The Bengaluru Urban District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has fined Flipkart for failing to deliver the order of a cell phone despite the buyer completing the payment.
Background
The payment was paid in advance.
Divyashree. J., a resident of Rajajinagar in Bengaluru, had filed a complaint against the site that she had booked a Rs 12,499 mobile phone from the platform on January 15, 2022, which was supposed to be delivered the next day.
She accused the company of receiving full payment but not delivering the product.
Despite the court serving notice to the site, Flipkart did not send its representative to the commission.
Accusations
The order from the Bengaluru Consumer Court stated that Flipkart has not only shown ‘total negligence’ of service but followed unethical practices as well.
It has ruled in favor of the customer, who the court said has suffered financial loss and ‘mental trauma’ due to the incident.
She had payment in installments even before actually receiving her order.
The court order also stated that she had contacted customer care many times.
Monetary punishment
Flipkart has been ordered to pay Rs 12,499- which the phone cost along- with yearly interest of 12 per cent.
On top of that they have to pay at Rs 20,000 fine, and Rs 10,000 for legal expenditure.
Word(s) of advice
Future customers of the company should note the following before placing an order:
- Such platforms have various resellers listed, hence it is better to check their details before placing an order, even more so if it’s an expensive one
- Aside from ratings, do go through the reviews left by legitimate customers
- It’s more advisable to choose cash on delivery for costly orders
- There have been multiple incidents where a customer received bars of soap instead of the cell phone they ordered
- To avoid this scenario, some platforms like Flipkart offer open-box delivery which lets you open the box and check the product when its delivered
