Kia Dealer fined Rs 16 lakh for delivering old model of Kia Seltos to customer

Kia Seltos has been one of the popular models offered by the company in India. Users have accepted the mid-size SUV with open arms since its launch in the country. However, recently a Kia Dealership has been fined Rs 16 lakh for offering an old model of Kia Seltos to a customer in Hubballi of Karnataka.

The incident has come forward from Amargol Hubli of Karnataka. The District Consumer Grievances Redressal Forum subsequently ordered Nagashanti KIA dealer of Hubballi to pay Rs 15,95,110 (approx Rs 16 lakh) to the customer as he was delivered an older model of Kia Seltos rather than the newer model.

As reported by Rush Lane, the case was lodged against the dealership by Nagraj Patil for a booking made on May 28, 2020. The customer had booked HTK+ variant of Kia Seltos. The dealership was expected to offer a facelifted version of the SUV that was expected to launch on June 2. However, the car dealer delivered him the old model of Seltos on July 2, 2020.

After a month of riding the vehicle, the car owner came to know that he was handed an old model of Kia Seltos. He contacted the dealership and asked for a replacement. However, the dealer refused to replace the vehicle and offered to fit the car with updated bumpers and features. As he failed to get the replacement, Nagraj approached the District Consumer Grievances Redressal Forum. After hearing both sides the District Consumer Forum ruled in favour of the buyer. The Forum came to the conclusion that the dealership did not deliver the specific vehicle that it was supposed to deliver.

The forum asked the dealership to refund the entire amount of Rs 14,85,110 with 8% interest per annum, till the final payment date (from the date of delivery). The dealership was expected to pay an additional Rs 1 lakh for the inconvenience and mental agony, along with a litigation cost of Rs 10,000.