In India, it is now common practice for customers to take their concerns to a consumer court. The latest case comes from Hyderabad where the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission-II ordered automobile manufacturer Toyota to pay customer compensation of Rs. 5 lakh along with a full refund of Rs. 45.57 lakh after the dealer failed to to deliver the vehicle he has booked to the customer.
The customer, Ramesh Mali, had booked a Toyota Fortuner SUV from a Toyota dealership in January 2022. The dealer was located in Sanathnagar. The customer had actually taken a loan of Rs. 45 lakh for his car. The customer booked the SUV and waited for his new car. However, the car was never delivered to him. Not only did he not have a car, but he also paid a monthly EMI of Rs. 45,548.
Despite repeated reminders, the manufacturer was unable to deliver the vehicle to the customer. When the customer realized he was being cheated, he went to court and filed a lawsuit against the retailer and the manufacturer.
In its defense, Toyota asked the court to dismiss the case against it because the dealership where the customer had booked the vehicle was no longer with Toyota. The branch closed abruptly, which is why the manufacturer terminated the dealer contract with him.
Toyota’s claim was rejected by the Commission. The judges found that Toyota failed to take remedial action over the fraud. The Commission blamed both the retailer and the manufacturer for this problem. The board found that there was a lack of services and unfair trade practices. After considering all the factors and evidence, the District Consumer Disputes Arbitration Commission ordered payment of 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 that we come across an incident where a merchant cheated the customer. Last year, a former Ducati employee defrauded over 30 customers and failed to deliver their vehicles. He had cheated of Rs. Total 5 crore from all customers. The defendant was arrested last year.
We have also come across several cases where customers have taken to court because their vehicle did not meet their expectations. Recently, the owner of a Hyundai Verna faced a problem with the car’s engine. The manufacturer was unable to resolve the customer’s problem with the car.
The customer went to court and the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) ordered Hyundai Motors India to pay Rs. 15 lakh as compensation to a customer who was sold a Hyundai Verna sedan with a defective engine.
In another case this year, the National Consumer Disputes Redressal issued a ruling in a 12-year-old case. After finding that Toyota had sold a defective car to customers, the consumer court ordered Toyota Kirloskar Motors and an authorized Toyota dealer to pay Rs. 32.07 lakh to the customer or provide a Toyota Innova to the customer.
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