Man wins Rs 6.30 lakh after dealer withheld refund for cancelled sports car booking
The 45-year-old booked a sports car at the dealer’s showroom on October 30, 2021, paying Rs 50,000 and issuing a post-dated cheque for Rs 6.14 lakh. He was asked to arrange the remaining Rs 41 lakh through a bank loan.
A consumer commission in Goa ordered a car dealer to pay Rs 6.30 lakh to a man whose booking amount was withheld after he cancelled a sports car purchase because he could not secure the required bank loan. The payout comprises a refund of Rs 6.15 lakh and Rs 15,000 in litigation costs, according to a report by The Indian Express. The commission found that the dealer had neither disclosed its non-refundable booking policy before accepting payment nor produced the policy during the proceedings to justify retaining the money.
It also noted that the dealer had not placed an order for the vehicle with the manufacturer. Car booking fell through after banks limited the loan The 45-year-old complainant visited the dealer’s showroom on October 30, 2021, to book a sports car. According to his complaint, he paid Rs 50,000 and issued a post-dated cheque for Rs 6.14 lakh. He was asked to arrange the remaining Rs 41 lakh through a bank loan.
On November 2, however, he was reportedly informed that the bank would sanction only Rs 28 lakh because his income-tax returns did not support a higher loan. Another bank allegedly gave him the same response. Unable to arrange the necessary financing, he decided to cancel the booking and requested his money back. He subsequently approached the general manager of sales, who, according to the complaint, offered a refund of Rs 3 lakh.
Dissatisfied with that offer, he approached the consumer commission seeking the return of the entire booking amount. Commission questions refusal to issue full refund In its September 30 order, the commission, comprising president Bela N Naik and member Auroliano De Oliveira, questioned why the dealer was willing to return only part of the money. “If the general manager of sales can refund a booking amount of Rs 3 lakh, then why the opposite party (car dealer) cannot refund the entire booking amount of Rs 6.14 lakh?
Why does the opposite party want to put the complainant in financial loss? This act of the opposite party is unethical and unprofessional,” the commission observed as per Indian Express report. The commission said the dealer had “traumatised” the complainant by forfeiting his booking money. It also rejected the use of an undisclosed company policy as a “legal trap” to retain a consumer’s payment. No policy produced, no car ordered The dealer filed a written response and an affidavit but subsequently failed to participate in the proceedings, according to the IE report.
The commission found that it had not produced the company policy on which its refusal to refund the money depended. “The opposite party (car dealer) also failed to produce the said company’s policy on record to prove that, as per the said policy, the opposite party is liable to forfeit the said booking amount of Rs 6.14 lakh of the complainant’s car booking,” the commission noted. Another finding was that the dealer had not yet ordered the car from the manufacturer.
The commission observed that the cancellation arose within a short period after the complainant discovered he could not arrange the balance payment. “It was a matter of a few days, during which the complainant could not arrange the balance finance to buy the said car from the opposite party,” it said. 42 lakh back after bank’s loan calculation erro What the Rs 6.30 lakh payout includes The commission directed the dealer to refund Rs 6.15 lakh and pay an additional Rs 15,000 towards the complainant’s litigation costs.
The total amount ordered was therefore Rs 6.30 lakh—not a separate compensation award of Rs 6.30 lakh on top of the refund. The report contains differing figures for the booking payment: the complaint narrative refers to Rs 50,000 and a post-dated cheque of Rs 6.14 lakh, while the quoted findings refer to a booking amount of Rs 6.14 lakh. The final refund direction is reported as Rs 6.15 lakh. These figures are not reconciled in the supplied account.
Why the dealer’s defence failed The ruling turned on the circumstances of this transaction: the cancellation policy had not been communicated before payment, the dealer did not produce it to justify forfeiture, and no order had been placed with the manufacturer. The commission consequently found that the dealer had failed to establish a basis for withholding the booking money. This ruling does not mean that everyone who cancels a car booking is entitled to a full refund.
In this case, the commission ordered repayment because the dealer had not explained its cancellation policy before taking the money or provided a copy during the proceedings. Consumers can seek assistance by calling the Goa Consumer Commission helpline at 0832-2411148 or the National Consumer Helpline at 1915.
