A warranty held hostage to an AMC

Rights engaged: right to safety, right to be informed, right to be heard, right to seek redressal, and the right to protection against unfair trade practices.

Grievance 1 - 'buy the AMC or lose the warranty'. A warranty is a term of the sale, fixed at the time of purchase and written on the invoice and card; it cannot be made conditional on buying a second, separate service. Tying the warranty to an AMC is an unfair trade practice and arguably a restrictive one. It is also not what the document says, and the written term prevails over a verbal sales pitch.

Grievance 2 - refusing warranty service without inspection. Branding the fault 'physical damage' over the telephone, without examining the machine, and quoting ₹6,800 is a deficiency in service: the manufacturer is obliged to inspect, record findings and give a written reason before rejecting a claim.

Grievance 3 - the influencer's '5-star, saves 40%' claim. The machine carries a three-star BEE label, so the statement is false. This is a misleading advertisement under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, actionable both by the individual consumer and by the Central Consumer Protection Authority; the influencer may also be liable under the 2021 guidelines on misleading advertisements.

Step 1 - written complaint (day 1). Email and registered post to the dealer and to the manufacturer's nodal/grievance officer: quote the invoice, warranty terms, date of failure, the refusal call, and demand free repair within 15 days. Keep the dispatch proof - a verbal complaint leaves no record.

Step 2 - escalate (day 15–30). Use the manufacturer's appellate/grievance mechanism and register on the National Consumer Helpline (1915) or its app, which often produces mediation without litigation.

Step 3 - formal complaint (after 30 days, or immediately if refused). File before the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, which under the 2021 jurisdiction rules handles claims up to ₹50 lakh. Territorial jurisdiction: where she resides or works. She may file in person, and can use e-Daakhil to file online, which suits a salaried complainant. No lawyer is compulsory; the consumer can appear in person and the fee is nominal.

Limitation: two years from the date the cause of action arose - comfortably within time at seven months.

Relief to claim: free repair or replacement, or refund with interest; compensation for the ₹6,800 quoted, for mental agony and for loss of wages; litigation costs; and a direction that the conditional-warranty practice be stopped. The misleading advertisement should be reported separately to the CCPA.

Collect and preserve: the original invoice and warranty card (copies for sending, originals retained); dated photographs and a short video of the machine and of the drum not spinning; the BEE label showing three stars; the downloaded influencer video with its URL, channel name and date; the WhatsApp chat with the salesman; call logs and, if possible, a recording or a written summary of the refusal; the written service estimate; and a short dated note of every conversation, since memory fades over months.

Avoid:

• Calling a local repairman to open the machine - it can be read as unauthorised intervention and destroys the evidence.
• Signing any service-centre form that says 'damage caused by customer' without the fault being demonstrated.
• Sending originals of the invoice or warranty card.
• Accepting a verbal settlement; any settlement must be in writing, with the repair or refund completed.
• Continuing to run a machine that may be unsafe.
• Posting abusive or unverified allegations against the dealer on social media - that risks a defamation complaint and can weaken her own case.

The principle: a consumer's case is only as strong as the paper trail, and the paper trail must be created early and kept complete.