Hyderabad Consumer Court orders Rs 8 lakh refund over faulty house construction
HYDERABAD: The Hyderabad District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission-I ordered Pluckwalk Technologies Private Limited, an online project management company from Bengaluru, and V R There India Private Limited, a local building contractor, to refund Rs 8.29 lakh to Ravi Shanker Prasad, who lives in Tarnaka.
On August 23, 2022, Prasad signed an agreement with both companies to build a house on his 2403-square-foot plot in Thummaloor, Ranga Reddy district. The contract was worth Rs 69 lakh and the house was supposed to be finished by March 2023. However, in October 2022, a structural engineer named Syed Mahmood found serious problems in columns F1 and F2, such as too much shaking, air pockets, and honeycombing.
These problems happened because the concrete was not packed tightly enough. The engineer said the bad columns should be torn down. Prasad ended the contract on January 2, 2023, after the companies did not fix the problems and left out an important staircase beam.
Later, Prasad found out that Pluckwalk paid Rs 4.84 lakh from the project’s escrow account to the contractor without his permission and without checking that work stages were finished. In response, Pluckwalk said it did nothing wrong and argued that only a court in Bangalore could handle the case.
Furthermore, Pluckwalk claimed it was just a digital platform and not responsible for mistakes by the building contractor, based on the agreement. It also said that Prasad did not pay Rs 3.28 lakh for the fourth stage of work. The contractor, V R There, did not attend the hearing.
Commission rejects immunity claim
The commission rejected Pluckwalk’s argument. Specifically, it said giving money from the escrow account to a contractor without checking the quality broke its duty to the customer. The bench noted, “Pluckwalk breached its fiduciary duty and rendered the escrow safety mechanism meaningless. Having entered into the Tripartite Agreement with the complainant to provide consulting and construction services, both Opposite Parties cannot shift blame or hide behind liability exclusion disclaimers to escape accountability for the resulting structural hazards, financial losses, and mental agony caused to the Complainant”.
The order was given on September 2, 2026, by a panel led by President B. Uma Venkata Subba Lakshmi and members C. Lakshmi Prasanna and B. Raji Reddy. The commission made its decision about a complaint from May 14, 2024, about bad construction. In addition to the refund, the commission gave Rs 50,000 for financial loss and stress, and Rs 20,000 for legal costs.
The companies have to follow the order within 45 days. If they do not, the refund will get 9% interest each year. The accused response could not be obtained for this report, but it will be added if received later.
