Vadodara: A vehicle workshop has been ordered to pay Rs 1.02 lakh towards taxi expenses incurred by a chartered accountant who was forced to hire cabs after the workshop took 82 days to repair his car.The Vadodara District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (Main) ordered Shri Gopinathji Cars Pvt Ltd to pay the amount to Bharat Shah, whose car was damaged in the heavy rain and flooding that hit the city in July 2019.In his complaint filed in Sept 2020, Shah said he had handed over his car to the workshop for repairs in Aug 2019. He went to collect it in October and paid Rs 1.98 lakh towards the repairs. Of this, Rs 77,698 was approved by the insurer as part of his claim, while Shah paid the remaining amount.Shah subsequently approached the consumer commission against both the insurer over deduction of part of his claim and the workshop over the 82-day delay in repairing his car.He sought Rs 1.02 lakh, with 9% interest, from the workshop towards taxi expenses incurred during the 82 days he was without his car.The workshop argued that it had more than 200 vehicles awaiting repairs following the floods and was also facing a shortage of spare parts. It further claimed that Shah had neither contacted the workshop for two-and-a-half months nor asked for the car to be returned or complained about the delay.The insurer, meanwhile, argued that part of Shah’s claim had been deducted because the expenses related to engine repairs, while he had not opted for engine-protection cover by paying the additional premium.The commission upheld the insurer’s decision, observing that Shah had not paid the premium for engine protection. However, it held the workshop responsible for the delay in repairing the vehicle.“The commission noted that Shah had informed the workshop that he was a chartered accountant and needed the car to commute to his office and hospital, particularly as he had undergone surgery on his leg. As the workshop took an extended period to repair the vehicle, Shah had to hire another vehicle and bear the expenses,” said advocate Hardik Shah, who represented Shah in the commission.The commission ordered Shri Gopinathji Cars Pvt Ltd to pay Shah Rs 1.02 lakh with 8% annual interest from the date of filing of the complaint. It also directed the workshop to pay Rs 3,000 towards mental agony and Rs 3,000 towards legal expenses.
