The Hindu : Advertisement deceptive, rules consumer court

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, May 11, 2003

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Advertisement deceptive, rules consumer court

By Mandira Nayar

NEW DELHI MAY 10. Catchy headlines might be the only way to get the attention of consumers, but in this case it was the manufacturers who got "caught''. Taken to court for not fulfilling their promise of 80 km per litre mileage, this motorcycle manufacturing giant realised that all tall claims in their advertisements needed to be met.

It took M.R. Ramesh over ten years to fight this "twist'' in their advertisement. His petition was dismissed by the district forum in Karnataka as well as the State Commission, but determined to get justice he moved the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission.

In a significant judgment by the National Consumer Commission, Hero Honda was restrained from making such a claim that a motorcycle manufactured and marketed by them would give a mileage of 80 km per litre unless they state the "gimmick'' in the same letters and what the standard conditions are. The manufacturers were also directed to pay Rs. 25,000 as compensation to the petitioner.

A bench of the Commission stated that the advertisement of Hero Honda was misleading and amounted to unfair trade practice. "When they claim that the motorcycle can give a mileage of 80 km per litre they can't be absolved of their responsibility not to clearly indicate that this would be so only if driven at a speed of 40 km per hour and the load would be 130 kg,'' the bench stated. Simply putting an asterix and indicating the condition at the bottom of the advertisement would be "deceptive'', the Bench added.

It is important to mention the "standard conditions'' under which this mileage would be available. Stating that it is the duty of the National Consumer Commission to step in to "help the poor consumer pitted against an industrial house'' especially when both the district forum and the State Commission have misconstrued the case, the Bench asked Dayan Krishnan, amicus Curie, to assist the court for M. R Ramesh.

After going through all the evidence, the court ruled that Hero Honda had indulged in unfair trade practice within the Consumer Protection Act and they had falsely represented the motorcycle sold. There was also no clear and intelligible warning in what circumstances the claim had been made.Therefore, the manufacturers were asked to pay Rs. 25,000 as compensation.

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Advertisement deceptive, rules consumer court