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We often have been warned about through various social media posts that how fake chargers could put our lives at risk. Many cases have been reported when a user have been seriously injured due to phone blasts. Although the exact reason for such blasts cannot be determined, many companies agree that use of fake chargers could be one of the main reasons behind such blasts.

The latest case of fake chargers has been brought forward by Apple. A lawsuit has been filed accusing Mobile Star of selling fake Apple chargers through Amazon. Apple believes that fake chargers could lead to fire and therefore are a risk to public.

Apple has been receiving complaints of fake chargers and to find out the culprit, they had placed orders with Amazon for these chargers. During testing, inferior quality of these products came out and it was also found out that many parts were missing. It was listed as original Apple product on Amazon and most users would buy these products considering the reputation of Amazon. The Amazon has not been made a party to this suit.

Such complaints are very common in India where fake products are regularly sold even on the online platform. It is very difficult to verify the authenticity of electronic products and companies would simply refuse to take responsibility if a product is found to be defective. So what should a user do if any harm is caused to him because of phone explosion? Who would be liable in such cases?

The remedy lies under The Consumer Protection Act, 1986. The Act provides for the liability of producer, distributor or retailer of any goods for any caused because of supplying any unsafe goods, defect in goods or inadequate warnings provided to users regarding the hazards related to goods. If more than one person is liable, then all of them would be liable jointly. It is irrelevant whether the fault was of the supplier or of the retailer. However, a user cannot claim any compensation if harm was caused due to his own negligence or the defect didn’t exist earlier. A producer also can’t be held liable for defective products which were not supplied by him or which were expired.

A complaint can be filed in District Forum where the incident has taken place within the two years. One can file his complaint through a registered post after paying the nominal charges.

However one must contact the nodal officer of the concerned company before filling for any claim. However, it has been observed that company are reluctant to accept their liability in such cases. While one can certainly understand that companies would not accept any liability for fake products, it is quite surprising that they also tend to escape their liability even when original products are also involved.