Refund Rs. 9.43 lakh to customer for faulty Vento C-Segment sedan

Big-name automakers always seem the sweetest when selling a car but when it comes to addressing the issues in their products they seem to find all the loopholes in the system and get away with their deeds. Although in this one particular case, a district consumer forum provided justice to an owner from Chennai by asking Volkswagen (VW) to pay the entire purchase cost of the faulty car along with compensation. The court asked VW to pay Rs 7.23 lakh for the car and Rs 2.2 as compensation after 10 years of verbal fighting in the courts.

The case was filed by Devarayan Subbu a resident of Chennai who purchased a Volkswagen Vento Highline car from Volkswagen Mount Road, Chennai on June 3, 2011. In his complaint, Subbu stated that the car had been working completely fine until the first scheduled service at the dealership. He added, that soon after receiving the car back from the dealership it started giving him trouble and the issues became worse with every passing day. He mentioned that the engine started making severe vibrations.

Following this in his complaint he also stated that the issue was then reported to the dealer, and following an examination, they were informed that the vehicle’s cylinder had a technical issue. He added that despite knowing the problem the company still did not fix the car even after two months, citing a delay in acquiring tools and spare components.

According to Subbu, the dealer acknowledged that they had completely replaced the car’s engine after issuing a legal notice, but they would not do it in writing. The complaint claimed in the forum that the dealer engaged in unfair trade practices by selling a damaged automobile and refusing to replace it despite a serious engine malfunction. He requested that the court order the automaker to pay Rs. 10 lakh towards the costs incurred to buy and fix the flawed vehicle, as well as Rs. 5 lakh as compensation for the mental anguish endured.

But to no ones surprise the company made an opposition to the claim. The Volkswagen representatives said that because the automobile was bought on behalf of a private company and the complainant cannot be considered a customer, and the complaint cannot be upheld. Deciding to reject the company’s position, the forum decided that the complaint could still be upheld even if the automobile was bought in the company’s name because complainant’s made the purchase for his personal use.

Representing the complainant, advocate Krishna Ravindran submitted the complaint on behalf of Devaryan. And the decision of the fine was given was Tiruvarur district consumer forum comprising president S J Chakkkravarthy, members N Lakshmanan and C Packilakshmi.

This is not the first case that has been filed against Volkswagen India. Just a few days ago, a consumer disputes redressal court asked Škoda Auto Volkswagen India Private Limited to provide an owner of a Volkswagen car with Rs 20,000 for compensation for giving him poor-quality service. The court further ordered the company to also fix his car free of cost.

Big-name automakers always seem the sweetest when selling a car but when it comes to addressing the issues in their products they seem to find all the loopholes in the system and get away with their deeds. Although in this one particular case, a district consumer forum provided justice to an owner from Chennai by asking Volkswagen (VW) to pay the entire purchase cost of the faulty car along with compensation. The court asked VW to pay Rs 7.23 lakh for the car and Rs 2.2 as compensation after 10 years of verbal fighting in the courts.

The case was filed by Devarayan Subbu a resident of Chennai who purchased a Volkswagen Vento Highline car from Volkswagen Mount Road, Chennai on June 3, 2011. In his complaint, Subbu stated that the car had been working completely fine until the first scheduled service at the dealership. He added, that soon after receiving the car back from the dealership it started giving him trouble and the issues became worse with every passing day. He mentioned that the engine started making severe vibrations.

Following this in his complaint he also stated that the issue was then reported to the dealer, and following an examination, they were informed that the vehicle’s cylinder had a technical issue. He added that despite knowing the problem the company still did not fix the car even after two months, citing a delay in acquiring tools and spare components.

According to Subbu, the dealer acknowledged that they had completely replaced the car’s engine after issuing a legal notice, but they would not do it in writing. The complaint claimed in the forum that the dealer engaged in unfair trade practices by selling a damaged automobile and refusing to replace it despite a serious engine malfunction. He requested that the court order the automaker to pay Rs. 10 lakh towards the costs incurred to buy and fix the flawed vehicle, as well as Rs. 5 lakh as compensation for the mental anguish endured.

But to no ones surprise the company made an opposition to the claim. The Volkswagen representatives said that because the automobile was bought on behalf of a private company and the complainant cannot be considered a customer, and the complaint cannot be upheld. Deciding to reject the company’s position, the forum decided that the complaint could still be upheld even if the automobile was bought in the company’s name because complainant’s made the purchase for his personal use.

Representing the complainant, advocate Krishna Ravindran submitted the complaint on behalf of Devaryan. And the decision of the fine was given was Tiruvarur district consumer forum comprising president S J Chakkkravarthy, members N Lakshmanan and C Packilakshmi.

This is not the first case that has been filed against Volkswagen India. Just a few days ago, a consumer disputes redressal court asked Škoda Auto Volkswagen India Private Limited to provide an owner of a Volkswagen car with Rs 20,000 for compensation for giving him poor-quality service. The court further ordered the company to also fix his car free of cost.