Due to weak consumer protection laws and lengthy court battles, many consumers find it difficult to get justice
In the automotive space, consumer complaints keep coming in regularly. While quite a few are resolved amicably, there are cases where things turn into a battleground. A recent case involves a Tata Safari owner, who has alleged that the dealer has probably delivered him a used car.
Tata Safari owner story
According to the Tata Safari owner, Gagandeep Singh Kochar, the SUV started developing problems soon after delivery. The SUV was taken to the service centre multiple times and repairs were carried out. However, the SUV continued to face issues.
The Safari owner has also claimed that he was provided with only one key. The second key was never provided to him. He says that this is another piece of evidence that suggests that the SUV could be a used unit.
According to the owner, the SUV delivered to him could be one of the demo cars that dealerships use for test drives. In normal circumstances, a dealer can sell demo cars. But it is expected that the buyer will be informed and an appropriate discount is offered. It is possible that the SUV may have manufacturing defects and was later repaired.
After highlighting the issue to various authorities and police, the owner says he was promised by the dealer that he will be given a new Tata Safari. Subsequently, his existing Safari was taken by the dealer. Problems escalated thereafter, as the promise was never fulfilled.
Owner says that the dealer took the Safari SUV from his home and till date has not returned the car back. Moreover, the owner alleges that the dealer connived with bank officials to mark the original deal as terminated.
The dealer allegedly paid the bank acting as the borrower. The owner has alleged that bank papers were also forged in the process, which is a major criminal offense. Overall, the list of offences described by the owner include selling him a different car, not providing a second key, forging bank documents, and closing the deal without the other party’s consent.
Case against Twitter, YouTube
Safari owner has said that Tata Motors has filed court case against him along with social media channels such as Twitter, YouTube, etc. He has expressed fears that his social handles could be taken down. He has now launched his own website to highlight the issue.
The owner has also alleged that the dealer is using political influence to delay the progress of police investigation. It was the owner himself who had sought help from police to get justice in the case. We hope good sense prevails and an amicable resolution is reached soon. To ensure such issues do not occur in future, it is necessary that consumer protection laws be strengthened.
New systems need to be developed, wherein consumers can get speedy justice without incurring heavy expenses. In the present system, most consumers try to avoid a court case, as they neither have the time nor the resources to work on it.
