BENGALURU: Imagine paying to upgrade your 2011 Mercedes ML 350 with genuine German Bilstein air shocks and ending up with cheap Chinese copies. That is what happened to Devanahalli resident Andre Allan D’Souza, 38, who has now won a full refund after being sold counterfeit parts. The Bengaluru Urban II consumer commission has ordered a Kerala-based automobile parts dealer, Rahul PK, to return Rs 2.6 lakh to D’Souza with 6% interest, take back the air shocks, and also pay Rs 10,000 towards mental agony and litigation costs.
D’Souza purchased air shocks from Rahul on the assurance that the parts were original Bilstein components imported from Germany. He paid the cost in two transactions on March 11 and 12, 2023.
However, D’Souza later discovered that the air shocks were Chinese copies — grey-market products costing under Rs 1 lakh. A Bilstein verification report on July 10, 2023 confirmed that the components were not original. Despite repeated requests to issue a refund, the dealer refused to do so. Claiming heavy financial loss and mental harassment as the counterfeit parts posed safety risks, D’Souza sought a full refund. He sent legal notices to the dealer on March 23 via email and WhatsApp, followed by a notice sent through speed post and registered post on March 28, which was duly served. The dealer sent a reply on April 8, but D’Souza contended that Rahul falsely claimed that he had been informed the parts would not be original. On June 16, 2023, D’Souza filed a consumer complaint stating that selling counterfeit parts amounted to fraud, cheating, and gross breach of trust. Rahul, in the meantime, said D’Souza did not approach him directly to buy the air shocks. Instead, he claimed the transaction was routed through a Bengaluru garage, E Tuners Motor Sports. Rahul argued that he was only a mediator between E Tuners and the supplier, and that D’Souza had accepted the consignment and raised objections only four days later, after opening it. The commission, however, pointed out that the dealer had failed to produce any oral or documentary evidence to support his contentions. “The material on record clearly shows that counterfeit parts were supplied after assuring originality, amounting to deficiency of service and unfair trade practice,” the commission, headed by president Vijaykumar M Pawale and member V Anuradha, observed.
