Service centre charges customer for repairing car under warranty, pulled up

Coimbatore: The district consumer disputes redressal commission has directed a car service centre to refund Rs1.31 lakh to a customer, along with compensation, for collecting repair charges while the vehicle was under an extended warranty.

According to an official source, R Saravanan, of RS Puram, purchased a car on July 31, 2018. The vehicle came with a comprehensive warranty for four years or one lakh kilometres, whichever was earlier. The warranty also promised 100% manufacturer coverage.

In April 2022, Saravanan raised a complaint at an authorized service centre at Sowripalayam regarding a gearbox shift issue that appeared on the car's maintenance screen. The vehicle was taken in for general servicing. However, it later came to light that the maintenance sensor was intentionally deactivated, and the issue was not addressed.

Saravanan took the car back to the service centre on May 9, 2022, but the problem persisted. It was eventually confirmed that the gearbox mechatronics had a defect and required servicing, the cost of which was pegged at Rs1.31 lakh. While the vehicle was under the warranty period, he was forced to pay the full amount for the repairs, the source said.

Following this, Saravanan lodged a complaint with the district consumer disputes redressal commission. In its ruling, commission president R Thangavel and members P Marimuthu and G Suguna directed the authorized car service centre to refund the Rs1.31 lakh paid for repairs, along with a compensation of Rs10,000 and another Rs5,000 towards the cost of legal proceedings.