Flipkart pays man Rs 10,000 for harassing him after canceling iPhone order

Detailed orders were provided on Sunday.

Mumbai:

The Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission here found Flipkart guilty of unfair trade practices and ordered the company to pay Rs 10,000 to a customer for the mental harassment he suffered after canceling his iPhone order.

In an order passed last month, the Mumbai Central District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission said the cancellation of orders was for the purpose of earning extra profits, which amounted to service defects and unfair and restrictive trade practices on the part of the online platform.

Detailed orders were provided on Sunday.

The commission noted that although the customer had received a refund, he needed compensation for the emotional harassment and distress he suffered as a result of the unilateral cancellation of the order.

The complainant, a resident of Dadar, ordered an iPhone from Flipkart on July 10, 2022 and paid Rs 39,628 using a credit card.

The mobile phone was originally scheduled to be shipped on July 12, but six days later, he received a text message from the e-commerce company and the order was cancelled.

When contacted, he was told by the company that their Ekart deliveryman had made several attempts to deliver the goods but the complainant could not be reached and the order was cancelled.

The complainant stated that the cancellation not only caused him losses and mental harassment but also exposed him to online fraud.

Flipkart’s delivery partner Ekart Logistics is also a complainant, but the Commission considered that it is a delivery partner and there is no consumer and service provider relationship between the complainant and the logistics company.

In a written reply, Flipkart said the complainant had mistakenly identified it as the seller of the product.

The company said it operates the online platform only as an intermediary and all products on the platform are sold and supplied by independent third-party sellers.

The seller in the case was International Value Retail Private Limited and Flipkart played no role in the entire transaction between the complainant and the seller.

The company claims to have informed the seller of the complainant’s grievance, who stated that the deliveryman tried multiple times to deliver the product to the address, but the complainant could not be reached and the order was canceled by the seller.

The statement said that the money has been refunded and the dispute is only between the complainant and the seller and there is no cause of action against Flipkart.

However, the commission noted that the order was “unilaterally canceled” by the e-commerce company and that the complainant had been in contact with the company and was assured that his concerns were being investigated.

It also said that Flipkart has not provided any evidence to substantiate its or the seller’s claims of multiple attempts to provide services.

The commission noted that Flipkart admitted that the order had been canceled and asked the complainant to place a new order.

The complainant alleged that the cost of the product increased by around Rs 7,000 and hence the order was canceled and he was asked to place a new order.

The European Commission pointed out that Flipkart’s move was to earn extra profits, its behavior contained service defects, and it adopted unfair and restrictive trade practices.

“While the complainant has received a refund, he needs to be compensated for the mental distress and anguish caused to him due to Flipkart’s unilateral cancellation of his order,” it said.

The commission ordered Flipkart to pay compensation of Rs 10,000 for the mental harassment and agony suffered by the complainant and to pay costs of Rs 3,000.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)