LAHORE, July 16: Accepting the claim of a split air-conditioner buyer, Lahore District Consumer Court Judge Syed Maruf Ahmed Ali on Monday issued a Rs52,000 ex-parte decree in his favour.

Petitioner Rana Rashid Mahmood filed a suit under the Punjab Consumer Protection Act praying for award of Rs50,000 as damages. He told court that he had purchased a Haier split air-conditioner from Madina Electronics, Abid Market, which was installed on his premises by authorized installer Freeze Ways.

The air-conditioner proved defective from the very beginning. First of all the motor of its compressor was replaced and then its gas leaked and was refilled.

He said he had asked the respondent to replace the air-conditioner or refund the price when it did not function properly, but he refused to do so.

The respondent was summoned, but he failed to appear and ex-parte proceedings were ordered against him.

Accepting the petitioner’s claim, the court ordered the respondent to refund the air-conditioner price of Rs22,500, installation charges of Rs1,000 along with cost of Rs20,000 and lawyer’s fee of Rs5,500.

The court also directed the petitioner to return the air-conditioner to the respondent.