The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) has ordered Hyundai Motors India to pay Rs. 15 lakh as compensation to a customer who was sold a Hyundai Verna sedan with a faulty engine. This is an old case, and the commission passed this judgment after the manufacturer failed to resolve the issue that the customer faced with the car.
The car in question here is a Hyundai Verna, which the owner, Sukhjinder Singh, purchased on 17 August 2011 for Rs. 9.44 lakh. However, after completing around 1,790 km on the odometer, the customer faced issues with the car as it broke down. The customer had bought the car with an extended warranty. He took the car to the Hyundai service center several times, but the issue was not resolved.
He took the car to the service center six times between May 2012 and August 2013. When the customer saw that his issue was not getting resolved, he decided to take legal action against the dealer and manufacturer. Despite sending legal notices, the customer did not receive any response from the manufacturer and dealer, which forced him to take things to the District Consumer Forum.
Hyundai Motors India claimed that the car sold to the customer was in perfect condition and that there were no defects noticed with the car during the free service. They even argued that the car was serviced to the complainant’s satisfaction every time it was brought to the service center. During the service center visits, the service advisor had mentioned the engine overheating issue on the job cards several times. Even after this, the service center failed to work on this issue.
After looking at the facts, the District Consumer Forum passed an order in 2016 asking Hyundai to replace the engine of the Hyundai Verna and hand over the car to the customer. If that is not possible due to any reason, the manufacturer should refund the full cost of the car to the customer with a simple interest of 8 percent per annum. The district forum also asked Hyundai to pay Rs. 10,000 as compensation and Rs. 10,000 as litigation costs to the customer, including the advocate’s fee.
Hyundai then filed an appeal against this order with the Haryana State Consumer Commission. The commission also went through the evidence and found that the car sold to the customer had a defective engine. In 2017, the Haryana State Consumer Commission passed an order that said, “It is abundantly clear that the car sold to the complainant was defective, and the defect could not be rectified.”
Hyundai then filed another appeal with NCDRC against the order of the Haryana State Consumer Commission. In 2023, Hyundai’s appeal was dismissed by NCDRC, and the following order was passed:
“The opposite parties (Hyundai Motors India and its dealer) shall replace the engine of the car within 30 days, and thereafter two engineers of the Opposite Parties would certify the replacement of the engine and vehicle to be fit and free from any defect.
The statutory amount of Rs. 10,000/- deposited at the time of filing the appeal be refunded to the complainant against proper receipt and identification in accordance with rules, after the expiry of the period of appeal/revision, if any.”
Hyundai even filed a revised petition with NCDRC, and finally, the commission decided to pass a judgment in favor of the customer. The court has now asked the manufacturer not to replace the engine but to refund the complete cost of the car with interest to the customer within 30 days.
NCDRC said, “In the present case, the car was purchased on 17.08.2011. As of date, over 13 years in its usable life have already lapsed. Even if the engine is replaced today, its utilization is for a very limited time, and the Complainant will not be able to benefit from the investment he made. This situation emerged due to non-compliance of the order of the District forum by Hyundai Motor India LTD on 17.06.2016 to replace the engine of the car.”
If Hyundai decides to pay the compensation, they will have to pay Rs. 9.44 lakh and an additional Rs. 5.66 lakh as interest (calculated from 2014). This brings the total amount to Rs. 15,10,398. Other than this, the manufacturer also has to pay Rs. 10,000 for harassment and mental agony.
The post Consumer Court To Hyundai: Pay 15 Lakh Compensation To Verna Owner For Faulty Engine first appeared on Cartoq.
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