Ground Floor, AKR Infinity

Sy. No. 113, Krishna Reddy Industrial Area

7^th Mile, Hosur Road

Bangalore - 560 068.

-              Opposite Parties

•  Flipkart India private  Limited

Vaishnavi Summit, Ground Floor

7^th Main, 80 feet Road, 3^rd Block,

Koranagala Industrial Layout

Bangalore - 560 034

Karnataka.

(Both Opposite Parties Ex-parte)

O R D E R

Prepared by Smt. Vidya.A, Member

1. Pleadings of the complainant in brief

      The complainant purchased a POCO X3 Pro mobile phone through the 2^nd opposite party on 23/04/2021 for an amount of Rs 18,999/-. He was using the phone safely without causing any damage. On 3/11/22, when he was in his workplace, he heard a sound from the phone and after that it did not work.

The very next morning, he went to the opposite party’s service centre at Palakkad and they told that the whole board has to be replaced. From the official site of POCO, it can be seen that the company has extended the warranty for two years due to the chain of issues in the above series of phones. The service centre demanded Rs 11,000/- for getting the mobile phone repaired. Even though the details of extended warranty is shown in the official website, the service centre and customer care of 1^st Opposite Party denied it and demanded the complainant to pay the amount. He sent e-mail to the POCO service centre regarding the issue, but they gave the same reply. The I^st opposite party in reply to the mail stated that the warranty is for 18 months in total. This amounts to Deficiency in service and Untrade Practice.

The issue in the mobile phone is due to manufacturing defect. The complainant suffered mental agony inconvenience in work and financial loss due to the defective phone. The opposite parties are aware of the fact that the above series of mobile phones are having same kind of problems, and even after knowing it the 2^nd opposite party sold this to many customers including the complainant.

The opposite parties did not take any initiative to solve the issue even after sending e-mails to their official e-mail ids.

The acts of the opposite parties in manufacturing and selling such defective products and cheating the customers amount to Unfair Trade Pratice.

So he filed this complaint for an order directing the opposite parties to pay Rs 58,999/- for the financial loss and mental agony suffered by the complainant along with cost of this litigation.

2. After admitting complaint, notices were issued to both opposite Parties. Notice was served on both opposite parties, but they did not appear or file version and were set ex-parte.

3. Complainant filed an application as IA 253/23 to appoint an Expert   Commissioner and it was allowed. Complainant filed proof affidavit and Exts A1-A6 were marked. The expert’s report is marked as Ext C1.

4. The complaint averment is to the effect that the complainant purchased a mobile phone by brand name POCO X3 PRO on 23/4/2021 through Flipkart, the 2^nd Opposite Party. The phone stopped working on 03/11/2022. He used the phone only for 1¹/₂  years. He bought the phone on payment of Rs 18,999/- and the service centre informed him that its board is completely gone and the approximate cost of repair is                 Rs.11,000/-

5. Ext A3 is the Tax invoice showing the purchase of POCO X3 Pro Mobile for an amount an amount of Rs 18,999/-. Warranty is shown as; one year warranty for hand set and 6 months for accessories.

6. Complainant’s contention is that this series of phone has some issues and due to the chain of issues, the company has extended the warranty for 2 years. He produced the print out of some complaints raised by customers regarding the issue of mother board in the ‘POCO X3 Pro’ brand mobile which is marked as Ext A4. Ext A5 is the print out of the offer given by the manufacture of this brand.

7. In Ext A5, under the heading “POCO introduces enhanced quality measures to improve user experience”, they have given an offer that “ As a gesture from us to all POCO fans, we are extending the warranty period to 2 years for our POCO X3 Pro users from the date of purchase. The warranty extension covers any issues related to the mother board for the device. Users of POCO X3 Pro under the warranty period can visit authorised service centre for comprehensive technical support and repairs at no additional cost”.

8 Under the heading “Terms and conditions for availing Extended Warranty for POCO X3 Pro” (1) Users (Voucher or purchaser) of POCO X3 Pro (Product)  who detect any defects, dysfunction or error in the power on function of the product (Warranty Issues) can approach an authorised service centre (ASC) of Xiomi, to avail free of cost technical support and repairs or replacement. Xiomi’s ASCs shall inspect the products, and examine if the warranty issues have been caused as a result of any dysfunction of the Product’s mother board. If yes, then you will be eligible for an extended warranty for the products for further period of twelve months. (Extended Warranty)”

• In order to ascertain the defect in the phone, the complainant filed an application for the appointment of an expert and it was allowed. The Expert Commissioner in his report which is marked as Ext C1 has reported that

• “The mobile phone does not turn on.
• It is not able to charge the mobile phone.
• There are no physical damages/water damages sustained.

10  From Ext C1, it is clear that the mobile phone is not functioning. The service centre identified that the problem is with the board and it has to be replaced for curing the defect. The extended  warranty provided by ‘POCO’ offers 2 years warranty from the date of purchase. They further stated that the warranty extension covers any issue relating to the mother board and their authorised service centers provide technical support and repairs at no additional cost. So the complainant is entitled to get the mother board replaced under the warranty. He purchased the phone on 23/04/2021 and it became defective on 3/11/2022. So he has used it for 1¹/₂ years  .

11.So the opposite parties are bound to replace the defective part within warranty. Since they failed to do this, they are liable for their Deficiency in service and Unfair trade Pratice and bound to compensate the complainant for that. Complainant suffered mental agony and financial loss when the newly purchased phone became defective within a short span of time.

In the result, the complaint is allowed.

• We direct the 1^st opposite party to replace the defective board free of cost and make it functional to the satisfaction of the complainant or in the alternative to pay Rs 15,000/-
• We further direct the opposite parties jointly and severally to pay            Rs.15,000/-for their Deficiency in service and Rs.10,000/-as compensation for the mental agony and Rs 10,000/- as cost of litigation.

The above amounts are to be paid within 45 days of receipt of this order, failing which the opposite parties are liable to give Rs.500/-as solatium  per month or part thereof till the date of payment.

Pronounced in open court on this the 4^th  day of October, 2023.

              Sd/-

                                                                                 Vinay Menon V

                                                                                  President   

Sd/-

                                                                                           Vidya.A

                                                                                           Member