Complaint Details

Status	:	Closed
Complaint No	:	0048478/2015
Category	:	Consumer Goods
Date	:	14-05-2015
Subject Line	:	Croma Window Air Conditioners & Hitachi Split Air Conditioner failed & we are without a good working Air Conditioner even after 4 months
Complainant	:	Anita Ketan Kakkad
Address	:	1403, Interface Heights, B Wing, Off Link Road, Malad West
Complainee	:	Croma Retail
Address	:	Link Road, Next to D Mart, Malad West

Complaint Details
We are an NRI couple - U. S. Citizen. We shifted our base back to Mumbai, India on September 25, 2014. After a week, we went to Croma Malad store to Purchase our Electronic Items needs for our Flat. We bought two Croma Brand window Air Conditioners among other items. Window ACs were delivered & installed (at our cost) in December 2014. They were defective or not Installed properly. They were making terrible noise. The then Manager - Mr. Siddharth Sawant was very helpful & understanding. After sending in their technicians several times, he offered us Refund or exchange against two Split ACs. We went to the store & the New Manager - Mr. Ajay Kothari recommended us Hitachi Kampa Split AC. As such, we trusted him & paid the difference of Rs. 14,370.00 on top of what was paid by us for window AC. The Hitachi unit was delivered & installed but failed Demo & declared as DEAD ON ARRIVAL. Our nightmares started. After several calls & registering complaint with Hitachi Customer Care, & after several set of technicians visiting & doing their own street experience work on that Hitachi Unit, we were offered a Replacement Unit. We thought that was fair enough. The Repalcement Unit also failed on Installation & Demo and was declared DEAD ON ARRIVAL. A string of all kinds of Technicians (so called) were sent to try to convince us that nothing was wrong with the ACs but it was the room size or the back end unit installation or number of people or ton size of AC & so on. We realized that we are Duped. We also realized that this units could be second hand or refurbished units being dumped on innocent customers like us as New ACs. We suspected that this is a mass fraud with Indian Consumers at large by Hitachi through their Dealers like Croma. I sent several emails to Senior Management of Croma & Hitachi. They are hand in Gloves. After 5 months, whole summer passed & lots of pain, sufferings, mental torture, lies, deceit, indecent behaviors by Hitachi Employees breaching our privacy etc., we decided to take this issue head on. Hence this complaint to your office. We have suffered damages to our windows. Walls, curtain, etc. also besides installation costs of approx. Rs. 12,000.00 paid for all kinds of work in the process. We did not get a properly functional AC during entire summer. We wrote to Croma & Hitachi to give us upgraded Models (two Units) of Hitachi to make up for all these problems & sufferings but they jars only offering Refund of Invoice value. So, who will pay for all these Installation costs, damages to our property, pain, sufferings, mental torture, lies, fraud, cheating, deceit, indecent behavior, sending in non employees wearing their company shirts as Employees and so on? They are not afraid of Consumer Affairs Departments or Any Law, Justice & Order system in India. They say fearlessly that we will not get anything from them by going to Police or ConsumerCourts or Indian Courts. We believe that Change in India is in the Air. Especially with Shri Modi& BJP IN PLACE. We are looking for & hoping to get maximum compensation against these large corporations who think that Indian Consumers are uneducated & fools. They have No Respect or fear of Law or Consumers. Punitive & Exemplary Judgement to set an Example & send a clear message to wrongdoers would be a welcome Change. Dumping Inferior & Defective, Secondhand or Refurbished Products on Indian Consumers and making Billions of Dollars from Millions of Indians seems easy under such environment. How can we call & accept India as A Superpower when ground reality is so bad & completely in favor of these Large Corporations. We have complete faith in Good people in India & ALMIGHTY.

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