Pakistani buyers can claim refund against faulty Samsung Galaxy Note 7 sets, says lawyer

Courts in Pakistan mostly give ruling in such cases in favour of consumers

KARACHI: The owners of Galaxy Note 7, who have sale invoices of the smartphone, could knock the doors of consumer courts in Pakistan in a bid to claim refund for the defective gadgets, advises a corporate lawyer.

“There are laws which protect the consumers from defective products; such cases are heard regularly in Pakistan courts and most of them end up in favour of the consumers,” said lawyer Shehryar Kasuri.





“If a seller is involved in the smuggling of goods, the consumer court may refer the case to the Customs.”

However, he said if the consumer had no proof of buying the defective device from the market, the court would not be able to do anything for him. “The court might perceive such people as smugglers,” he said.

For the past couple of years, people in Pakistan have been aggressively switching to advanced mobile internet networks - 3G/4G. To get the high-speed internet services, they must buy a compatible handset. On an average, one million cellphone users are opting for the 3G/4G network every month. According to latest numbers compiled by the telecom regulator, the users of advanced mobile internet surged to 32.69 million by July 2016.



Not only mobile phones are smuggled into the country, but many goods available in markets come through grey channels. These include auto parts, tyres, tiles, steel, edible commodities and others.



The smuggled goods snatch the right from consumers to sue against damages caused by such products.



Samsung Electronics has started replacing Galaxy Note 7 with other devices in South Korea from September 19 and in the US from September 21. It will resume selling new Galaxy Note 7 to Korean customers from September 28.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 26^th, 2016.

Like Business on Facebook, follow @TribuneBiz on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.