A retail brand has been fined by a consumer court for asking a customer to pay extra for a bag. The court said that the brand was violating the consumer rights and engaging in unfair trade practices by charging a customer for an essential item.
The incident happened in Bengaluru, where a customer named Ramesh Kumar bought a pair of shoes from a Reliance Retail outlet on November 3, 2022. He was charged Rs 399 for the shoes and Rs 24.9 for the carry bag. He refused to pay the extra amount and filed a complaint against the outlet.
The consumer court heard his complaint and found that he was right to complain. The court said that the carry bag was an essential item for sale of the product and it should have been provided by the seller free of cost. The court also said that by forcing the customer to pay for the bag, Reliance Retail was minting money from him and causing him mental agony.
The court ordered Reliance Retail to refund Rs 24.9 collected from Ramesh Kumar towards the carry bag, apart from paying him a compensation of Rs 5,000 and another Rs 2,000 towards his court expenses. The court also directed Reliance Retail to provide free carry bags to its customers and not to charge them any extra amount.
This is not the first time that a retail brand has been fined by a consumer court for charging customers extra for bags or other items. In April 2019, Bata India Ltd was fined Rs 9,000 by a Chandigarh consumer forum for asking a customer to pay Rs 3 for a paper bag. In July 2021, another multi-brand clothing retailer was ordered by a Gujarat consumer court to pay Rs 1,500 as compensation to a customer who was charged Rs 10 for a carry bag.
These cases show that consumers have the right to be informed about the prices of items before buying them and they should not be forced to pay extra charges for items that are essential or standard. Retailers should respect their customers’ rights and provide them with quality products at reasonable prices without any hidden charges or unfair practices.
