Flipkart, seller ordered to pay over ₹1.8 lakh after Mumbai customer got beard oil instead of iPhone
A consumer court has directed Flipkart and a seller to refund over ₹1.11 Lakh and ₹70,000 in legal fees after the customer received beard oil
A consumer court has directed Flipkart and a seller to refund over ₹1.11 Lakh and ₹70,000 in legal fees after the customer received beard oil instead of an iPhone, reported PTI on 24 July. The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Additional DCF, Mumbai, in an order passed earlier this month, said that repeated closure of the customer's complaints without offering any resolution or relief is an unfair trade practice. The customer ordered the phone through Flipkart and paid online. “Therefore, the opposite party No. 1 owed a corresponding duty to ensure that the customer received the product ordered and to provide an effective mechanism for redressal of consumer grievances,” said the Commission.
It added that the failure to investigate the complaint, recover the wrongly delivered parcel, provide a replacement or refund and close the complaints without granting any effective relief “amounts to a clear-cut deficiency in service and also constitutes an unfair trade practice. ” The panel emphasized that International Value Retail Pvt Ltd, the retailer, is at fault for not delivering the contracted product, and that failures to rectify grievances contribute to a failure of service. Overall, the Commission ruled that both the seller and the platform are jointly liable with respect to the complaint.
The complainant, a resident of Mumbai's Powai, purchased the iPhone 14 Pro on 22 April 2023 via Flipkart for ₹1,11,793 using a no-cost EMI scheme. A charger and case ordered separately were delivered, but the package that was supposed to contain the phone contained “beard growth oil”. The complainant alleged that they approached Flipkart support repeatedly, but the
company failed to resolve the issue, marking it as “resolved” without providing any refund or replacement. Consumer Court directs to pay over ₹ 1.8 lakh The consumer forum directed Flipkart and the seller to compensate the complainant with ₹1,11,793 at 9% per annum, an additional ₹50,000 for mental agony and harassment and ₹20,000 for litigation costs, within 45 days.
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