Shopping woos

In India, consumers are taken for granted. I have recently bought a new window A/C which is a branded one. The reason I had to buy new A/C was that my old A/C 's outer case was rusted and thrown away by my carpenter. I thought I will be able to get a new case but I soon realised that since my old A/C was unbranded one, the outer case of the same size was not available in the shop . I had no option but to go in for a new A/C. Since last couple of days, I was looking for a suitable window A/C under exchange scheme. Two days back, I saw an advertisement in Mirror of a branded A/c with exchange scheme. It was a single day special offer. It was so tempting that I decided to go to the shop on the same day and have a look at the product. I ultimately went to the shop along with my wife and daughter. I always involve ladies in decision making as far as household items are concerned. The shop happened to be close by inside a mall. We went to the shop and looked around for window A/C of different brands so as to compare the features along with price tag. Ultimately we zeroed in on the same product which was advertised. The reason being it's lowest price tag and and a watch worth Rs 1000 which came free of cost along with the product. On being asked when the product will be delivered, I was told it will be delivered on the following day. I told the saleman that since this offer is in exchange of old A/C , somebody from his side should come to my house and inspect my old A/c to ensure that it complies with their requirements. To my surprise, the salesman said , it is not necessary. All they want is that it should be in working condition. I said yes, it is in working condition. The deal was fixed. I went to the cashier and paid through my credit card. The cashier gave me the watch and cash memo of the product purchased. We came home satisfied that it was good deal. Following day, two men came along with A/C which was packed in a carton. I told them to keep the carton in the drawing room. They told me that after sometime, their mechanic will come to fix A/C unit in the window. I opened the carton and checked guarantee card and other accessories of the product which were lying inside and finally signed the delivery challan to confirm that I have received the product. While they were leaving, they asked for Chai paani to which I flatly refused. After about 2 hours on the same day, two people came to fix the A/C unit. I had called my carpentor also who had renovated my room to come and supervise the operations. While fixing the unit, it was discovered that the opening in the wall for the window A/C was bigger than the outer case of new A/c unit leaving a gap of almost 2 inches width wise and height wise. My carpentor gave me an assurance that he will plug the gap with wood and paste sunmica sheet of matching color on top of it. Temporarily, the gap was stuffed with thermocol and A/C unit was switched on to test the cooling effect in the room.

The drama unfolds after this incidence. While they were preparing to take my old a/c unit, they complained, the A/C unit does not have outer case. They called up somebody on mobile and asked me to talk to him. I guess he was their supervisor. He was quite rude and told me flatly that they need outer case. When I expressed my inability to give it to him, he said in which case I will have to shell out Rs 1000. I told him that he should have inspected my A/C unit prior to purchase. But he was adamant and demanded the money. I firmly told him that I will not give him anything and if he persisted with his demand, I will have to call the police. I also threatened him that I will go to consumer court and I will file a case against his shop. After this, he cooled down and his men quietly left my place.