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Whenever you park your vehicle at an authorised parking lot, you are expected to pay a certain fee and the parking lot attendant gives you a slip or a receipt on which he notes down your vehicle registration number. It is only when you produce that slip are you allowed to drive your vehicle out of the parking lot. `A0In other words, besides providing parking space, the parking attendant promises to safeguard your vehicle while at the parking lot. For that service, you pay him a fee, which varies from place to place. Obviously, if that vehicle is damaged or stolen, then he has to take `A0responsibility for it. If he fails to do that, you can lodge a complaint with the consumer court. In Mahesh Enterprises vs Arun Kumar Gumber (RP No 250 of 1997, order dated November 15, 2000)), the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission directed Mahesh Enterprises to pay Rs 90,000 along with interest at the rate of 12 per cent calculated from August 5, 1993 till the date of payment to the consumer whose car was stolen from the parking lot. On August 5, 1993, Mr Gumber had gone to the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi to see off his brother. When he returned to the parking lot to collect his car, he found it missing. He lodged a police complaint, but the car could not be traced. Since there was no insurance cover for the car, Mr Gumber had filed a complaint before the consumer court.
What steps should one take if a vehicle parked in an authorised parking lot is stolen? Keep the parking receipt safe and get a letter from the parking lot attendant confirming the theft of the vehicle. Next, lodge a complaint with the police and make sure that the complaint is registered under IPC Section 379 (theft) and not Section 406 (criminal breach of trust), so that you do not have any problem with your insurance claim. Get a copy of the FIR. Inform the insurance company immediately and lodge a claim along with the relevant papers. If you have any problem with the insurance company, you can lodge a complaint before the Insurance Ombudsman or the consumer court.
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My car, parked at an
authorised parking lot, got stolen. Since I had only the mandatory
third party insurance, I have been asking the owner of the parking lot
to pay. He says that he is not liable and that the receipt given by
him clearly `A0says so. Is there any way I can get the parking lot
attendant to compensate me for the loss of the car?
Similarly, in M/S Hotel
Hyatt Regency vs Mr Atul Virmani (FA No 102 of 2004, decided on August
1, 2008) the National Commission held a five-star hotel liable for the
theft of a vehicle entrusted to its care and parked in the hotel’s
parking lot. Here. the hotel argued that the back of the docket
contained a disclaimer notice saying that the hotel was not
responsible for the safety of the vehicle parked there. Dismissing
this contention, the National Commission held that the disclaimer
notice, printed in tiny letters on the back of the docket, was not
binding on the consumer. On the other hand, when the hotel took the
keys from the consumer and handed over a docket, it took
responsibility for the safety of the car parked on its premises. The
Commission therefore directed the hotel to pay Rs 2 lakh along with
interest calculated at 10 per cent, to the consumer. These two
decisions, particularly the latter one, will help you in your case.