Ernakulam District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum has directed a gas agency in the city to pay a compensation of Rs.1000 to a customer for the delay in the delivery of a refill cylinder.
The Forum headed by its President A.Rajesh has also asked the Indian Oil Corporation and the agency to jointly pay Rs.1, 512 towards the amount the complainant had to shell out for buying hotel food due to the delay in the supply of the refill cylinder.
The directive came on a complaint filed by A.K. Sukumaran, a senior citizen of Kochi. According to him, Surya Gas Agency of Pachalam, an authorised distributor of Indian Oil Corporation’s LPG, had failed to deliver a refill cylinder at his home in time. In fact, the cylinder was delivered one and half months after he made the booking. He said that since the distributor could not deliver the cylinder, he and his wife could not cook food at home and had to depend on hotel food.
The agency and the IOC refuted the allegations of the complainant. The IOC said that the complainant had not lodged any complaint either oral or in writing with the company. There was no deficiency on part of the corporation. The agency said that it never committed any purposeful delay in supplying the cylinder to the complainant. The agency had advised him to get an additional cylinder so that he could use it as a substitute. The attempt of the complainant was to wreak personal vengeance on it.
The forum said the opposite parties should have replied to a notice sent by the complainant. The lackadaisical attitude of the opposite parties and their failure to reply amounted to deficient service which called for awarding the compensation.
