Shri Swapan Kumar Mahanty, President.

This is an application u/s.12 of the C.P. Act, 1986.

The facts, in brief, are that the complainant purchased one Whirlpool Refrigerator, Model No. 424-165 Ltrs. for domestic use in the year 1997 from the authorized dealer of O.Ps. against consideration value of Rs.10,000/-. The O.Ps. promised to provide services after expiry of warranty period of the subject Refrigerator. The subject Refrigerator suddenly stopped working on 04/10/2016 and on the same day the complainant called the Customer Care of O.Ps. and registered a complaint, on the same day one Technician   of O.Ps. visited the premises of the complainant for checking the said Refrigerator. After checking the said Refrigerator, thoroughly, the said technician informed the complainant that Relay & Olp parts needed replacement against payment of Rs.1,000/-. On the next day, the said Technician visited the premises of the complainant, replaced the parts of the subject Refrigerator and when put on switch blast occurred, Refrigerator totally shut down and is out of order. On being asked the Technician told that the compressor of the subject Refrigerator is not working properly so it has to be changed against payment of Rs.5,000/-. In spite of repeated requests and reminders the O.Ps. did not provide any service to replace the compressor without any charge though the compressor of the subject Refrigerator  was in good condition till 04/10/2016. Finding no other alternative, complainant issued legal notice dated 25/11/2016 through his Ld. Advocate  but such notice was unattended. There is deficiency in service on the part of the O.Ps. Hence, the complainant has approached this Forum by way of consumer complaint seeking reliefs as prayed for.

O.Ps. have contested the case by filing a joint written version to challenge the maintainability of the case on various grounds. The specific case of the O.Ps. is that the complainant purchased a Whirlpool Refrigerator (Model No. 424-165 Ltrs.)  from the authorized dealer of the O.Ps. and the O.Ps. provide 01 year comprehensive warranty and 04 years warranty of the compressor. The warranty covers only the defects in product arising out of manufacturing or faulty workmanship. Upon expiry of the warranty, repair and / or replacement of spare parts are chargeable. Complainant used the Refrigerator for about 19 years without any complaint and first complaint was lodged on 04/10/2016. The Service Engineer  had been to the residence of the complainant without making any delay and on inspection it transpired that two spare parts (Overload Protector and Overload Relay) were not functioning. That on 05/10/2016 the Service Engineer had been to the house of the complainant and installed OLP&OLR. A flash as alleged happened when power connection was given, the internal coil of the compressor short circuited  and the only way to resolve the issue was to replace the compressor. The complainant is not inclined to bear the cost of replacement of compressor due to the fault of the Service Engineer. There is no deficiency in service and / or unfair trade practice on the part of the O.Ps. in any manner whatsoever. Accordingly, the O.Ps. have prayed for dismissal of the complaint.

Decision with Reasons

            The complainant and O.Ps. led evidence on affidavit in support of their their respective cases. We have heard the Ld. Advocates for the parties and have also gone through the evidence as well as documents on record.

            There is no dispute with regard to the factum of purchase of Whirlpool Refrigerator (Model No. 424) having 165 liters capacity  by the complainant for personal use in the year 1997 from the authorized dealer of the O.Ps. for an amount of Rs.10,000/-. This fact is  also admitted that on 04/10/2016 the subject Refrigerator became inoperative, complainant lodged complaint regarding defect of the Refrigerator and such complaint was attended to, by the Service Engineer of the O.Ps.  The Service Engineer replaced OLP&OLR on 05/10/2016 and when power connection was given a flash happened. The only way to resolve the issue is to replace  the compressor. Complainant alleged that compressor of the Refrigerator  damaged due to the fault of the Service Engineer and he is not ready to pay Rs.5,000/- as replacement cost of compressor. There is no dispute that complainant used the subject Refrigerator for about 19 years without any complaint and after a lapse of 19 years the subject Refrigerator became inoperative  and / or machine stopped cooling. Service Engineer had been to the residence of the complainant against complaint dated 04/10/2016. O.Ps. provide one year comprehensive warranty and four years warranty of the compressor. Statutory period of warranty had already been elapsed due to efflux of time. Therefore, upon expiry of the warranty period the repair and / or replacement of spare parts and compressor are payable by the complainant. Complainant is not inclined to bear the cost of replacement of compressor in spite of elapsed of warranty period. Thus, the O.Ps. cannot provide free repair and replacement of compressor beyond the scope of the warranty policy. The complainant did not pay the cost of OLP & OLR of the subject Refrigerator.  Complainant used the subject Refrigerator for about 19 years and there is 100% of depreciation of the subject Refrigerator. Therefore, it is crystal clear that there is no deficiency in service and / or unfair trade practice on the part of the O.Ps. Thus, the complaint is found frivolous and liable to be dismissed with cost.

In the result, the case merit fails.

Hence,

Ordered

That the complaint case be and the same is dismissed on contest against the O.Ps. with cost of Rs.5,000/- (Rupees Five Thousand) only.