Charging ₹4 For Carry Bag Costs Retail Firm ₹3k | Ludhiana News

Ludhiana: The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has ordered a retail company to pay Rs 3,000 for charging Rs 4 as cost for a carry bag in addition to the cost of the product from a customer. The commission comprising president K K Kareer and member Jaswinder Singh directed the retail company to refund Rs 4 and further pay a sum of Rs 2,000 as compensation and Rs 1,000 as litigation cost to complainant Rishi Kumar of Rishi Nagar.
Kumar in his complaint to the commission on May 10, 2019 said he had purchased a grocery item from the retail outlet of the respondent for a sum of Rs 138 on March 24, 2019. In addition to the cost of the product, the outlet charged an extra Rs 4 for the carry bag which had an endorsement of the brand logo of the company.

The firm in its reply pleaded that the complainant was expressly informed at the cashier’s counter that in the event he asked for a carry bag, he would have to pay a sum of Rs 4. The policy is designed to incentivise consumers to carry their own bag and to reuse the bags to avoid deforestation and environmental damage. Moreover, the complainant was specifically asked whether he wanted to purchase the carry bag for additional charge and only when the complainant agreed, the bag was supplied and an amount of Rs 4 was charged from him.
The counsel for the complainant, however, argued that no notice was exhibited prominently in the showroom of the opposite party that the complainant would be charged the price of the carry bag and it amounted to deficiency in service as well as unfair trade practice.
On the other hand, the counsel for the opposite party argued that the complainant voluntarily purchased the carry bag, therefore it could not be said that he has been unduly charged the price of the carry bag.
Referring to Big Bazaar (Future Retail Limited) versus Ashok Kumar (Supra) case, the commission held that if a shopkeeper intends to deviate from the past practice of supplying free carry bags to the customer, he is required to give adequate prominent prior notice to the consumer before the consumer makes his choice of patronizing a particular retail outlet and if no such prior notice is given and the factum of charging the carry bag is disclosed to the complainant at the payment counter only, this amounts to causing harassment and embarrassment to the consumer, which tantamount to unfair trade and deceptive practice.
In the instant case also, it is not the case of the opposite party that any such notice regarding charging the price of carry bag was prominently displayed in their showroom nor any such thing has been mentioned in the affidavit submitted by the opposite party. The commission observed that therefore, as per the law laid down by the National Commission in Big Bazaar (Future Retail Limited) versus Ashok Kumar (Supra), the opposite parties could not have charged the amount of Rs 4 from the complainant as the complainant was asked at the payment counter after he had already made the purchase.