iPhone at Rs 68! Forum fines Snapdeal, orders to honour deal

The State Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission has fined online shopping website Snapdeal Rs 10,000 for refusing to deliver an Apple iPhone 5S 16 GB (gold) for Rs 68 as it had appeared on its portal last February and had been ordered by a local resident, Nikhil Bansal, a BTech Student at Punjabi University. In its order dated February 12, the court has dismissed the company’s argument that there had been a ‘technical hitch’. The forum has also ordered that the phone be delivered at the same price it was ordered (Rs 68) to Bansal.

The State Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission has fined online shopping website Snapdeal Rs 10,000 for refusing to deliver an Apple iPhone 5S 16 GB (gold) for Rs 68 as it had appeared on its portal last February and had been ordered by a local resident, Nikhil Bansal, a BTech Student at Punjabi University. In its order dated February 12, the court has dismissed the company’s argument that there had been a ‘technical hitch’. The forum has also ordered that the phone be delivered at the same price it was ordered (Rs 68) to Bansal.

Bansal said he had approached the district consumer forum, Sangrur, after the company refused to respond to his repeated mails to honour the deal. Finally, on March 26, 2015, district consumer forum, Sangrur, ordered Snapdeal to provide the complainant with the Apple iPhone at the rate at it was ordered (Rs 68) and also pay a consolidated amount of compensation and litigation expenses of Rs 2,000 to the complainant.

The company appealed against the order before the state consumer forum. Here too, the company’s complaint was dismissed and it was ordered to pay Rs 10,000 as fine to be deposited in the consumer welfare fund for failing to deliver the product.