[NetfreakBombay]

Merc dealer sold a car that was:

1. Used for Demo
2. Involved in an accident

in 1998. Customer fought his way up in consumer courts. It reached apex forum, where it was ruled that Merc and its Dealer be fined for 2 lakhs.

Any false representation of rebuilt, second-hand, renovated, reconditioned or old goods as new goods, for the purposes of promoting sale thereof, amounts to an unfair trade practice and the victim deserves to be compensated," the NCDRC bench of Justice R K Batta and member Vinay Kumar said while ordering compensation.

The NCDRC gave its ruling on a complaint by a private firm executive, Mukund Reddy, who purchased a Mercedes Benz car of E 250 D model from its dealer Trans Cars India Ltd , Chennai in 1998

Rs 2 lakh imposed on Merc India for selling used car - The Economic Times

[San Phrangmung]

The fellow fought for twelve years and the court offers a 2k compensetion! What he deserves is a brand new top end Merc.

[Recompose]

The good news is the judgement, hope it can be set as a precedent.

The bad news is still the judgement. 2 lakh compensation after 12 years is peanuts adjusted to inflation. 2 lakhs is hardly 5% of the cost of the E Class. And this coming from the Apex Court. The state of the judiciary in India...

[Arkin evoisrevo]

This reflects the ridiculous state of the judiciary and governance of our country. Rs 2 lakh compensation after 12 years is ridiculous. Our judges don't seem to have a pinch of common sense in their judgement skills. Even a 10 year old kid can say that MBIL should be made to compensate the company with a new E-class. IMO, to make up for all the inconvenience, MBIL is liable to give the company S-class/ kind of money.

[W.A.G.7]

Only 2L compensation for cheating a customer and selling a vehicle that has done 1.85L kms? That's ridiculous. They must give him an entirely brand new Merc plus the 2L for the time he spent in chasing the case.

On a lighter vein, the person hadn't read about T-bhp checklist, or else he would have known the car already has a whopping 1.85L on the odo

[swiftnfurious]

Blame our judiciary ! No wonder why people lose faith in this system. After 12 years, 2 lakhs is what he gets! Imagine how much money he would have spent in carrying out the case this far.

Along with the fine of 2 lakhs, Mercedes should have been banned for 6 months / 1 year from selling their cars in India - this would ensure these guys treat the customers fair at any point of time.

[nfsfreak]

May be Judges thgt that a Merc costs cheaper than Alto
Mr.Mukund Reddy must've spent more than 2L just for running this case for 12 years.

[simplythebest]

And MB have fought the case that since the car was bought in his company's name, it is for commercial purpose, and therefore can't claim under the consumer protection laws!

The court should have asked MB to furnish records of all their cars sold in India to companies and private people.
I'm pretty sure the majority will be by companies for their owners/executives.

Dirty.

[Alter_Ego]

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

Mercedes should have been banned for 6 months / 1 year from selling their cars in India - this would ensure these guys treat the customers fair at any point of time.

Well said.Until and unless we have strict punishments no one will ever learn a lesson.

The compensation of 2Lacs would have been good if it had come in 1998 itself.After 12 years its a pity. Can't be even called as a "bheek".

[akj53]

Our judicial system always favours the culprit or a very light punishment is given, that's why unfair trade practices abound. The situation is reverse in many other countries with the result of hardly any such incidents.

Rubbish judgement. What is 2 lacs to MBIL and it's dealer. Has MBIL sacked that dealer Trans Cars India Ltd , Chennai???

[ph03n!x]

Originally Posted by San Phrangmung

The fellow fought for twelve years and the court offers a 2k compensetion! What he deserves is a brand new top end Merc.

Originally Posted by W.A.G.7

Only 2L compensation for cheating a customer and selling a vehicle that has done 1.85L kms? That's ridiculous. They must give him an entirely brand new Merc plus the 2L for the time he spent in chasing the case.

On a lighter vein, the person hadn't read about T-bhp checklist, or else he would have known the car already has a whopping 1.85L on the odo

The judge refused to give a replacement for the car because the owner used the car for 1.85 Lakh KM - at least that is what the article states. Moreover, we do not know the terms of purchase - it was purchased on a company's name, was it purchased with a good discount? We know that the dealership / MB controlled the damage with the complete repaint and replacement.

That said, a Rs. 2 Lakh compensation is a joke. A joke on someone who fought without giving up for 12 years. I hope Hareesh vs. Skoda does not go this way - difference being Hareesh's Skoda is unused.

Originally Posted by akj53

Our judicial system always favours the culprit or a very light punishment is given, that's why unfair trade practices abound. The situation is reverse in many other countries with the result of hardly any such incidents.

Rubbish judgement. What is 2 lacs to MBIL and it's dealer. Has MBIL sacked that dealer Trans Cars India Ltd , Chennai???

I agree - the punishments doled out by our honorable (?) courts do not act as a deterrent for malpractice at all. It in fact gives a hope for wrong doers - that they can get away with whatever with a minimal punishment.

And no, the dealer is pretty much there and how.

[mallumowgli]

Totally ridiculous. What is 2L for a ML dealer? A minuscule percentage take legal course and this is what they end up with. Our consumers laws are a joke. If the customer wanted a E class that had run 1.85L he could have bought it at 1/4th of the price. A hopeless situation for us, the population

[Fornax]

Looking at the case, as presented in the article, the compensation given is fair and appropriate. The company/dealer has made up for the defects by repairing & replacing where required. The 2-lakh comp is likely towards the fact that a similiarly aged/condition vehicle would have been 1/2-lakh cheaper, thus the complainant has been wrongly over-charged. Law does account for inflation, but tell me how much does an 4-lakh OTR 2004 Indica DLS cost in 2011? Apart from inflation the volume growth has ensured stability of unit prices in cars.

Also, given that the vehicle was company owned, the depreciation (read tax benefit) would have given the owner another 3-4 lakhs in tax-savings.

[ph03n!x]

Originally Posted by mallumowgli

Totally ridiculous. What is 2L for a ML dealer? A minuscule percentage take legal course and this is what they end up with. Our consumers laws are a joke. If the customer wanted a E class that had run 1.85L he could have bought it at 1/4th of the price. A hopeless situation for us, the population

Again, the car was not 1,85,000 KM on the clock when it was bought. The complainant, Mr. Mukund Reddy, has apparently used it for 1,85,000 KM, in spite of the car's defects / shortcomings - which shows that the car was not a lemon. At least that is what I infer from the quoted article...

[NetfreakBombay]

One benefit of this ruling is "precedent". If a similar case comes up in consumer courts, this case can be cited and hopefully that will help consumers.