Ludhiana: The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has ordered an electrical equipment manufacturer and its service centre to pay ₹7,000 to a customer for breaching warranty terms on a ₹1,059 steam iron.The commission directed the company to pay complainant Kunal Kumar ₹5,000 as compensation for harassment and mental agony, alongside ₹2,000 in litigation expenses. The amount must be paid within 30 days, failing which the firm faces a daily penalty of ₹200 until actual payment.According to the complaint, Kumar purchased the steam iron on July 6, 2021, backed by a two-year warranty. When the appliance developed a fault on January 28, 2023, he logged multiple complaints with customer support across January, February, and March.A technician eventually inspected the appliance on March 8, 2023, and took it to the service centre. However, staff later claimed the model was discontinued and demanded ₹650 to repair it, refusing in-warranty service. Facing an emergency, Kumar bought a replacement iron online for ₹799 and subsequently filed a complaint seeking compensation and repair.In its defence, the company claimed it replaced the steam iron on April 23, 2023, as a goodwill gesture after receiving commission summons, but stated the customer refused to sign a satisfaction letter while demanding high compensation.The consumer panel rejected the defence, ruling that replacing the product three months after the initial complaint did not excuse the initial breach of warranty.“The replacement of the product after a period of about three months cannot be construed as a mitigating circumstance in favour of the opposite parties. Breach of warranty conditions amounts to deficiency in service which entitles the complainant to claim compensation and litigation expenses,” the commission observed.
