Phone snag: Consumer gets refund, compensation

Thiruvananthapuram: The Palakkad Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission directed a mobile phone company, its seller and service centre to replace the cost of a handset and pay an additional Rs 3000 to a consumer due to various unrectified snags.

As per the complaint filed by advocate VK Venugopalan of Olavakkode, he purchased a brand new Gionee P5L phone from Fone 4 communication, Palakkad in July 2016 after paying Rs 7650.

The complainant noticed a sparking sound from the receiver. A week after the purchase, he approached the seller with the handset. He was told there was a defect in the software and the seller returned the phone after updating it. In two days, the phone developed the very same defect, only it was worse.

The seller advised him to approach the authorised service centre, Znex telecom. The technicians there returned it after service but the defect persisted.  It was serviced again but the defect did not go away. Finally, the antenna of the device was replaced.

However, now the battery started to drain in four hours, and the phone started to get over heated and unsafe to use. In September, the service centre finally said that the phone had an inherent fault that could not be corrected. The customer approached the Consumer forum but the seller of the phone and the manufacturer who was the second party did not turn up for the hearing. 

The consumer forum ordered refund of the phone’s price, Rs 2000 as compensation and Rs 1,000 as cost from the opposite parties.