The Mohali consumer commission has awarded ₹5,000 compensation to a Sector 71 resident after finding e-commerce website Flipkart deficient in service for failing to honour its assurance to compensate him for the increased price of an HP laptop he purchased after an earlier order was cancelled.
The commission partly allowed a complaint filed by Mrinal Sethi and directed Flipkart Private Limited to pay ₹5,000 as compensation for mental agony, harassment and litigation expenses. It dismissed the complaint against the seller, Indospirit Private Limited, and laptop manufacturer HP Computing and Printing Systems India Private Limited.
Sethi had initially ordered an HP 15s Core i3 11th Generation laptop along with a waterproof bag through Flipkart on September 16, 2021, for a total of ₹2,241, out of which ₹1,900 was for the laptop and the rest for the bag.
However, the platform later cancelled the order. While it initially told him that the product was out of stock, subsequent communication showed that the laptop had been listed at an incorrect price.
Flipkart then told Sethi through an email that he could place a fresh order within seven days and that if the price had increased, the difference would be provided through a gift card after delivery.
{{/usCountry}}Flipkart then told Sethi through an email that he could place a fresh order within seven days and that if the price had increased, the difference would be provided through a gift card after delivery.
{{/usCountry}}Relying on this assurance, Sethi placed a fresh order for the same laptop for about ₹45,540 and received the product. However, Flipkart did not provide the promised price difference. Sethi repeatedly contacted the company and submitted screenshots, order details and bank particulars before serving a legal notice demanding ₹43,614, besides interest and compensation.
The commission rejected Sethi’s claim to the entire price difference, holding that the original ₹1,900 laptop listing was clearly erroneous and that Flipkart had refunded the amount paid for the cancelled order.
However, the commission held that Flipkart remained responsible for its subsequent assurance. It observed that the company’s defence of being a mere intermediary did not absolve it of responsibility for its own specific representation that the price difference would be provided through a gift card.
The commission found a limited deficiency in service against Flipkart for failing to honour that assurance. It also noted that Sethi received an erroneous communication regarding the delivery of a Redmi Note 5 Pro mobile phone, which he had never ordered.
The commission, comprising president S K Aggarwal and member Paramjeet Kaur, therefore directed Flipkart to pay ₹5,000 to Sethi as lump-sum compensation for mental agony, harassment and litigation expenses. It dismissed the complaint against the seller and HP without imposing costs.