The Namakkal District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (DCDRC) has directed an automobile company to pay over ₹20 lakh in compensation for service deficiencies.
V. Rajendran (46) from Vilankurichi in Coimbatore district purchased a car for ₹20.56 lakh in July 2018. After he noted a strange noise from the engine, he took the car to the service centre for repairs. However, the car stopped while he was driving it, and the service centre asked for ₹5 lakh to replace the engine. After paying ₹3.20 lakhs, the car was not returned for several months.
Claiming that the company sold a car with defects, Mr. Rajendran filed a case at the Coimbatore DCDRC in 2022. For the speedy trial, the case was transferred to Namakkal DCDRC in February this year. Inquiring the case, the DCDRC on Thursday confirmed the defect.
Namakkal DCDRC Commissioner V. Ramaraj said, as per the 2019 Consumer Protection Act, the manufacturer is responsible for the defect, and directed it to pay ₹20.54 lakh with 9% interest calculated from July 2018. The court also ordered payment of ₹3.20 lakh for engine replacement with 9 % interest from the date of payment and an additional ₹2 lakh for deficiency in service, causing mental agony and as case expenses.
