LAHORE, Mar 22: Consumer court presiding officer Syed Maruf Ahmed Ali has ordered a carmaker and its dealer to replace the petitioner's vehicle and also pay a sum of Rs10,000 as cost.

Petitioner Imran Babar said he purchased a Cultus car from Suzuki Motor House, an authorised dealer of Pak Suzuki Motor Company Limited, against a purchase order of Rs595,000 issued by a bank. He added the dealer charged him Rs5,000 extra for the car's cool beige colour, Rs12,500 as registration fee and Rs22,000 for immediate delivery.

The petitioner said the car was originally booked and released in the name of Mohammad Qasim through the dealer. He added the car also had some workmanship defects. He said he had sent a legal notice to the dealer under Section 28 of the Punjab Consumer Protection Act but he did not respond.

The dealer filed a written reply in response to the charges raised in the petition. The court, after going through the record, said it was proved that the dealer delivered a used car to the petitioner.

The petitioner had paid the purchase amount for a brand new car and has prayed that this car be replaced. The court ordered both the dealer and the company to replace the vehicle with a new one.

The court also ordered the dealer to refund Rs22,000 the petitioner paid for getting the car immediately. The court also asked both the dealer and the company to pay Rs10,000 to the petitioner as cost within 10 days. — Reporter