Hyderabad consumer commission directs Toyota to compensate and refund Rs. 50.57 lakh for undelivered vehicle, ruling in favor of aggrieved customer.
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Hyderabad: The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission-II in Hyderabad has ruled against automotive giant Toyota, directing the company to compensate a customer who never received the vehicle he booked. The court ordered Toyota to pay Rs. 5 lakh in compensation and refund the full vehicle cost of Rs. 45.57 lakh with interest.
The case involves Mr. Ramesh Mali, who, in January 2022, booked a Toyota Fortuner SUV at an authorized Toyota dealership located in Sanathnagar, Hyderabad. To finance the SUV, Mali took out a loan amounting to Rs. 45 lakh. Despite fulfilling his financial commitments, including a monthly EMI of Rs. 45,548, the vehicle was not delivered.
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The situation worsened when repeated reminders to the dealership yielded no results. Realizing the gravity of the situation, Mali sought legal recourse, filing a complaint against both the dealer and Toyota. In defense, Toyota requested the dismissal of the complaint, arguing that the retail outlet where Mali booked the SUV was no longer associated with them, as it had been closed abruptly leading to the termination of the dealership agreement.
However, the consumer court dismissed Toyota’s claim. The bench pointed out Toyota’s failure to implement any remedial measures to address the fraud, stating-
“Toyota neglected to implement any corrective actions regarding the fraud.”
The commission condemned both the dealer and the manufacturer for their roles in the debacle, highlighting a “deficiency in service and unfair trade practices.”
This verdict is part of a broader pattern of consumer grievances against automotive manufacturers. For instance, last year, a former Ducati employee was arrested after defrauding over 30 customers, failing to deliver vehicles and scamming around Rs. 5 crore in total.
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In another related incident, the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) ordered Hyundai Motors India to compensate a customer with Rs. 15 lakh for selling a Hyundai Verna sedan with a faulty engine. Moreover, in a judgment passed earlier this year concerning a 12-year-old case, NCDRC found Toyota Kirloskar Motors and an authorized dealer responsible for selling a defective car and directed them to pay Rs. 32.07 lakh or provide the customer with a Toyota Innova.
