Porsche told to pay Rs 10 lakh for fudging manufacturing date of vehicle

Gurugram, April 25

The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) ordered a Porsche outlet in Gurugram to pay Rs 10 lakh as compensation, along with interest, to a customer for misrepresenting the year of manufacture of a car sold to him. A bench of Justice Ram Surat Ram Maurya and member Dr Inder Jit Singh held that the act of Porsche Center misrepresenting the car manufactured in 2013 as 2014 leads to unfair trade practice and deficiency in service thus making them liable to compensate the buyer.

The orders were passed on a plea against Porsche India and Porsche Center, Gurugram, filed by Praveen Kumar Mittal. In his petition, he claimed that he purchased a Porsche Cayenne for Rs 80 lakh in 2014 from the showroom. According to the complainant, in 2016 when he decided to sell the car, a prospective buyer told him that the year of manufacture of the car was 2013 instead of 2014.

He moved the consumer forum and demanded a new car of similar make or refund of the full price of the car along with other expenses incurred by him. He also sought damages of Rs 1 crore for acute mental and psychological suffering, unfair trade practices and deficiency in service. The Porsche had refuted allegations accusing complainant of malafide intentions and claimed he was well aware of the year of manufacture and even got a discount for same. Both parties submitted their documents in court. The court upheld the authenticity of Mittal’s submissions as they were procured through a public authority under the RTI Act.

It finally ordered Porsche to pay him Rs 10 lakh as compensation, along with interest, which amounts to over Rs 18 lakh. It also ordered them to pay Rs 25,000 as litigation costs to the complainant.