BEFORE THE DISTRICT CONSUMER DISPUTES REDRESSAL FORUM, KAITHAL.
Complaint Case No.316 of 2018.
Date of institution: 27.11.2018.
Date of decision: 17.01.2020.
Shiv S/o Sh. Subhash Chand, R/o Behind R.K.S.D.College, H.No.985/1, Kaithal.
…Complainant.
Versus
- Flip Cart Internet Private Limited, Consulting Rooms Pvt. Ltd., H.No.37/3, Old Rajinder Nagar, near Water Tank, Central Delhi (Head/Registered Office), through its Authorized Person.
- Consulting Rooms Pvt. Ltd., Instakart Services Private Limited, Sugal Logisties Park, Khasara no.19/12/2/2/2, Opp. GTTM College, Bilaspur, Tauru Road, Village Bilaspur & Pathreri Gurugram Haryana, Pincode-122413, Haryana (Distributor) through its authorized person.
- Carrier Midea India Pvt. Ltd., through its authorized person, Ist Floor, Pearl Tower, Plot No.51, Sec.32, Gurugram Haryana-122001.
….Respondents.
Before: Sh. D.N.Arora, President.
Sh. Rajbir Singh, Member.
Smt. Suman Rana, Member.
Present: Sh. Nitin Chhabra, Advocate, for the complainant.
Sh. Vikram Tiwari, Advocate for the OPs.
ORDER
D.N.ARORA, PRESIDENT
The complainant has filed the present complaint under Section 12 of Consumer Protection Act, 1986, with the averments that the complainant booked the order ID No.OD212311730154466000 on 14.05.2018 for the carrier 1.5 ton 3 Star BEE rating 2018 inverter Air Conditioner-White on Flip Cart and delivered the same on 17.05.2018 for an amount of Rs.33,999/-. It is alleged that the said A.C. was not working properly and the leakage of the water in the A.C. was increased. The complainant requested the Ops several times to repair or replace the said A.C. several times but the Ops did not resolve the grievances of complainant. So, it is a clear cut case of deficiency in service on the part of Ops and prayed for acceptance of complaint. Hence, this complaint.
2. Upon notice, the OPs appeared before this Forum and contested the complaint by filing their replies separately. Ops No.1 & 2 filed the joint reply raising preliminary objections with regard to locus-standi; maintainability; cause of action; that the answering Ops are carrying on the business of sale of goods manufactured by others; that the answering Ops are registered sellers on the website “Flipkart.com” and sells products of other manufacturers and traders etc. Thus, the answering Ops have a separate and distinct identity from that of the manufacturer of the product i.e. CARRIER and there is no relationship of Principal & Agent between CARRIER and the answering Ops; that there is no deficiency in service on the part of Ops. On merits, the objections raised in the preliminary objections are reiterated and so, prayed for dismissal of complaint.
3. Op No.3 filed the reply raising preliminary objections that on bare perusal of the contents of complaint, it is crystal clear that the complainant has failed to disclose the defects in the A.C. purchased by him; that the complainant purchased the A.C. in question on 17.05.2018 and the first complaint from the complainant was received by the answering Op on 31.07.2018 on Customer Helpline Number. Therefore, it is evident that there is no technical or inherent defect in the said A.C. and the complainant had used the said A.C. seamlessly for more than 2 months. It is further submitted that on receipt of the complaint dt. 31.07.2018 for water leakage, the answering Op had deputed a technician for checking the said A.C. and rectifying the defect. However, when the technician visited the complainant, the complainant refused to get his A.C. checked and started demanding replacement of the said A.C. without any justifiable ground. There is no deficiency in service on the part of Op. On merits, the objections raised in the preliminary objections are reiterated and so, prayed for dismissal of complaint.
4. The complainant tendered into evidence affidavit Ex.CW1/A and documents Annexure-C1 to Annexure-C5 and thereafter, closed the evidence.
5. On the other hand, the Ops tendered into evidence affidavits Ex.RW1/A & Ex.RW2/A and thereafter, closed the evidence.
6. We have heard the learned Counsel for both the parties and perused the record carefully.
7. Undisputedly, the complainant booked the order ID No.OD212311730154466000 on 14.05.2018 for the carrier 1.5 ton 3 Star BEE rating 2018 inverter Air Conditioner-White on Flip Cart and the Ops delivered the same on 17.05.2018 for an amount of Rs.33,999/- as per Annexure-C1. According to the complainant, the said A.C. was not working properly and the leakage of the water in the A.C. was increased. The grievance of the complainant is that he send an e-mail dt.15.09.2018 Annexure-C2 to the Ops but the Ops did not take any action and thereafter, he again send e-mail dt. 19.09.2018 to the Ops but the Ops did not resolve the grievances of complainant.
8. We have considered the rival contentions of both the parties. Ld. Counsel for the Ops contended that the Ops No.1 & 2 are registered sellers on the website “Flipkart.com” and sells products of other manufacturers and traders etc. He further contended that on receipt of the complaint dt. 31.07.2018 for water leakage, the Op No.3 had deputed a technician for checking the said A.C. and rectifying the defect. However, when the technician visited the complainant, the complainant refused to get his A.C. checked and started demanding replacement of the said A.C. without any justifiable ground. He further contended that under the terms of warranty which are binding on the complainant, the Ops are liable only to repair to replace the defective parts, if any. So, in view of pleadings of both the parties, the ends of justice will be met if we direct the Ops to repair the A.C. of complainant free of cost.
9. Thus, in view of above discussion, we allow the complaint partly and direct the OPs to repair the A.C. of the complainant free of cost. It is further directed that the service engineer, who will repair the A.C. in question of the complainant shall submit a repair certificate to this Forum about repairing the A.C. in question after obtaining the satisfaction note from the complainant. No order as to costs. All the Ops are jointly and severally liable. Let the order be complied with within 30 days from the date of preparation of copy of this order. A copy of this order be sent to the parties free of costs. File be consigned to the record room after due compliance.
Announced in open court:
Dt.:17.01.2020.
(D.N.Arora)
President.
(Suman Rana), (Rajbir Singh)
Member Member.
