The Mysuru District Consumers’ Redressal Forum has ordered a home decor company to refund the cost of a wooden cot sold to a consumer after it refused to repair the piece of furniture.
The complainant, Swethankh, a physiotherapist in clinical services at the All India Institute of Speech and Hearing, purchased the cot for his ailing father in October 2014. He paid Rs. 8,400 for it but one of its planks broke within a month.
Upon repeated requests, the company got the cot repaired by charging a fee of Rs. 1,200. But the cot broke again in the tenth month, causing injuries to Mr. Swethankh’s father. When he approached the company again for repair, his request was ignored.
After Mr. Shwethank filed a complaint with the forum in December 2015, the company’s representative alleged that the cot broke because of rough usage. He sought dismissal of the complaint stating that it had been filed with the objective of getting money from the company.
Forum president H.M. Shivakumara Swamy, after hearing both the parties, observed that the company’s refusal to repair the cot when it was damaged for the second time amounted to “deficiency in service”.
In its order passed recently, the forum directed the company to pay Rs. 8,400 plus Rs. 1,200, along with an 18 per cent interest from the date the complaint was filed. The forum also directed the company to pay the complainant Rs. 1,000 as compensation and another Rs. 1,000 as litigation expenses.
