NCDRC Directs Porsche To Pay 10 Lakh Compensation With Interest To Customer For Misrepresenting Car’s Manufacturing Year

The Commission held that the act of Porsche Center misrepresenting the car manufactured in 2013 as 2014 will lead to unfair trade practice and deficiency in service.

The bench of Justice Ram Surat Ram Maurya ( Presiding Member) and Dr Inderjit Singh said that “The act of OP-2 ( Porsche Center, Gurgaon, India) in selling car of 2013 year of manufacture as 2014 year of manufacture amounts to deficiency in service/unfair trade practice, making him liable to compensate the complainant for the same.”

The Commission was hearing the complaint against Porsche India and Porsche Center, Gurgaon by Praveen Kumar Mittal alleging that the parties sold the car to him for Rs.80 lakh after misrepresenting the manufacturing year of the car.

The complainant requested the Commission to direct the parties to furnish either a new car or a refund of Rs. 80 lakh in addition to other expenses incurred in purchasing the subject car, along with Rs. 1 crore in damages for mental agony due to the Company's misrepresentation of a false manufacturing year.

The complainant alleged that in 2014 he had purchased a Porche Caynne Diesel Car for Rs.80.00 lakh from Porsche Centre, Gurgaon (OP-2).

The complainant contended that during the finalization of the model of the car, he was told by the agents of the Company that the manufacture year of the car is 2014.

According to the Complainant, in 2016 when he decided to sell the car it was discovered that the manufacturing year of the car is 2013 and not 2014.

It was alleged that the parties have illegally and with intention to cheat fabricated all documents pertaining to the car, by mentioning the wrong year of manufacturing.

The Complainant further contended that to verify whether documents supplied to the complainant are authentic, he, in 2017, obtained copies of various documents like, State Transport Vehicle particulars, etc. and these documents pertaining to Complainant’s car revealed manufacturing year as 2014.

Complainant further contended that the car was purchased in the month of February 2014.

However, the Center provided wrong information to the RTO for registration of the car and cheated the Complainant by selling him car manufactured in the year 2013 at the price of car manufactured in the year 2014, the complainant alleged.

The Porsche, Gurgaon submitted that their officials had informed that the car is of 2013 manufacture year, to which the complainant agreed and thereafter purchased the same for Rs.80 Lakh.

It was further submitted that since the car was manufactured in 2013 the company had also given a discount of Rs.11.90 Lakh.

The Porsche, Gurgaon also alleged that they had asked the complainant to get the car registered by them, but the complainant told the officials that he has some contacts in RTO and he will get the car registered with manufacturing year 2014 by himself.

In order to prove the contentions documents were produced by both the parties.

The Commission noted that the documents presented by the parties referred to different years of manufacturing and distinct authorized signatories, suggesting that one of the sets was fabricated.

As the complainant had obtained the document through a public authority under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, the Commission accepted it as authentic and rejected the set presented by the opposition.

The Commission held that the act of Porsche, Gurgaon in selling car of 2013 year of manufacture as 2014 year of manufacture amounts to deficiency in service and unfair trade practice which makes it liable to compensate the complainant.

However, it noted that, “Considering that complainant has been using the car in question since purchase, his prayer for providing a new car of same make or refund of Rs.80.00 lakhs plus other costs cannot be granted. However, he is entitled to compensation on account of deficiency in service/unfair trade practice on the part of OP-2.”

The Commission also suggested that the matter of fabrication of the document by the Porsche, Gurgaon should be investigated by the Police and appropriate action should be taken.

In light of the above the Commission ordered that the Porsche India Pvt Ltd, India and Gurgaon Centre are jointly liable to pay compensation of Rs.10 lakh to the complainant along with simple interest @9% p.a. w.e.f. 28.02.2014 (date of purchase of car) till the date of payment.

Case Title: Praveen Kumar Mittal v. Porsche India Ltd & Ors.

Counsel for Complainant : Mr. Vivek Narayan Sharma with Ms. Mahima Bhardwaj.

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