Flipkart to pay Rs 15,000 for faulty mobile charger

A district consumer forum here has directed an online commerce company to pay 15,000 as compensation to a customer for selling him a faulty mobile charger that damaged his phone.
The petitioner, Dr Ahmed AQ Irfani, purchased a battery charger via Flipkart in January 2016 for 259. When Irfani plugged the charger into the power socket and connected the cable to his mobile phone, in less than 10 minutes, the wires in the phone burnt rendering the device useless.
“When I complained to Flipkart, they offered to replace the faulty charger, but declined to compensate for the damage caused to my phone. They suggested that the device could have been damaged because of the surge in power,” said Irfani before the forum adding that it was clearly mentioned on the charger that it’s capable of withstanding power fluctuations ranging between 100 volts and 240 volts.
Alleging deficiency of service by Flipkart, Irfani filed a petition seeking refund and compensation.
Flipkart, meanwhile, contented that they are an online website acting as an intermediary between various buyers and sellers facilitating sale and purchase of various products and in no way has it any control over the quality of products.
They further contended that the mobile phone was damaged due to short circuit triggered by excessive current flow in the power source and, therefore, it’s evident that there was no defect in the charger.
“Flipkart cannot shirk their liability on the grounds that they did not charge any consideration from the complainant. The complainant purchased the product through Flipkart and therefore there exists a relationship of a consumer and the service provider between the two,” said the bench. “When the battery charger had a wide range of 110 volts to 240 volts, it is not probable that the power surge would have damaged the mobile phone. In such facts and circumstances of the case, the complainant is entitled not only for the refund of the amount paid for the charger but to a reasonable compensation.”