New Delhi. In a case of failure to repair a woman’s mobile phone about nine years ago in Assam, a consumer court here has directed Sony Mobile Communication and its two sales and service centers to pay more than Rs 50,000 to the victim. In an order on July 26, the Kamrup District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission directed Sony Mobile Communication, its retail shop ‘Sony Center’ located at Christian Basti and Sony Service Center located at Rajgarh Main Road to pay compensation within 45 days.
The commission directed the three parties to pay a sum of Rs 40,000 along with 10 per cent interest to the complainant Neena Bairagi for “physical harassment and mental agony” from the date of filing the case. In addition, they will have to pay a sum of Rs 10,000 to the complainant as cost of proceedings, the order said.
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The commission has also mentioned in the decision that if the company and other units do not pay the compensation amount within 45 days, then they will have to pay 12 percent interest on it till the recovery of the amount. After a long hearing and proceedings since the case was registered in 2016, the commission held Sony Mobile guilty of deficiency in service and directed to pay compensation as well as repair the mobile handset within 45 days.
Bairagi purchased a Sony mobile handset from Sony Centre on August 10, 2015 by paying Rs 52,990. After a month, the phone fell from his hand and stopped working. The complainant then contacted the Sony service centre but the service engineer told him that the said model cannot be repaired at the moment and the only option is to buy a new model at a cost of Rs 25,000.
Bairagi also contacted the service head of Sony Mobile’s New Delhi headquarters several times through email, but despite the assurance of redressal of the complaint within 48 hours, it was not done. After this, he filed a complaint in the Consumer Legal Protection Forum of Assam. On the basis of that complaint, the forum registered a case in the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission of Kamrup.
FIRST PUBLISHED : August 1, 2024, 22:02 IST