How IFB Tricked Me into Buying an AMC I Couldn t Use In December 2024, my IFB washing machine broke down because of a damaged pulsator. When I requested a service, two IFB technicians visited my home to inspect the problem. Instead of offering a direct solution, they strongly recommended that I purchase an Annual Maintenance Contract (AMC), claiming that it would cover the cost of repairing the pulsator and any future issues for the next year. They warned me that without AMC, I would have to pay around ?7,000 for the repair. Believing their assurance that the AMC would cover my issue, I decided to purchase it. However, they informed me that I would have to wait for 56 days before I could avail of any services under the AMC. Since they were the official representatives of IFB, I trusted their word. I purchased the AMC on December 6, 2024, and it was activated on December 7, 2024. After purchasing the AMC, I contacted IFB Customer Support multiple times to confirm whether I needed to wait before using my newly activated AMC. Every single time I called, IFB s customer support executives confirmed that I would have to wait for 56 days before raising a repair request. I asked them if I could claim repairs immediately since the AMC was active, and they repeatedly told me no. Their responses were consistent, leading me to believe that this was the official IFB policy. The 56-Day Wait and IFB s Endless Delays Begin After waiting for 56 days, as I was instructed, I finally raised a service request in February 2025 to have my washing machine repaired under AMC. A technician visited my home to inspect the machine, but instead of starting the repair, he told me that he needed to verify whether the broken pulsator was covered under AMC. He assured me that he would get back to me soon with an update. After he left, I tried contacting him multiple times over the next few days to follow up, but he never answered my calls. This forced me to escalate the issue further. Eventually, the Area Service Manager, Shiva Nagababu, got involved. He promised that he would resolve the issue and ensure my washing machine was repaired soon. However, this turned out to be yet another false promise. The only action he took was against the technician, Naveen, for ignoring my calls. But my actual repair request was still not addressed. Contradictions and Lies from IFB Executives By early February, Ram Mohan, an IFB Area Executive, was brought into the conversation. Initially, he promised my father that they would take care of the repair and solve the issue soon. However, as days passed, it became increasingly clear that IFB was deliberately avoiding the repair altogether. I continued following up with the customer support team and the area executive, and that s when I discovered even more concerning facts. I learned that IFB had only billed for the spare parts THREE days after I raised my complaint. When I questioned why there was a delay, they told me that it took them three days to discuss and finalize which parts were needed. This explanation made no sense, considering that technicians had already inspected my machine and should have immediately known which parts were required. Even after finally billing the spare parts, the delay continued. When I contacted customer support, they told me that the spare parts were expected to arrive by February 28, 2025. When I followed up on February 27, they failed to provide a clear answer about the delay and simply asked me to wait for two more days. When I asked them for an official estimate of how long spare parts usually take to arrive, they admitted that it normally takes 10 days. Yet my case had already gone well past that timeframe. When I finally spoke with Shiva Nagababu, the Area Service Manager, on March 1, 2025, he told me that my AMC was eligible for service from December 7, 2024, the day it was activated. This directly contradicted what multiple IFB customer support executives had told me earlier that I had to wait 56 days. At this point, it became clear that IFB had deliberately misled me about the waiting period to delay my repair. Fraudulent Customer Support Tactics: Lying, Pretending to be Supervisors, and Disconnecting Calls When I continued to escalate my complaint, I faced even worse treatment from IFB s customer support team. On March 3, 2025, I spoke to a customer support supervisor, who told me to call back the next day during working hours so that I could speak to their back-end team regarding my issue. However, when I called back on March 4, 2025, something unbelievable happened. Instead of transferring my call to the back-end team or a real supervisor, the executive transferred my call to his teammate, who pretended to be a supervisor. This fake supervisor gave me vague responses and tried to end the conversation without providing any real assistance. When I confronted him, stating that I had spoken with him before and knew he wasn t a supervisor, he immediately put me on hold. Even worse, when I asked IFB employees to provide their full names and designations, they refused, claiming it was against their privacy policies. When I told them I would add Area Service Manager Shiva Nagababu to the call, they immediately disconnected the call. This proves that they were intentionally misleading me and had no real intention of resolving my issue. Violation of Consumer Rights: Failure to Provide Grievance Officer Contact Details Throughout this entire ordeal, I repeatedly requested the contact details of IFB s Grievance Officer, which they are legally required to provide under Indian consumer protection laws. However, IFB employees claimed they "did not know" who the Grievance Officer was. Despite multiple requests, they never provided an email ID or any means to contact this officer. Even today, they have failed to provide this legally required information. Senior Management s Utter Failure: Chanukya and Abhishek s Role in the Mess Throughout this ordeal, Telangana Manager Chanukya and Customer Support Head Abhishek demonstrated complete negligence, a lack of accountability, and a refusal to take any meaningful action. Chanukya continuously ignored my emails, responding only after repeated follow-ups. Despite knowing that IFB employees had misled me about the AMC policy and delayed my repair unnecessarily, he never acknowledged their mistakes or provided a formal resolution. When I requested compensation for my financial and mental distress, he completely ignored my request. Instead, he sent a meaningless bouquet a clear attempt to pacify me without actually solving the issue. Rather than issuing a formal written apology admitting IFB s errors, he sent IFB employees to my home to negotiate verbally, trying to settle the matter without leaving any official record. When I was connected to Customer Support Head Abhishek, he falsely assured me that he would investigate the issue and provide a response within a day. However, just like Chanukya, he failed to follow through on his promise. I had to follow up again on Wednesday, only to be informed that IFB was refusing to provide compensation despite their clear mishandling of my case. Even when I insisted that IFB provide a clear explanation in writing, he chose to respond with vague, meaningless emails that provided no real answers Even when I posted about my experience on X (formerly Twitter), IFB s social media team initially responded and asked me to share my contact details. However, after I provided the information, they lied publicly, claiming they had tried to contact me when in reality, they never did. When I called them out on this lie and asked when they had supposedly contacted me, they stopped responding entirely. I want to know: Do I have a strong legal case for consumer fraud, misrepresentation, or deficiency in service? Can I demand compensation for the financial and mental distress caused by IFB s actions? What legal steps should I take next? Should I file a complaint with a Consumer Court, send a legal notice, or approach a consumer rights organization? Does IFB s refusal to provide Grievance Officer details violate Indian consumer laws? Would appreciate your legal advice on the best course of action. Answered Consumer complaints

Comments