Consumer panel orders car dealer to refund booking amount

The Ernakulam Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has asked a dealer of Maruti Suzuki India Limited to refund the payment made by a customer, a native of Padamugal, after it was found that the dealer had failed to deliver the car booked by the customer.

The Commission, comprising president D.B. Binu and members V. Ramachandran and Sreevidhia T.N., in an order dated June 16, 2025, asked Nexa Palarivattom (Popular Vehicles & Services Limited) to refund the ₹9.92 lakh paid by complainant Jeny Mol Joy along with interest at the rate of 12% per annum from the date of payment till the realisation of the amount. The dealer has to pay ₹2 lakh as compensation for the mental agony, financial loss, and physical hardships endured by the complainant and inconvenience caused by deficiency in service and unfair trade practices, it said.

The complainant had booked a Maruti XL-6 ZETA MT (silver) vehicle on February 7, 2022, from the authorised dealer after paying around 85% of the vehicle’s on-road price of ₹11.71 lakh through finance. On May 16, 2022, the dealer informed that the vehicle was ready, but it was a new model priced at ₹13.53 lakh. No prior intimation was given about the discontinuation of the originally booked model, the complainant alleged.

The dealer termed the complaint as “baseless” and said that it was not maintainable in law. The firm alleged that the complainant was fully aware of the terms in the booking requisition form, which clearly stated that the vehicle price at the time of invoicing would apply and might change. The variant booked by the complainant underwent a standard “facelift” with additional features, resulting in a price hike, which was beyond the dealer’s control and at the sole discretion of the manufacturer, according to the dealer.

However, the Commission said in its order that such hikes are typically notified publicly through announcements or press releases. There was no evidence of any such price hike announced by the manufacturer. There was also a substantial price difference between the car booked by the complainant and the new model that was offered to her, it added.