Onida told to refund cost of defective AC

A Correspondent

Jalandhar, June 19

The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum has asked Onida company and its dealer to refund Rs 29,000, the cost of an air-conditioner (AC) along with Rs 5,000 as compensation and Rs 2,000 as litigation costs for selling a defective AC.

Complainant Tarun Kumar of Green Model Town had purchased an Onida Split AC on April 16, 2015, from Katyal Agencies, Nakodar Road.

He said he was assured of the quality of the AC and its services. However, within a few days, the AC failed to provide any cooling despite remaining on for hours.

Later, the complainant approached the dealer personally and reported the grievance which was put off by it with one pretext or another. After repeated reminders, they assured that the problem would be soon rectified, but to no avail, he alleged.

“Later, the service staff of MIRC Electronics Limited visited the complainant and filled gas in the AC, however, they failed to rectify the problem and told him that it was defective,” he said.

Company representatives said following a complaint by Tarun Kumar on August 11, 2015, Ravinder Kumar, a technician, went to the complainant’s home and checked the AC. He found it perfect and alleged that the AC purchased by the complainant was installed in a big room which requires a 2.5 ton AC, whereas the complainant had purchased a 1.5 ton AC.

The service staff again approached the complainant on August 20, 2015, and took the defective AC to the service centre to rectify the cooling problem. When the service staff reinstalled the AC, the problem was still there.

On August 26, 2015, the complainant served a legal notice on Katyal Agencies, but they failed to give any reply to them and ultimately they proceeded against it.

The forum said they had no other option except to admit that there was a major manufacturing defect in the AC in question and accordingly the complainant was entitled for the relief.

It has asked the company to refund Rs 29,000, the cost of the AC, along with interest at the rate of 9 per cent per annum from the date of purchase, that is April 16, 2015, till realisation. The three opposite parties — Katyal Agencies, MIRC Electronics Ltd and Onida Service Centre — were also directed to pay compensation and litigation expenses to the aggrieved customer.