The Case Of The Vanishing Auto

Consumer case law shows that parking contractors can be held responsible if your vehicle is stolen from a pay car park

Has this ever happened to you? You park your car in a parking zone and pay parking charges. When you come back, your car is missing. Can the contractor or the person managing the parking place be held liable for the loss under the Consumer Protection Act (CPA), 1986? Yes he can, and he is liable to pay compensation, too. Several such cases taken up by consumer forums have established just this.

One such case was decided by the Chandigarh State Commission (CSC) on October 1, 1996. In this case, a consumer had driven to sector 17 in Chandigarh with his wife, mother and two children to watch a circus at 7 pm.

 

He parked his air-conditioned premier Padmini in a parking space, paid the contractor Rs 5 as a parking charge and was handed a token. When he came out after the circus, his car was missing.

The CSC after going into the facts of the case held that the contractor who charged a fee was supposed to ensure that the parked vehicle was returned to its depositor. The Commission said, It is always to be returned to the person who entrusted the vehicle, that is why a token bearing a particular number was issued. It is not that any person could come and collect the vehicle from the contractor without presenting the token [from a place] where considerable land was made available for a consideration of Rs 800 per day by the estate office in the premises adjoining the circus. The object was that the contractor was to safeguard the valuable motor entrusted to him specifically for this purpose.

The Commission further stated in its order that the contractor who collected Rs 5 from the person was to provide the service of safeguarding the vehicle. The amount paid to the contractor was only for this service. It was not a parking fee imposed by the administration to regulate the traffic. Thus, there was a deficiency on the part of the contractor who had acted negligently as a result of which the owner of the vehicle had had to run from pillar to post after the circus was over.

That the owner of the vehicle had filed an FIR regarding the theft of the car was an altogether different issue. The CSC ordered the contractor to pay Rs 15,000 as compensation to the vehicle owner and Rs 2,000 to cover the costs of the proceedings. If the amount was not paid within one month, the contractor was liable to pay interest at an annual rate of 18 per cent from the date of the decision till the payment was made.

The need for a safe parking area in major cities can never be over-emphasised. The use of a vehicle has become a necessary part of everyday life, so there is a corresponding need for its safe keeping during the temporary absence of its user.

An important point in this connection again arose in a case decided by the Delhi State Commission (DSC) in an appeal on January 20, 1997. A person had parked his Maruti AC car in an authorised parking area outside Indira Gan-dhi International Airport in New Delhi to see off his brother on August 5, 1993, after paying a Rs 5 charge. On returning, he found the car missing. He lodged an FIR with the police, who also flashed a countrywide message, but in spite of this, the car could not be traced. Unfortunately, the car was not covered by insurance at the time.

It was brought to the notice of the DSC that in the printed token it had been mentioned that, No responsibility of items such as radio, stereo, watch, stepney etc, in the car would be undertaken. The DSC held that this implied that the contractor assumed responsibility for the safety of the vehicle as distinguished from the accessories mentioned in the token. The DSC finally ordered the licensee of the parking area to pay the car owner Rs 1,22,375 plus Rs 5,000 to compensate for the owners mental agony. The DSC also allowed compensation at the rate of 18 per cent simple interest from August 5, 1993 till the date the money was actually paid.

So, remember, if your car is stolen from a parking place the contractor managing the parking place can be liable for the loss. This rule applies to scooters and cycles as well. Consumers should reme-mber to carefully preserve the receipt and the token that is given at the parking place so that they can make a case in the consumer forum if their car disappears.