KATHMANDU: Three consumers who went to court after Berger paint peeled off within months despite being sold with a claimed 7-to-10-year warranty have been awarded a total of Rs 1.278 million in compensation.

Dayaram Karki, Deepak Raj Giri and Siddhant Shrestha had purchased Berger Jensen & Nicholson (Nepal) paint from a dealer in Bhaktapur. They approached the Consumer Court after the paint applied to their houses began peeling within six to eight months.

A bench of Consumer Court members Gehendra Raj Regmi and Anand Raj Pokharel ordered compensation of Rs 297,500 to Karki, Rs 346,100 to Giri and Rs 634,800 to Shrestha.

Under the ruling, Berger Jensen & Nicholson (Nepal) Pvt. Ltd. has been ordered to pay Rs 1.2145 million, while its dealer, Friends Forever Trading Pvt. Ltd., must pay Rs 63,900, bringing the total compensation to Rs 1.2784 million.

The consumers had claimed that they purchased Berger’s ‘Weathercoat All Guard’ and ‘Weathercoat Longlife’ paints based on advertisements promising durability and a warranty of seven to 10 years. They sought repair and compensation after the paint deteriorated within months.

The court examined photographs and videos showing the peeling paint, paint containers and tins, purchase invoices, batch-related documents and the company’s advertisements.

The court found that Berger had advertised the products as exterior paints carrying seven- to 10-year warranties. Some paint containers displayed a seven-year warranty, while others carried a 10-year warranty.

The ruling also noted that the company’s advertisements promoted the ‘Weathercoat Longlife’ product with a “guarantee of 10 years.” However, its warranty certificate required consumers to purchase at least 40 litres of paint to qualify for the warranty. The court found such a condition unreasonable.

The court ordered the manufacturer and dealer to compensate the consumers under Sections 7(1)(c) and 11 of Nepal’s Consumer Protection Act, 2018.