After fighting for over five years against e-commerce major Amazon’s “we don’t care” attitude, a Kochi man has won compensation for a faulty LED TV which he purchased from Amazon during a discount sale.
Aneesh T U of Kochi won the case against Amazon, which did not even bother to respond to the notices sent by the Ernakulam District Consumer Redressal Commission. Though Aneesh approached the Commission with a complaint in 2018, it took nearly five years for him to win a favourable verdict after convincing the commission that Amazon had indulged in unfair trade practices, violating the rights of the consumer.
According to the case details submitted by Aneesh, on August 30, 2018, he placed an order for a Panasonic 147 cm Full HD LED TV with Amazon seller Cloudtail India Private Limited and paid Rs. 49,990. However, the TV delivered to him had internal technical issues and didn’t work properly upon installation. Though he repeatedly contacted Amazon’s customer care seeking either a repair or a refund, there was no response.
The Commission, led by its president D B Binu and members V Ramachandran and Sreevidhia T N, observed that the conscious failure of Amazon and Cloudtail to file their written version, despite having received the Commission’s notice to that effect, amounts to an admission of the allegations levelled against them.
“We have no reason to disbelieve the words of the complainant as against the opposite parties,” the Commission said, adding that the failure of Amazon and Cloudtail to replace the defective television or refund the payment constitutes a deficiency in service and an unfair trade practice under the Consumer Protection Act, 1986.
“Their failure to file a written version or appear before the Commission indicates their negligence and deficiency in service. The Consumer Protection Act mandates that sellers and service providers maintain the quality of their products and services. The persistent absence of the Opposite Parties further strengthens the Complainant’s case,” the Commission said, directing Amazon and Cloudtail to either replace the defective television with a new defect-free TV or refund the amount of Rs 49,990.
They also ordered Amazon and Cloudtail to pay Rs 15,000 to the complainant as compensation for the mental agony and physical hardships endured and Rs 10,000 towards the cost of the proceedings.
