Litigation prevails in favor of student.
By Dileep Thekkethil
It was one of those lucky days for a B. Tech. student when he ordered a brand new iPhone 5S Gold for less than a dollar after seeing it listed in the Indian e-commerce website Snapdeal. But it took the company two long years to acknowledge the order, that too after the intervention of the court.
The incident leading to the Punjab University student Nikhil Bansal owning an iPhone 5S happened two years back when he stumbled upon a big bonanza offer for an iPhone 5S 16GB (Gold) in Snapdeal, which was back then listed for Rs. 68 ($1).
Within a few seconds, Bansal completed the payment and waited for the e-commerce giant to deliver their commitment.
Snapdeal, which was reluctant to honor the order, didn’t even respond to the frequent emails sent by Bansal regarding the order he placed. This prompted him to approach the State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission against the Delhi-based Indian online major.
The Consumer forum ruled in favor of Bansal and ordered Snapdeal to honor the order placed by the complainant – an iPhone 5s 16GB (Gold) for Rs. 68. The court had back then observed that the case is an example of “clear cut case of deficiency in service.”
Adding to the humiliation came another directive of the court to hand over Bansal an amount of Rs. 2,000 which he had spent towards filing the petition.
Snapdeal appealed against the order of the consumer forum and decided to fight the case.
After a year, on February 12, 2016, a court dismissed the appeal filed by Snapdeal against the order of the Consumer forum.
According to Trak.in, the court upheld the verdict of the forum and dismissed the case. Now Snapdeal has to pay a fine of Rs. 10,000 for having failed to deliver the product to Bansal.
Now, in all probabilities, Bansal should receive his iPhone 5S Gold and if Snapdeal fails to do so, it will be yet another major embarrassment for the company, which in the recent past was criticised for delivering Vim bar instead of a smartphone.
The court order is an eye-opener to all major e-commerce companies operating in India as it proves how important it is to deliver a promised order and also is a reminder to those making false promises just to grab the attention of customers.
1 Comment
please provide copy of order passed by Punjab state commission against snapdeal and in favor of bansal