Samsung penalised Rs 2,000 for faulty cell phone

An authorised service centre of consumer durables major Samsung Electronics has been held guilty by a district consumer forum.

A West Delhi-based authorised service centre of consumer durables major Samsung Electronics has been held guilty by a district consumer forum of rendering deficient services to one of its customers for its failure to repair his mobile phone in time.

While holding Rani Bagh-based Rahul Traders,an authorised Samsung service centre,guilty of negligence in serving its customers,the North West District consumer forum at Shalimar Bagh has ordered it to pay Rs 2,000 to East Delhi resident B P Rathore,who had given his mobile handset for repair.

“We are of the opinion that the service centre should have returned the repaired handset on the date given and if for some reason it was not possible,then on the next date given by it”,a bench headed by forum’s President Babu Lal said.

“However,in the present case only after filing of the complaint and after many visits by the complainant,the repaired handset was returned by the service centre,which in our opinion,amounts to deficiency on its part and also reflects their negligent services,” said the bench,which also included forum’s members S Shankar and S C Jain.

The district forum passed the order on a complaint filed by Rathore seeking compensation from the service centre’s owner for causing physical and mental harassment by delaying the repair of his handset.

Rathore has contacted Rahul Traders,the authorised service centre for repairing his handset,Samsung SGH-E840 on March 6,2009 and was asked to collect the handset on March 9,2009.

But when Rathore visited the shop to collect his phone on the date of delivery,he was asked to come after 2 or 3 days.

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But on his next visit,the centre told him that his handset was yet to be repaired and asked him to come back a few days later.

As the service centre refused to return his handset despite his repeated visits,Rathore approached the consumer forum accusing it of rendering deficient services and seeking compensation for it.

Curiously,the service centre repaired his mobile phone soon after he moved the forum and returned it to him.