A consumer commission in Uttar Pradesh’s Bulandshahr has directed Flipkart to refund ₹1,43,335 with interest to a customer who ordered an Apple iPhone 14 Pro but received a green Chinese phone carrying a counterfeit Apple logo instead.
The company was also ordered to pay ₹20,000 as compensation for mental harassment and ₹10,000 towards litigation costs. The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission found deficiency in service, negligence and unfair trade practice after examining the order records, an unboxing video, photographs of the delivered phone and a returned legal notice. The total payout, including the refund, interest and compensation, was reported to be around ₹1.7 lakh.
₹1.43 Lakh iPhone Order Turns Into Counterfeit Phone Delivery
Omprakash Singh, a resident of Anupshahr in Bulandshahr, had ordered a Deep Purple iPhone 14 Pro on May 29, 2023. The phone was priced at ₹1,43,335, and Singh paid the amount in full through his credit card after using a special discount.
The package was delivered to an address in R.K. Puram, New Delhi. The unboxing was recorded on video using the delivery agent’s phone and was later shared with Singh through WhatsApp.
When the box was opened in front of the delivery agent, however, it did not contain the iPhone Singh had ordered. Instead, the package contained a green Chinese phone bearing a counterfeit Apple logo. One visible difference was the camera arrangement. The phone inside the package had only two rear cameras, while the genuine iPhone 14 Pro has three.
Singh immediately raised a return request from his phone, but the request was cancelled by the seller. He subsequently submitted return requests five times. According to the case details, Flipkart representatives repeatedly marked the product as “damaged” without physically inspecting the phone he had received.
Singh also contacted Flipkart through its toll-free number but was unable to secure a resolution. His advocate then sent a legal notice on July 5, 2023. The notice was returned undelivered with a postal remark stating that the shop number had not been mentioned. Singh eventually approached the consumer commission, filing his complaint on August 3, 2023.
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Flipkart Says It Was Only an Online Intermediary
In its written statement before the commission, Flipkart argued that it was an online intermediary connecting buyers with independent third-party sellers and was not the actual seller of the product.
The company also relied on its open-box delivery facility. It argued that Singh should have rejected the phone at the time of delivery if he noticed a discrepancy. Since the delivery had been accepted, Flipkart contended that it could not be held liable for a refund. Flipkart also denied allegations of fraud or harassment and argued that no cause of action existed against it under the Consumer Protection Act.
The commission, comprising President Hasnain Qureshi and Member Neelam Kumari, was not convinced by the company’s position. It examined the records relating to the order, the unboxing video, photographs of the phone that had been delivered and the returned legal notice. The commission concluded that the full price of a genuine iPhone had been collected while a counterfeit device was delivered. It held that this amounted to a clear deficiency in service, negligence and an unfair trade practice.
Full Refund, Interest and ₹30,000 Compensation Ordered
The commission directed Flipkart to take back the counterfeit Chinese phone and refund the full purchase price of ₹1,43,335 to Singh. The refund will carry annual interest of 7 per cent calculated from August 3, 2023, the date the consumer complaint was filed, until the amount is actually paid. Flipkart was further directed to pay ₹20,000 as compensation for mental harassment and ₹10,000 towards litigation costs.
The company has been given 45 days to make the payments. If it fails to comply within that period, the interest rate on the outstanding amount will increase to 8 per cent per annum until final payment.
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