[Resolved]  LG Electronics India — defective product and criminal conspiracy to cheat consumer

Address:

Nagpur, Maharashtra

1. I bought a LG 3D LED 42 TV Model 42LW5700 Sr. No. 107PLPM036512 on 13/9/2012 for Rs 85, 000/- and within 11/2 year on 12.3.2014 the Panel of the TV crashed and TV became non functional and useless and the TV is BLACKENED. 2. The LG Repair man told us at first that it would cost Rs 10, 000. 3. He later offered to use a trick: we buy the Service guarantee for Rs15, 000 and wait for 1 or 2 months and then claim that TV has stopped working and use the guarantee to get a new panel. 4. Then again LG service people changed their stance and said that the new panel will cost Rs 34, 000/- and the above trick will not work. They also wanted us to get a Service guarantee for Rs 15, 000 to cover future disfunctionalities. 5. What I fail to understand is: How is it that a TV manufactured by LG world’s NO 2 brand of TVs has a panel that goes “Kaput” in 2 years and less and costs consumer more than 1/3 rd the original price? 6. How is it thet LG manufactures and sells TVs at exorbitant prices and then tells customers to buy a service guarantee immediately to ensure that if the product fails to function the repairs will be done within the guatantee period free of cost i.e. only Rs 15, 000 to be paid for comprehensive cover. 7. Is then the LG product and my TV manufactured of so low quality that it will immediately stop working and only a Service guarantee will save my from being set on fire by LG by charging me exhuberant rates for non performing bodyparts? 8. Is this the South Korean LG strategy to loot Indian consumers and how is it that VIDEOCON and SAMSUNG TVs bought by my friends even before 2012 are working fault free and that is no pressure to sign and pay for a service guarantee?” 5. Is it part of the strategy of LG to double sales by 2015 as observed by Mr. Yasho Verdhan Verma, COO, India Operations, LG Inc, who said in an interview: (WWW.Livemint.com ) 28 MARCH 2014 IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE WALL STREET JOURNAL ”The Indian unit of South Korea’s LG Electronics expects to double its revenue to $9 billion by 2015 as rising incomes and growing urban households expand the consumer durables market in Asia’s third largest economy. “Last year this industry grew by about 12 to 13%, this year we are expecting it will grow by about 14% and next year around that figure.” Does the strategy involve manufacture of substandard products and then multiplying the income by selling service policies to protect from defects.Is this what has come out from LG Twin Towers in Korea? Well let me remind you of the consumer protection law in India which states that substandard and defective products should not only ne NOT manufactured but also be fully reimbursed by manufacturers to protect the consumer.Let me also draw your attention to a Court case C.C.No.641of2007 BETWEEN: Chereddy.Janardhana.Rao.and LG Electronics in which the Court ruled against LG and directed replacement of the product plus damages. There are numerous such instances when LG has to bear the blunt of Indian Consumer Protection Laws. To make a long story short> A. I want immediate replacement of the damaged part(Panel) which has made my TV useless- with the cost being borne by LG India. B. I also want suitable compensation for the trials and tribulationspain and suffering I have gone through to set right my investment in an LG product and that investment is of no mean amount at almost Rs 100, 000 and also the pain, suffering of listening to all the LG about service guarantee and hogwash to make more money- all going on and on for the past 15 days. C. If the above is not done within 48 hours of the receipt of this Mail, My lawyer will not only proceed to file a suit against LG Managers described above in The Consumer court including the MD in Seoul, Korea but also lodge an FIR for criminal conspiracy to cheat at the Dhantoli police station, Nagpur. Should the police refuse to file an FIR I shall be constrained to approach the High Court of judicatureof Bombay( Nagpur Bench) with a criminal writ for a direction. I am sure the Court and the Police will be pleasd to note the many brushed with the law that LG has had all over the world in its attempt to seek to make more money by hook or crook some of which are listed below in the foot note and which I intend to highlight most suitably before the authorities). Hence I await your response for an amicable settlement of this issue. Thanks Dr Uday Dokras MBA (CALSTATE, USA) Ph D (Civil Law, Sweden) LL.B.Nagpur, India Former Advocate of the Bar Coumcil of Maharashtra nd currently COO- GLOBAL LOGISTICS PS: 1. On December 5, 2012, the antitrust regulators of European Union fined LG Electronics and several other major companies for fixing prices of TV cathode-ray tubes in two cartels lasting nearly a decade ("Philips, LG Electronics, 4 others fined 1.47 billion Euros for EU cartel". The Economic Times. 5 DEC, 2012. ) 2. The company was penalised for failing to meet its commitment to make products free of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic and brominated flame retardants (BFRs) by the end of 2010. 3. LG is listed in Greenpeace’s Guide to Greener Electronics where it ranked 13th (jointly with Toshiba) out of 15 leading electronics makers in November 2011, scoring 2.8 out of 10.Here the company scored badly on the Energy criteria, being criticized for setting a weak target for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and not making renewable energy part of its low carbon strategy. 4. "Guide to Greener Electronics - Greenpeace International". Greenpeace International. warned that LG risks incurring a penalty point in future editions as it was still being listed as a client of Asia Pulp and Paper (APP) who have been linked to illegal logging and deforestation in Indonesia 5. Choice magazine, in independent tests of popular LG fridge models in 2010, found the energy consumption in two models was higher than claimed by LG. LG was aware of the problem and had offered compensation to affected customers. 6. In November 2013, it was discovered that some of LG's smart TVs silently collect filenames from attached USB storage devices and attempt to send them back to LG's own servers, although as of this writing the web application does not exist and the purpose of this is unknown. The same television was also found to send program viewing data to another LG-affiliated server which is in operation. Shortly after this blog entry went live, LG disabled playback on its site of the video explaining how their viewer analytics work and closed the Brightcove account the video was hosted on(DoctorBeet's Blog: LG Smart TVs logging USB filenames and viewing info to LG servers. Doctorbeet.blogspot.fr[protected]. Also Goodin, Dan.[protected] Smart TV from LG phones home with user’s viewing habits, USB file names. Ars Technica.[protected].Source:https://web.archive.org/web/[protected]/http://us.lg...⇄ and view-:http://us.lgsmartad.com/main/main.lge 7.. In 2004, LG made 4A-rated water efficiency claims for numerous washing machines before they were certified. LG gave undertakings to theAustralian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to provide appropriate corrective notices and upgrade and maintain its trade practices compliance program. LG had offered compensation to affected customers 8. In 2006, LG overstated energy efficiency on five of its air conditioner models and was again required to offer consumers rebates to cover the extra energy cost. "CHOICE exposes false energy claims by major fridge manufacturer, LG, for its GC-L197NFS". 9. LG Electronics’ environmentally friendly North American headquarters in borough of Englewood Cliffs in Bergen County, New Jersey, having received a favorable legal decision subsequently being appealed based upon building height issues.