A Consumer Forum recently ordered Mint Technology Pvt. Ltd. that supplied water purifiers to replace its RO plant, which stopped working within 7 months of installation, at the Central Ordinance Depot in Mumbai or provide a refund.

 The Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum in suburban Bandra also imposed a fine of Rs 20,000 on the company, & said it should have taken note of fact that its consumers were personnel of the Indian Army, & provision of clean & safe drinking water for them is the “basic human right”.

As per the complaint, the service provider had also given a 1-year warranty from the date of installation. Accordingly, a RO Plant was installed at the ordnance depot at a cost of Rs 3, 03,050. “It became fully operational in Oct 2018, but stopped functioning within 7 months”, the complaint said.

As the problem was not fixed even after repeated reminders, the ordnance depot approached the consumer forum. The service provider told the forum that the RO plant was non-functional due to a faulty membrane & it didn't fall under the warranty cover.

The Forum vide its order held company guilty for deficiency in service. The Forum said the fact that the RO plant stopped doing its main job within just 7 months of installation raises a doubt about the quality of the product.  

It said that the service provider should have taken cognizance of the fact that its consumers are personnel of the Indian Army, & provision of clean & safe drinking water to them is the “basic human right”.