HITACHI FINED ₹25K FOR DEFECTIVE AC

HT Correspondent letterschd@hindustantimes.com

JALANDHAR: District consumer disputes redressal forum on Friday imposed ₹25, 000 fine on Hitachi Home and Life Solution (India) Limited, Gujarat, for selling a defected air-conditioner (split) and not rectifying the defect despite repeated visits by the complainant.

The forum also ordered the firm to refund the price of the AC ₹37,000 with 12% per annum interest from July 7, 2016, till realisation.

Ravinder Kumar, 58, of Nurmahal in Jalandhar approached the forum on June 14, 2017, claiming that the air-conditioner was bought from Nanra Gift Centre in Nurmahal in July 2016 but the AC started creating problems few days after its purchase.

He told the forum that water started to leak and the cooling system failed to work. He approached the company and its authorised dealers several times but they failed to address his grievances.

Kumar said the representative failed to turn up to his house to rectify the defect even though the product was in warranty period.

The representative of the company denied the allegations and pleaded that Nanra Gift Centre was not an authorised dealer of the company and the complainant got the AC installed from an unauthorised person and, hence, was not eligible for warranty.

Considering both sides, the forum observed that the defect that occurred in the AC was not rectifiable and, therefore, concluded that it was a manufacturing defect.