The Brave Pedestrian

  Those who book flats with Lodha are bullied every step of the way. Here is the story of two couples -- one aged and one young -- who booked flats at Lodha Palava and Lodha New Cuffe Parade. Although they paid the bulk of the flat consideration, or even the entire consideration, they are humiliated by watchmen who prevent them from going into the building compound or the tower. Why? Because they refuse to sign a waiver without inspecting their flat. Lodha is using such arm-twisting tactics to force flat-buyers to sign the waiver that gives him a clean chit, saying that they have inspected the flat, are completely satisfied with it, and have no further claims against the builder. If they later discover defects and go to National Consumer Forum, RERA or civil court, Lodha's legal team will use this waiver to discredit their claims and have their case dismissed! The shameful part is that by such tactics, Lodha manages to cow down even the rich and powerful flat buyers, and give t...

  Mangal Prabhat Lodha, the patron saint of Lodha Group or Macrotech Developers, is reportedly India's richest builder. As per GROHE Hurun Real Estate Rich List 2018, the personal fortune of Mangal Prabhat Lodha is USD 3.8 billion. According to my calculations, that is INR 26,000 crore. That means more than INR 1,000 crore earned per year of Mangal Prabhat Lodha's 24 year career as an MLA (Member of Legislative Assembly). Or INR 750 crore earned per year of Mangal Prabhat Lodha's 35-year career as a builder. Some questions are begging to be asked. Such as: how much of this 26,000 crore personal fortune was earned by forfeiting booking amounts of flat-buyers of Lodha Palava City, Lodha Upper Thane, Lodha New Cuffe Parade, Lodha World Towers, and other projects. And how much of it was earned by land deals involving the lands of farmers of Dombivli, Thane, Panvel, etc. ISSUED IN PUBLIC INTEREST BY Krishnaraj Rao 9821588115 and 8169471229 krish.kkphoto@gmail.com

  By depriving customers of genuine information and creating a false urgency (Gudi Padwa discount etc) and fake information about scarcity of flats (e.g. last three flats remaining in this project, rest all are sold out!), Lodha's sales team and CRM team cause their customers to take terrible financial decisions that they will regret in the years to come. No matter which project you are tempted to buy a flat in -- Whether it is Lodha Amara, Splendora, Palava, or New Cuffe Parade, please remember that the Sales Team members are NOT your friends, and the Customer Relationship Managers are NOT your friends. They are there to coax, mislead and bully you into paying the first installment, and after that, bully you into paying more and more installments. ISSUED IN PUBLIC INTEREST BY Krishnaraj Rao 9821588114 and 8169471229 krish.kkphoto@gmail.com

Mumbai, 27 April, 2018: Here is a live example of how Lodha Group traps unwary flat-purchasers by imposing unfair terms and conditions. Kavita Shinde booked flat no. A401 in Casa Treetop in Lodha Upper Thane, located on Mumbai-Nashik Highway, and has been receiving extortionate demand letters to pay late-fees for a delay in payment, although she had not delayed any payment.  Kavita booked her flat on 11th May, 2017 by paying Rs 90,000/-, and followed this up by paying Rs 3.17 lakhs on 5th June, 2017. As per the application form, the next "milestone" was executing the registered agreement. The third installment could become payable only after the registration. Example of  Lodha Group's payment schedule, mentioned in the Application Form. Quite often, these schedules mention strict deadlines such as 45 days between consecutive payments. Lodha Group delayed the registration until November. And then, just as Kavita was preparing to pay her next installment...