Dinesh Prasad Raturi, a resident of Chandigarh, purchased a pair of shoes from a Bata store. Along with being charged Rs 402 for the shoes, he was also charged for a carry bag. Raturi complained to the Consumer Forum that the shop had printed their names on the bag, and hence they shouldn’t have charged for the bag, since this accounts as advertising. Dinesh, asked for a refund of Rs 3 and a compensation for poor service. Bata argued that they had provided good quality service.

The consumer forum said that it was not right to charge a customer for a carry bag, and that it was the duty of the store to provide free bags to the customer who had purchased the product. The forum stated that, if the companies really cared for the environment, they should provide free environment friendly bags to their customers. The forum directed Bata India Limited to refund the cost of the bag and litigation charges of Rs 1000.

Along with this, the consumer forum asked Bata to pay Rs 3000 as compensation to the customer for mental stress caused by poor service. They have also directed Bata to deposit Rs 5,000 in the legal aid account of the State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission.The Chandigarh consumer forum's decision is an eye opener for stores that force customers to pay for carry bags.

Tags

• Bata
• Fined
• Bags
• Chandigarh
• Consumer

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