Nokia India to pay Rs. 67,000 for selling defective phone

The South-II District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum held Nokia India guilty of indulging in unfair trade practice, following a complaint by Delhi resident Rohan Arora. Nokia India has now been directed by the forum to pay Arora a sum of Rs.67,000 for allegedly not only selling Arora a defective phone, but also failing to either repair the device or refund the cost.

Delhi resident Rohan Arora purchased a Nokia E 90 Communicator in July 2007 for Rs.37,000. Arora complained that the phone had poor incoming and outgoing audio right from the beginning. Reports reveal that not only was a defective phone sold to Arora, the company even failed to repair it or refund its price, since September 2007 - the first time the phone was taken for repairs by Arora. Along with Nokia India, the forum has also held retailer Luthra Communications guilty of indulging in unfair trade practice.

To cough up Rs.67,000

Reports quoted the bench presided by M C Mehra, as saying, "When the complainant (Rohan Arora) left the defective piece of good to its manufacturer, it was incumbent upon it either to remove its defect to satisfaction of the complainant or to refund its (mobile's) amount with interest. But opposite party 1 did not bother to resolve such genuine request of the complainant.Hence we hold both the opposite parties (Nokia and the retailer) guilty for gross deficiency in service and unfair trade practice and direct them to jointly and severally refund the amount of the handset amounting to Rs 37,000 and to further pay a compensation of Rs 25,000 for supplying a defective good and thereafter not replacing the same or to remove its defect to his satisfaction. They shall also pay a sum of Rs 5,000 qua the cost of the proceedings."

Reports add further that Arora had returned the phone to Nokia in 2007 to either have it repaired or replaced. He, however, claims that the defective handset was replaced with an old instrument riddled with the same problem. Arora added that Nokia India refused to refund the cost of the device. The case against the company moved ahead ex-parte, since it appeared only once before the forum.

Reports recently suggested that Airtel had been asked by a consumer forum to pay a sum of Rs.6,000 to one of its subscribers for having failed to activate her SIM card, despite charging her for it. In her affidavit that she submitted to the East District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum, complainant Asha Sharma stated that she paid Rs. 1,000 to Airtel to avail of the operator's services. Airtel, however, as per the affidavit, did not activate Sharma's mobile connection despite repeated requests.

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