Consumer court: Furniture store sued over termite attack

Petitioner seeks replacement as well as Rs120,000 in damages.

LAHORE:

A consumer court has issued notice to Asif Furniture Mart for January 25 on a suit seeking damages of Rs120,000 from the proprietor for allegedly selling the petitioner defective furniture.

Petitioner Zahid Javed submitted that he had purchased a bed, a dressing table and a trolley for Rs97,500 from the store on October 25, 2011.

He said shortly after, the furniture was damaged by termites, though the respondent had told him that it was termite-proof.

He said that the store had refused to reimburse him.

He asked the court to direct the respondent to replace the furniture and pay him Rs100,000 in damages for “mental agony” and Rs20,000 for legal fees.

Muhammad Asif, the owner of Asif Furniture Mart, said that the petitioner had come to the store on Bund Road to complain and been asked to bring the defective furniture back, but he had not turned up since.

He said that he had called Javed several times but he had not returned his calls. He said that he could not address a customer’s complaint if that customer refused to talk to him.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 28^th, 2012.