A ₹35,000 Salary, an EMI and a Leaking Cooker
Rajesh and Meena live in a rented two-room set in a Haryana town. Rajesh's take-home pay is ₹35,000 a month. Their fixed monthly outgoings are: bike EMI ₹6,000; school fees ₹3,500; LIC premium ₹2,000 (next instalment due next month); food ₹9,000; electricity and water ₹2,000; fuel ₹2,500; medicines ₹1,000; miscellaneous ₹3,000. Whatever is left is their savings, and they currently have almost nothing set aside.
In April the temperature crossed 44 °C and they decided on a 1.5-ton split AC priced at ₹32,000. The dealer offered ₹3,000 down and 12 monthly instalments of ₹3,100. In the same week Meena bought a pressure cooker for ₹2,200 from a local shop; after two months steam leaks from the handle and the lid will not lock. The shopkeeper says, "We only sell - go to the company service centre," and refuses to replace it. Meena paid by UPI, has lost the paper bill, and the warranty card was never stamped.
1. Work out whether the family can afford the AC now. Show your reasoning using the monthly surplus and the total cost of the EMI offer, and recommend a course of action.
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Step 1 - surplus. Total committed spending = 6,000 + 3,500 + 2,000 + 9,000 + 2,000 + 2,500 + 1,000 + 3,000 = ₹29,000. Surplus = 35,000 − 29,000 = ₹6,000.
Step 2 - real price of the EMI. 3,000 + (12 × 3,100) = ₹40,200, i.e. ₹8,200 (about 25.6%) more than the ₹32,000 cash price. A "small monthly instalment" is expensive money.
Step 3 - capacity. The existing EMI is 6,000 ÷ 35,000 ≈ 17% of take-home. Adding ₹3,100 takes loan repayment to 26% at the same time as the LIC premium falls due; in that month the family spends 29,000 + 3,100 + 2,000 = ₹34,100 and saves nothing. There is no emergency fund, so one illness or repair would push them into borrowing. Total repayment above roughly 30–40% of income is a warning line; they are close to it with no cushion.
Recommendation: do not sign the EMI today. Buy a desert cooler for ₹6,000–8,000 this summer, put ₹2,500–3,000 aside for three months, and then buy either a 1-ton 3-star inverter AC for a room of about 100–120 sq ft (usually ₹26,000–28,000) or a second-hand unit with a service warranty. Also check the room's sun exposure and whether one room can be closed off - cooling one room cuts running cost more than any star rating.
2. Which consumer rights is the shopkeeper denying, and what exactly should Meena do under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019? Give the forum and the time limit.
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Rights being denied:
- Right to safety - a cooker whose lid will not lock and which leaks steam from the handle is a burn and pressure hazard, not a cosmetic defect.
- Right to be heard and right to seek redressal - "we only sell" is not a legal defence; the trader who sold the goods is answerable, and directing a buyer to a service centre does not cancel that liability.
- Right to choose - a blanket "no replacement, repair only" policy imposed at the counter is an unfair trade practice when the goods are defective from the start.
What she should do, in order:
- Keep the cooker, the packaging and the UPI record - an unstamped warranty card or a lost paper bill does not destroy the claim; a UPI entry showing ₹2,200 to that shop is proof of purchase. Do not hand the cooker for private repair.
- Write a dated complaint to the shop and, if needed, to the company's grievance officer; keep a copy.
- Register on the National Consumer Helpline (1915) or the e-Daakhil portal; many such matters are settled at this stage.
- File a formal complaint before the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission - the claim (₹2,200 plus compensation) is far inside its ₹50 lakh limit. No lawyer is required, the fee is nominal, and the complaint must be filed within two years of the defect appearing.
- Ask for replacement or refund plus compensation for the cost and inconvenience; a bill endorsed "pure/pressure-tested" and the date of purchase should be recorded in the complaint.
3. Suggest two ways the family can cut cooling costs without buying an AC, and two questions they must ask before signing any EMI scheme.
Read the worked answer
Cooling without an AC:
- A desert cooler plus ventilation control - ₹6,000–8,000, runs on about 150–200 W against roughly 1,200–1,500 W for a 1.5-ton AC. Close the room during the day, open it at night, and keep the cooler pads clean; in dry Haryana heat it works well until the monsoon raises humidity.
- Heat-load reduction - whitewash or paint the roof, put up bamboo/chick blinds on the west window, close curtains by 11 a.m., switch to LED bulbs and use the cooler in the afternoon only, when the need is greatest.
Questions before any EMI:
- What is the total amount payable, including processing fee, documentation charges, insurance and GST, and what is the flat versus reducing-balance interest rate? A "zero-interest" scheme often hides a ₹1,000–1,500 processing fee.
- What happens if a payment is delayed or I want to foreclose early? Penal interest, a bounce charge, and a foreclosure penalty can wipe out any saving; also confirm the goods stay mine and the EMI is not a lease in disguise.
A third useful check: ask for the cash price in writing and compare it with the total EMI outgo - in this case ₹40,200 against ₹32,000 is the real answer to "is it affordable?".