Mr.Raju S/o Netaji Biradar,

Aged about 26 yrs,

39/52, 1st E Cross, 6th Main,

Remco Layout Vijayanagar,

Bangalore.

…. Complainant.

V/s



01. Dell India Pvt. Ltd.,

Divyashree Greens, Ground Floor,

#12/1, 12/2A, 13/1A, Challaghatta Village,

Varthur Hobli, Bangalore South,

Bangalore – 560 071, Karnataka,

India, Rep. by its Manager.



02. Dell India Pvt Ltd.,

#2, 2nd Cross, Airport Road,

Konnenaagrahara,

(Behind Airport Car Parking),

Bangalore 560 017, Karnataka

India, Rep. by its Manager.



03. Unisys,

Allied Digital Services,

Chakravarti Complex, 3rd Floor,

Sangganarao Circle, VV Puram,

Bangalore. Rep. by its Manager.



…. Opposite Parties

-: ORDER:-



This complaint is for a direction to the Opposite Parties to replace the Laptop supplied to the complainant with a new one or to refund the sum of Rs.56,000/- paid for the laptop and to pay damages of Rs.1,50,000/- for mental agony and torture caused to him.

2. The case of the complainant is as under:-

On 29/08/2007 the complainant purchased laptop model Inspiron 1420 from Opposite Party No.1 for Rs.56,000/-. Within a few days thereafter certain problems arose in the laptop. The complainant immediately contacted Opposite Party No.2, the service provider for Opposite Party No.1. In spite of number of calls and ‘e’ mails, nothing was done. On 21/12/2007 Opposite Party No.3 being a franchise of Opposite Party Nos. 1 & 2 personally visited and replaced the LCD and Hexcable, but within weeks later the problem crept up and thereupon he sent ‘e’ mail to Opposite Party No.2 informing the recurrence of the problem. Opposite Party No.3 again visited on 18/01/2008 and replaced LCD & Hexcable and on the instructions from Opposite Party No.2 also replaced the Motherboard.

But the problem was not resolved and noticed a new automatic shutdown problem in the laptop. Opposite Party No.3 visited again on 01/02/2008 and again replaced the Motherboard, but failed to solve the problem. On 07/02/2008 Opposite Party No.3 again replaced the processor, motherboard and palm rest and even then the problem could not be solved. Thus from the date of purchase, the laptop was not working properly due to manufacturing defects. He waited all these days with the hope that the system will be repaired correctly or replaced as it is having major manufacturing defects. But the Opposite Parties failed to repair the system or to replace the same and thus caused much inconvenience to the complainant. The laptop carried one year warranty and the defects appeared within the warranty period, but the same has not been completely rectified and the problems still persist.

The Opposite Parties have found that the laptop cannot be repaired and instead of replacing the laptop or paying back its value they are dragging on the matter for one or the other reason and finally sitting mum. The defects have not been attended properly and the defects have not been removed. Due to the manufacturing defects in the laptop, he has been put to harassment, mental agony and torture and was forced to spend heavy amount for using internet café computers and has been deprived of making effective use of the laptop. He issued legal notice dated 23/06/2009 and in spite of receipt of notice, the Opposite Parties have neither complied with the demand nor gave reply. Hence, the complaint.



3. In spite of service of notice, Opposite Party No.3 has remained absent. In the version, the contention of Opposite Parties 1 & 2 is as under:-

The complainant has purchased a Dell Inspiron (TM) 1420 Notebook under invoice dated 29/08/2007. The laptop was sold as per the terms and condition of sale enumerated in the tax invoice dated 29/08/2007. The laptop was covered under a limited one year next business day service warranty and the same was in force from 20/08/2007 to 20/08/2008. The complainant is well aware that the warranty does not include the replacement of the laptop but only of the parts. The complainant reported his complaint regarding LCD brightening for the first time on 30/10/2007. The technical support team of the Opposite Party assisted the complainant and the complainant confirmed that the issue was resolved on 05/11/2007. Again on 19/12/2007 the complainant reported a complaint regarding LCD brightening. The technical support team of the Opposite Parties went to the premises of the complainant and replaced the LCD and LCD board cable.

The complainant again on 16/01/2008 reported the same problem and the technical support team of the Opposite Parties replaced the motherboard to ensure that the complainant did not face the same problem again. On 30/01/2008 the complainant reported that the system was turning off at Dell Logo. The technical support team of the Opposite Party guided the complainant with troubleshooting steps to determine if replacement of parts would help the complainant better. They replaced the processor, motherboard and palm rest. However the complainant complained that the parts which were sent earlier did not fix to the system. Therefore, they replaced the heat sink and fan assembly which were delivered to the complainant and this was done on or around 13/02/2008 and thereafter the complainant did not raise any complaint or correspond with the Opposite Parties till 20/06/2009. In the ‘e’ mail dated 20/06/2009 the complainant has stated that right side of the laptop screen is slightly darker than the rest of the monitor and it was OK till 10 days ago but now seems darker than the rest of the monitor. The only inference that can be drawn by the said ‘e’ mail is that the laptop was in good working condition till 10 days before 20/06/2009 namely till 10/06/2009.

