Man buys Rs 1.14 lakh AC that wouldn't cool; Delhi court orders full refund plus Rs 25K compensation

NEW DLEHI: A Delhi consumer court has directed Fujitsu General India to refund Rs 1.14 lakh to a customer who bought a defective air conditioner that failed to provide sufficient cooling soon after installation.

The court also awarded Rs 25,000 as compensation and Rs 10,000 towards litigation costs.The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (East), Delhi, presided over by S.S. Malhotra (President) and Ravi Kumar (Member), held the company guilty of deficiency in service after noting that the customer continuously complained about the issue to the company but got no relief.What was the issue aboutVaibhav Singh Bhadana purchased a 3-ton split AC from an authorised dealer of Fujitsu on 17 February 2025, for Rs 1.14 lakh.

During installation, the company informed him that mounting the AC on a conventional wall was not feasible, for which he spent another Rs 15,329 on a separately manufactured stand.Since the purchase was made in February and considering the weather, the functioning of the AC could not be checked at the time.The AC was first used on 11 May 2025 when temperatures rose, but it failed to provide adequate cooling. Between 18 and 21 May, the customer made numerous service requests to the company, including 5 calls on 18 May and 11 calls on 19 May alone.

After raising the complaint, a technician was assigned but instead of fixing the problem, he handled the unit so unprofessionally that it got scratches and grease marks on the indoor unit, and ultimately informed the customer that the gas was less and the issue could not be resolved. Later when the complainant contacted the technician, he got no response and was later informed that the visit won't be feasible.After receiving no satisfactory response despite issuing a legal notice, the customer approached the consumer commission.

Fujitsu General was served notice but neither appeared before the commission nor filed any written response, leaving the allegations unrebutted, as per a report by LiveLaw.What the court ruling saidThe commission noted that calls made by the complainant itself proves that the AC was not working and had defects which could not be resolved by the technician provided by the company."The number of calls made by the complainant from 11.05.2025 to 21.05.2025 exhaustively prove that the AC of the Complainant was not working and it was a product having certain inherent defect which could not be resolved by the technician of OP when he visited the Complainant," the court said."The complainant has been able to prove that there was deficiency in service on the part of OP by selling a defective product which was not initially installed on the conventional wall and when it was installed on a separately manufactured stand, the AC was not giving proper cooling," the court further added.Since Fujitsu General chose not to appear or respond, the commission noted that the "opposite party has not filed their reply and therefore the case of the complainant goes un-rebutted."

The commission accordingly held the company liable for deficiency in service.Allowing the complaint, the commission ordered Fujitsu General to refund the entire purchase price of Rs 1.14 lakh with interest at 7 per cent per annum from the date the complaint was filed, subject to simultaneous return of the AC.It also awarded Rs 25,000 as compensation and Rs 10,000 as litigation costs. Further directing compliance within 30 days of receipt of the judgment, failing which all amounts would carry interest at 9 per cent per annum until realisation.