Punjab

Store sued for Rs0.25m over Rs2,000 phone

Shop sued for allegedly selling defective phone worth less than Rs2000.

Express April 21, 2011

LAHORE:

A mobile phone shop has been sued for a quarter of a million rupees for allegedly selling a defective phone worth less than two thousand rupees.

A consumer court on Wednesday issued notice to Hina Enterprises for May 26 on a Rs242,950 suit filed by Rana Muhammad Amjad, a lights inspector for the city district government in Cantt.

Amjad says he bought a phone from the store in Arif Centre, Hall Road, for Rs1,950, but the phone stopped working two days later. He says he took the phone back to the shop and was told the phone would be repaired in two days, but when he returned with junior staff, the respondent insulted him and “passed harsh remarks”. The respondent then allegedly returned the mobile, claiming it had been repaired, but it again stopped working three days later. He says the respondent was refusing to reimburse him or repair his phone.

Amjad asked the court to direct the respondent to pay him Rs1,950 as the cost of the phone, Rs2,000 for fuel costs, Rs20,000 in damages, Rs20,000 for lawyer’s fees, and Rs200,000 for “defamation in the presence of subordinates of the complainant and general public”.

Muhammad Rihan, the owner of Hina Enterprises, denied insulting Amjad. He told the Tribune that Amjad had reported the phone defective ten days after buying it, not two days.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 21^st, 2011.

COMMENTS (11)

Ayub | 13 years ago | Reply I have just bought a HTC INCREDIBLE. I paid £350 for this device I paid this because i know that in the event of any problems i am covered by HTC ( 2 YEARS) and British Law sales of goods act 1979/82 which stipulates that it should be fit for purpose.

Jeddy | 13 years ago | Reply The phone I was given had Arabic in it. Friday was the public holiday in the calendar. It had pre-set Arabic ring tones. If was living in the UAE or Kuwait - maybe this phone would be perfect for those countries but not for Pakistan.

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Khalid Rahim | 13 years ago | Reply The Supreme Court will overturn the decision of Consumer Court if it is in favor of the buyer or uphold if its in favor of the seller.Now that a precedence has been set in gang rape case.

Ayub | 13 years ago | Reply I'm glad someone has actually stood up and pushed this further. Its high time PAKISTAN became a trusted place where yuo can buy anything and EXPECT to be treated like a human being. Here in the Uk we get 1 year now most warrentys are for 5. If the above man is looking for "funding" for hius case, if he emails me i may donate.

junaid | 13 years ago | Reply @jeddy: sorry jeddy.. i do not agree with you.. if you want to know the features of a phone, then u always have access to internet.. u can get any information regarding features and performance of a phone by just googling around for 10 minutes, reading blogs or forums.. shop keepers are not responsible for demonstrating features of the phone. what they are, atmost, responsible is to make sure the piece that comes out of the box is in perfect and working condition.

Khokhar | 13 years ago | Reply I offer my heartiest sympathies and best wishes for Mr. Amjad. But our countries Justice system is away from JUSTICE. Today Mukhtaran mai’s 5 rapists out of six are acquitted by our apex court. The killers of two boys of Sialkot are also enjoying the rotten justice system.

Muhammad Mobin | 13 years ago | Reply customer care is not a common word in pakistani business community. Who cares for the complaints!! But customer courts may be a solution of it if we customers take some pain to complaint and follow up. may be some of us may take some extra time and energy to get their rights but the ultimately we will get come benefits out of the consumers courts.

abc | 13 years ago | Reply I hope that sindh govt wakes up and consumer courts are setup in Karachi as in Lahore.

saleem | 13 years ago | Reply Jeddy, If the seller promised you he'd pay you full on a return, that is one thing, but saying you buy a phone not the box is a little naive. I am sure you realized that such phones come through "khaip" and the shops have no way of returning the sets. I don't think shop owners promise they will return the sets or that they will refund the full amount, because they know once the set is turned on, its clock starts ticking. Rudeness is another matter altogether and if the court decides in your favour, maybe we will finally get polite shop owners. Also, if the set came with a warranty and the guy is refusing to repair it, hope you nail him.

Ahmd Mustansir | 13 years ago | Reply Sure, Jeddy is right. Most shopkeepers wont open the box and show the phone to the prospective customer. They get money without even showing the actual phone to the customer. This is ridculous. Nonsense. Cheap on the part of the mobile phone companies.

Jeddy | 13 years ago | Reply Mobile phone shops do not show a fully functioning phone - what they sell is the box in which the phone is in. No one knows what features exist in the phone and which are not there. Once the box was opened and I checked them I was disappointed; told the dealer that it was not the phone I wanted. He said it was too late the phone was out of the box and I would get a refund but less than what I had paid. This is fraud and should be stopped. I am not buying the box I am buying a phone and before I purchase it, I want to check if it is actually working and has the features I require. Why would a phone manufacturer want to discontinue a popular model?

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