Hyderabad: Complaints relating to high-end mobile phone manufacturing and service defects are flooding the consumer fora in both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
Defective components of smart phones of various brands and deficiency of service by the service centres are citied as the main causes for “mental agony” claims made by consumers. Many are awarded compensations after due consideration of the cases.
The number of such litigations closely follows those of real estate, insurance and automobile-related complaints. At least 25 to 30 cases each are filed in the two states, every month, against mobile phone makers, sellers and dealers. Relief has been granted in several cases.
Display defects, quick draining away of battery charge, service not being done properly and lack of insurance against theft are among the most-cited complaints. In one instance, a complaint had been filed by V. Jyothi, wife of M. Siva Prakash, a resident of Rajaji Street in Ananthapur, regarding non-payment of insurance by insurance company and dealer, in a case of theft of her phone. The district consumer disputes redressal forum of Anantapur ordered a payment to her of Rs 10,200 towards “deficiency of service.”
In another case, on November 23, the district consumer disputes redressal forum II of Vijayawada asked a mobile dealer to rectify the defect in the smart phone, if not replace it at free of cost. U.Rajasekhar, a trader of Kondapalli, lodged a complaint against SRR E-City of Museum Road in Vijayawada stating that within two days after purchase, his phone set was not working properly.
The forum ordered, “The complaint is allowed in part. If the defects are not rectified,replace the same with a new one. Deliver the same and pay a sum of Rs 1,000 as costs to the complainant."
In another case, one G.Santosh Kumar of the Defence Colony at Sainikpuri in Hyderabad lodged a complaint with Ranga Reddy consumer forum saying that he purchased a set costing Rs 4,750 from a dealer in cybertower of Hitech City and within 15 days the phone had a display failure. He demanded of the dealer and maker a Rs 1 lakh compensation towards mental agony. The forum, partly allowing the plea, directed the dealer to repay Rs 4,750 to the complainant and also pay a cost of Rs 1,000 to him.
In another case, Krishna district consumer forum granted relief towards mental agony and cost to K. Jaya Bhagyaraj of Machilipatnam who complained that a dual sim card phone didn’t work properly. A. Santosh Kumar, advocate at Hyderabad HC, said, “The prices of the phones are high, and it is natural people seek compensation.”
