Consumer forum asks Vijay Sales to pay Rs 44,000 to Hyderabad woman

HYDERABAD: The Telangana District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission ordered Vijay Sales to pay Rs 44,000 to a Hyderabad resident for allegedly selling a defective air conditioner.

Sarada Dasari, 49, purchased an air conditioner and a V. Guard 4 KV single step stabiliser from Vijay Sales in Nagole on October 20, 2020, for a total of Rs. 40,000. The air conditioner was installed within three days by authorised carrier company technicians with a one-year warranty from the date of purchase.

According to the complainant, the air conditioner was not used until the end of March, 2021 due to the winter season, but when the complainant began using the AC on April 2, 2021, it did not provide conditioned air inside the room. She reported the air conditioner's defect to the company right away on April 3, 2022, but she received no proper response from them. She then voiced her complaints verbally to the showroom and to the customer service call centre. Finally, after repeated follow-ups and calls to the dealer, a technician showed up, but he was unable to diagnose the problem and asked that the air conditioner be taken to his service centre.

According to reports, the technician brought the entire AC unit to his service centre on April 17, 2021, but the issue was not resolved. They then brought the unit back and installed it there. The unit was in working order, and the room was cooled within an hour. However, the same issue persisted, so the complainant again filed a complaint with the Service Call Center and Dealer, and the entire unit was brought to their service centre on April 21, 2021.

In order to avoid more problems with her air conditioner, the complainant demanded that the old unit be replaced. In his complaint, the complainant claimed that due to the fault of Vijay Sales, he had incurred loss, harassment, mental anguish, and loss of professional practice, for which she demanded compensation.

Vijay Sales, however, refuted the accusations and asserted that the complainant's every assertion, charge, and contention were false. Additionally, they asserted that the complainant purchased an air conditioner in the winter but did not start using it until the end of March 2021. They also refuted the complainant's assertion that they failed to respond to his complaint in a proper manner. Furthermore, they claimed that they had always offered the complainant professional services and had duly addressed all of the complainant's objections. But because of the complainant's unreasonable demands and rude demeanour, they were unable to give the complainant the appropriate means of redress.

The representatives from Vijay Sales asserted that the complainant was not entitled to any relief or compensation because there was no manufacturing defect in the aforementioned AC and no service deficiency on their behalf. Furthermore, they stated that the aforementioned product came with a one-year warranty in accordance with the terms and conditions, and that there was no "guarantee" attached to the aforementioned product. They further stated that the complainant is not obligated to get a replacement or any kind of reimbursement from them.

However, the Commission decided, after hearing from both parties, that the complainant was entitled to an exchange of the air conditioner. Furthermore, they stated that the cost of the air conditioner must be refunded by Vijay Sales. They argued that the complainant was entitled to the compensation and expenses.

As a result, the commission was ordered to refund the complainant Rs. 38,000 plus 12% interest from the date of purchase to the date of realization. In addition, the court ordered that Rs 5,000 in compensation and Rs 1,000 in litigation-related fees be paid.