Chandigarh: Defect in new bike not repaired, dealer directed to refund price

Ramkrishan Upadhyay

Chandigarh, June 17

The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Chandigarh, has directed an auto manufacturing company to refund Rs 1,49,000, the price of a motorcycle, along with interest at the rate of 9% per annum, to a city resident for failing to rectify the defect noticed soon after its purchase.

In a complaint filed before the commission, Rajinder Kaur stated that she had purchased a bike, Benelli Keeway SR 250, from Atharva Autospace, Chandigarh, on July 10 last year for Rs 1,49,000. The bike was manufactured/ imported by Adishwar Auto Ride India Private Limited, Hyderabad, and carried a warranty of two years. After a few days of its purchase, she and her son were going to Ropar on the bike, a plastic carry bag touched its silencer and got burnt. She stopped the bike and found the silencer had turned red hot. She took the bike to the dealer and its first free service was done there. The dealer assured her that the problem would not repeat, but did not issue a job card for it.

Later, when she and her husband were riding the bike in Sector 19 in the city, its silencer turned red hot again, forcing them to visit the dealer, who examined the mororcycle and prepared a technical diagnostic report. The report stated that the bike was overheating and the silencer was turning red hot at the speed of 40 kmph and that the problem could not be solved.

The bike was retained by the dealer for repairs and the matter was informed to the manufacturing company. After one month, the dealer informed her that the spare part required for the bike was not available and it cannot be repaired. Left with no option, she had to take the bike back from the dealer and it was lying unused at her residence since September 11. It was not used out of the fear that it might catch fire. She pleaded that the bike had an inherent defect, which the opposite party could not repair.

The manufacturer claimed that the present complaint was not maintainable. It claimed that at the time of the first free service, no complaint was made about the silencer getting hot. The matter was sorted out by the experts and the complainant had signed a satisfactory note.

After hearing of the arguments, the commission stated that despite defects, the OPs neither repaired the motorcycle nor refunded the price of it to the complainant. Not only that a defective product was sold, but there was a deficiency in providing after-sale service.

In view of this, the company was directed to refund the cost of the bike and pay interest from the date of the order till the date of its actual realisation.