Consumer Commission orders firm to compensate for defective car in Chandigarh

The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has penalized a car company for selling a defective car to consumers. Shabnam Aggarwal and Kiran Aggarwal from Sector 4 filed a case against Krishna Auto Sales, Chandigarh, and Skoda Auto Volkswagen, Pune, including its managing director and directors.

Complaint and response:

The women alleged that they purchased a Skoda Rapid Ambition 1.0 TSI MT Petrol car from Krishna Auto Sales for Rs. 9,69,000 in February 2021. However, by July 2021, the car began experiencing various issues, despite multiple repairs. They claimed that these issues caused significant inconvenience in their daily commute.

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Krishna Auto Sales denied any deficiency in their services, asserting that repairs were conducted promptly and with diligence. Similarly, Skoda company and its directors denied any manufacturing defect in the vehicle and disputed the complainants' allegations, stating lack of evidence.

Commission's decision:

After reviewing the case, the commission concluded that the car indeed had inherent manufacturing defects. As a result, they directed the car company to refund the invoice price of the car, deducting 5% for depreciation, along with 9% interest per annum from the date of filing the complaint.

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Additionally, the commission ordered the car company to compensate the complainants with ₹25,000 for mental agony and harassment caused, along with ₹10,000 as litigation costs.

The commission's decision reflects their determination to hold the car company accountable for its failure to provide a defect-free vehicle and to adequately address the consumers' grievances.