Tyre trouble: Consumer Forum orders replacement

Chauhan,a resident of Sector 27,complained to the Forum that in April 2011,he bought four tyres of a reputed company from the showroom,priced at Rs 3,100 each. Within two days,he found leakage in one of the tyres,which eventually got flat. Chauhan went to the showroom,and was suggested to get the tyre repaired by affixing the puncture liquid to stop the leakage. He refused and insisted that the tyre be replaced with a new one.

Later,the store owner told him that the company had agreed to replace the tyre,but he would have to pay 50 per cent of the price of the new tyre. The complainant took up the case with the company and insisted that this was an unfair trade practice. When his complaint was not heeded,he knocked on the doors of the Forum.

In his reply,the store owner stated that the damage on the tyre was not a manufacturing defect,but was a ‘pinch shock rupture’ caused by a ‘road hazard’. This,he said,happens when the vehicle accidentally runs over a pot-hole or a kerb giving a severe shock to the tyre’s tread area. The shop owner said that in such a situation,“the sidewall of the tyre gets over-flexed beyond its limit,and pinched between the rim and the road surface”. On this ground,the showroom rejected Chauhan’s demand for a new tyre.

After considering the case,the Forum observed that the damage was caused to the new tyre on the very next day of its purchase. The Forum said that this was sufficient to prove that the tyre had a manufacturing defect,and directed the company to replace the tyre with a new one.