Kerala Consumer Court awards ₹3 lakh compensation to Ford car owner after car fails to return mileage claimed in ad

A Kerala Consumer Court has awarded ₹3 lakh as compensation to the owner of a Ford car after the car returned mileage which was 40 percent less than what was advertised by the car manufacturer [Soudhamini PP v Kairali Ford & Anr.]. .The Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum, Thrissur, presided over by President CT Sabu and members Sreeja S and Ram Mohan R, found that the advertised mileage was above 32 km/l while the result of the tests conducted by the expert commissioner was 19.6km/l.This meant the actual mileage that a consumer was getting was about 40% less than the one stated in the leaflets and brochures for the car."No stretch of imagination can make a man of reasonable prudence believe the justifications and contentions put forth by the opposite parties to digest the wide gap between the actual and the claimed mileage of the car in question. Under the circumstances and the reasons elaborated supra, we have every reason to believe that the opposite parties miserably failed to refute the allegations in respect of their mileage claims, levelled against them by the complainant," the forum opined.It concluded that the manufacturer Ford India Pvt. Ltd. and the seller, Kairali Ford, had adopted an unfair trade practice in having stated a deceptive mileage for the car. Therefore, it awarded the complainant ₹1,50,000 towards compensation for the financial loss inflicted on her and a sum of ₹1,50,000 towards compensation for the agony and hardship she underwent. An additional ₹10,000 was also ordered to be paid to her towards cost of litigation..The order was passed on a complaint filed by one Soudhamini PP under Section 12 (1) of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986. She had purchased a Ford Classic Diesel car from Kairali Ford (opposite party 1) for ₹8,94,876 in November 2014. Ford India Pvt. ltd. (opposite party 2), the manufacturer of the car, advertised the car as one that provides a mileage above 32 km per litre of diesel. The complainant said that it is being lured by this promise, that she had purchased the car. However, she only got a mileage of 16 km/l. She also raised some complaints about damage to one of the tyres of the car after covering 10,000 km. Since the notice issued by her lawyer elicited no response from the opposite parties, she approached the consumer forum seeking a refund of the invoice of the car with along with other reliefs of compensation and costs..The opposite parties argued that mileage would vary with driving conditions, nature of roads, traffic conditions etc. They also said that the mileage reported by them was ascertained by a third party.They also contended that since the matter is a complex one, it would be better to refer it to a civil court.The consumer forum appointed an expert commissioner, who after due examination an tests of the vehicle, handed in an extensive report which revealed that the approximate mileage given by the car during the running test conducted in the presence of the parties concerned was 19.6 km per litre..It noted that the leaflet and brochures for the car clearly stated the 2014 Ford Classic Titanium with the Duratorq Diesel engine gives a mileage of more than 32 Kmpl.Since these documents did not mention the conditions under which this mileage could be achieved, the contention of the opposite parties in that regard was rejected. The contention regarding the veracity of the test conducted by the expert commissioner was also dismissed as it was found that the report submitted and the tests conducted were extensive and scrupulous.It was further held that both opposite parties, whatever be their relationship, are one and the same, with respect to any claim made in respect of the quality or features of the products manufactured by one of them and sold by the other. "We are therefore of the considered view that the complainant has succeeded in proving his allegation that the opposite parties’ statement regarding mileage of the car in question is deceptive," the order stated..[Read Order]