Customers taking their issues to consumer court has become a lot common in India. The latest case is from Hyderabad where District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission-II has ordered car manufacturer Toyota to pay a customer compensation of Rs. 5 lakh along with a full refund of Rs. 45.57 lakh after the dealer failed to deliver the customer the vehicle that he booked.
The customer, Ramesh Mali, had booked a Toyota Fortuner SUV from a Toyota authorized dealership in January 2022. The dealership was located in Sanathnagar. The customer had actually taken a loan of Rs. 45 lakh for his car. The customer made the booking for the SUV and started waiting for his new car. However, the car was never delivered to him. He not only had no car but was also paying a monthly EMI of Rs. 45,548.
Despite repeated reminders, the manufacturer failed to get the vehicle delivered to the customer. When the customer realized that he was being cheated, he took things to court and filed a case against the dealer and the manufacturer.
Toyota, in their defense, asked the court to dismiss the complaint against them as the retail outlet from where the customer had booked the vehicle was not with Toyota anymore. The retail outlet was closed abruptly, which is why the manufacturer had terminated the dealership agreement with them.
The claim raised by Toyota was denied by the commission. The bench observed that Toyota failed to take any remedial measures over the fraud. The commission held both the dealer and the manufacturer responsible for this issue. The bench found that there was a deficiency in service and unfair trade practices. After considering all the factors and evidence, the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission ordered to pay Rs. 5 lakh as compensation and Rs. 45 lakh with an interest rate of 9 percent per annum.
Not the First Time
This is not the first time we have come across an incident where a dealer has scammed the customer. Last year, an ex-Ducati employee scammed over 30 customers and failed to deliver their vehicles. He had scammed around Rs. 5 crore in total from all the customers. The accused was arrested last year.
Similarly, we have also come across several cases where customers have taken things to court after their vehicle was not performing as per their expectations. Recently, a Hyundai Verna owner was facing an issue with the car’s engine. The manufacturer failed to resolve the issue that the customer faced with the car.
The customer took things to court, and the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) has ordered Hyundai Motors India to pay Rs. 15 lakh as compensation to a customer who was sold a Hyundai Verna sedan with a faulty engine.
In another case, The National Consumer Disputes Redressal passed a judgment in a 12-year-old case this year. The consumer court, after finding that Toyota had sold a defective car to customers, asked Toyota Kirloskar Motors and an authorized Toyota dealer to pay Rs. 32.07 lakh to the customer or provide the customer with a Toyota Innova.
The post Consumer Court To Toyota: Pay Fortuner Buyer Rs. 50 Lakh first appeared on Cartoq.
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