A Kostroma region resident filed a lawsuit against a car dealership for 389.4 thousand rubles, claiming the seller included an electronic book titled “Car Workshop” as a condition of the car purchase. The case was reported via the Kostroma Regional Court’s Telegram channel.
During the summer of 2023, the buyer agreed to an initial consumer package that promised a roadside assistance card valued at 268 thousand rubles. After the deal closed, the purchaser reviewed the documents and found that the actual service fees in the contract amounted to only 13.4 thousand rubles, while an electronic non-periodic publication, also labeled as “Automotive Workshop,” was billed at 254.6 thousand rubles.
The buyer approached the dealer with concerns, but the seller refunded merely 13.4 thousand rubles for services that were not rendered. Subsequently, the matter was escalated to the court, where it was determined that the seller had violated Article 16 of the Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights by tying the purchase of a service to the simultaneous purchase of goods.
In total, the court ordered the dealership to reimburse more than 389 thousand rubles to the plaintiff, comprising the cost of the imposed electronic publication, a fine of 129.8 thousand rubles, and 5 thousand rubles for moral damages.
The case section notes that a former Kostroma resident, according to online posts, equated the deal to a 1 million ruble expense for a car that did not exist. Attribution: Kostroma Regional Court communications indicate the final verdict and monetary outcomes.