Under next business day warranty, Opposite Party Nos. 1 & 2 obligated to address all the concerns of the complainant for a period of one year which lapsed on 20/08/2008. It is but obvious that the complainant has filed this complaint after the lapse of the warranty period only to enrich illegally at the cost of the Opposite Parties. The complainant has utilized all the service provided under warranty and has now chosen to approach this Forum and therefore he has not approached the Forum with clean hands. It is false to contend that the laptop was not working properly since the date of purchase due to manufacturing problems. According to the records maintained by Opposite Party Nos. 1 & 2 for the first time, the complainant reported the issue with the laptop on 30/10/2007 and as such the question of the laptop having manufacturing defects since purchase does not arise. The fact that the complainant has not made any complaint or corresponded with the Opposite Parties since 13/02/2008 till 20/06/2009 is a testament in itself that the laptop was in good working condition. In the ‘e’ mail dated 20/06/2009 the complainant has clearly stated that the right side of the laptop screen is slightly darker than the rest of the monitor and it was OK till 10 days ago but now seems darker than the rest of the monitor.

Therefore, the laptop was in good working condition till 10/06/2009. The allegation that the problems were not rectified is denied. The complainant is entitled to replacement of the parts only and not to replacement of the laptop itself. Whenever the complainant raised an issue, it has been duly addressed and the complaint has been closed to the satisfaction of the complainant. More than one year after the lapse of the warranty, the complainant has approached this forum only to harass the Opposite Parties and to enrich himself illegally. When the Opposite Parties were in the process of collecting the case history to give reply to the legal notice, the complainant has chosen to approach this Forum. On these grounds, the Opposite Parties 1 & 2 have prayed for dismissal of the complaint.

4. In support of the respective contentions both parties have filed affidavits and have produced copies of documents. We have heard the arguments on both side.



5. The points for consideration are:-

1. Whether the complainant has proved deficiency in service on the part of the Opposite Parties?



2. Whether the complainant entitled to the relief prayed for in the complaint?



6. Our finding on the above points is in the NEGATIVE for the following:-



-:REASONS:-

7. The fact that the complainant purchased a laptop manufactured by Opposite Party No.1 on 29/08/2007 for Rs.56,000/- is admitted. The laptop had warranty for one year, which according to the Opposite Parties was the next business day warranty for the period from 20/08/2007 to 20/08/2008. After purchasing the laptop on 29/08/2007, the complainant raised certain problems with the working of the laptop in Octoper-2007 about two months after purchase and on the own admission of the complainant on 21/12/2007 the LCD & Hex cable were replaced, on 18/01/2008 the LCD, Hex cable and Motherboard were replaced and on 01/02/2008 again the Motherboard was replaced and on 07/02/2008 the processor, motherboard and palm rest were replaced.

It is the contention of the complainant that even after replacement of certain parts between 21/12/2007 and 07/02/2008 the same problem persisted and therefore the problems that crept up in the laptop within the warranty period were not resolved by the Opposite Parties. It is the contention of the Opposite Parties that after replacement of certain parts in February-2008 the complainant never raised any complaint with regard to the working of the laptop and after February-2008 for the first time, the complainant sent the ‘e’ mail dated 20/06/2009 stating that the right side of the laptop screen is slightly darker than the rest of the monitor which was OK till 10 days ago but now seems darker than the rest of the monitor. Both the parties have produced copy of the ‘e’ mail dated 20/06/2009 sent by the complainant to the Opposite Party which contains the complaint as stated by the Opposite Parties in Para-5 of the version.

This ‘e’ mail dated 20/06/2009 was sent to the Opposite Parties about 10 months after the expiry of the warranty which expired on 20/08/2008. From the copies of the ‘e’ mail correspondence between the parties produced by the complainant, we are unable to make out that subsequent to 07/02/2008 and before 20/06/2009 the complainant had lodged any complaint with Opposite Parties regarding the working of the laptop, which only goes to indicate that after replacement of the parts on 07/02/2008 there were no complaints in the laptop and the same was working fine till 20/06/2009 by which time the warranty had expired. From the rival contentions it is clear that whenever the complainant raised or lodged any complaint with the Opposite Parties regarding the defects in the laptop between October-2007 and February-2008 the Opposite Party promptly attended to those complaints and replaced the parts and thus acted as per the terms and conditions of the warranty. When no complaints were made subsequent to 07/02/2008 till 20/06/2009 it only goes to indicate that subsequent to 07/02/2008 there were no complaints or defects in the laptop.

If that is so, after expiry of the warranty period, the complainant is not entitled to seek replacement of the laptop or to claim refund of the price paid for the laptop. Even from the copies of the Repair Order Form it is evident that on 21/12/2007, 02/01/2008, 18/01/2008 and 07/02/2008 after replacing certain parts and effecting necessary repairs, the laptop was found working fine. Therefore, we are unable to agree with the contention of the complainant that the problems or defects found in the warranty period were not attended to by the Opposite Parties. Since after 07/02/2008 till the expiry of the warranty period, no complaints were raised with regard to the working of the laptop, we hold that more than 10 months after the expiry of the warranty, the complainant is not entitled to seek replacement of the laptop or to claim refund of the price paid for the same. Thus, we find no deficiency in service on the part of Opposite Parties and therefore hold that the complainant is not entitled to the relief prayed for in the complaint. In the result, we pass the following:-



-:ORDER:-



1. The complaint is DISMISSED. However, there is no order as to costs.