Chandigarh: Firm fined for selling used car with altered odometer
District consumer commission fines seller ₹25,000 for tampering with used vehicle’s odometer to reduce the kilometres run
(Strap) Consumer panel takes note of alteration in vehicle’s odometer
The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission 1 has awarded ₹25,000 as compensation to a Chandigarh man who purchased a used vehicle through an online platform and later found that it had a tampered odometer.
Abhishek Mishra of Sector 22 complained that he came across an advertisement on OLX, an e-marketplace, by Real Value Motor, Agra, on April 17, 2022 regarding the availability of a used TATA Tiago 2017 diesel model for sale. He mentioned that the advertisement claimed it was fully inspected, non-accidental and certified used car with up to 1 year warranty with 48,000 km running in excellent condition.
He purchased the car for ₹3.47 lakh on September 9, 2022 after getting a loan. According to the complainant, while being taken back from Agra, the vehicle broke down on September 13 due to the engine overheating. It was taken to a repair shop in Zirakpur where, upon close inspection, several issues surfaced, such as chassis rusting, door latch problems, shocker breakage, radiator problems, ineffective AC cooling, main glass breakage and others. The complainant took the vehicle to Berkeley Tata Motors service centre in Zirakpur on May 25, 2023 for repair, who provided him the service history of the vehicle, showing that the vehicle was also involved in an accident and had driven around 91,204 km in 2020.
The complainant mentioned the service centre also disclosed that the car had not been brought for service since 2020 and was being handled by unauthorised garages which caused damage to its engine and other parts. The service centre also informed that the odometer had been altered and the car had actually run more than 1.08 lakh km. The complaint was filed last year.
The opposite parties, in their reply, stated that the odometer was never tampered with by them. The defendants added that the issue was raised by the complainant around eight months after receiving the vehicle. They alleged that the odometer tampering had been done by the complainant to harass them.
The commission observed that the report of the authorised service centre clearly shows that the vehicle had run 91,204 km up to June 23, 2020 and also that it was an accidental vehicle. But the advertisement showed that it had run only 48,000 km.
“We are of the considered view that by showing the vehicle having run 48,000 km instead of giving the true running of vehicle as 91,204 km before the sale of vehicle, the opposite paties are deficient in providing service and have indulged in unfair trade practice,” the commission observed while directing the Real Value Motor to pay a lumpsum compensation amount of ₹25,000 to the complainant for causing mental agony and harassment.