The Big Bazaar faces 15 cases. (Representational)With an increasing number of shoppers refusing to pay for carry bags, the Chandigarh Consumer Forum is seeing a glut of complaints. On last count, the forum had received 35 complaints against top retailers in the city.
The Big Bazaar faces 15 cases, Shoppers Stop and Pantaloon are fighting three each, while there are four cases against Bata, two against Dominos, five against Twenty Four Seven store, and one each against Reliance Retail, and Fashion India.
While the Sector 22 Bata store, which has already been directed to pay Rs 9,000 to a Chandigarh resident, Dinesh Parshad Raturi, for charging Rs 3 for a carry bag, is now facing a similar complaint by Vanita Soundh of Chandigarh. Soundh alleged that she was charged Rs 3 by Sector 17 Bata store after she purchased a woman pair of shoes from the store. The matter is, however, pending at the forum.
Advocate Pankaj Chandgothia, counsel for Vanita, said, “It is really surprising that the retailers are looting the consumers on such a frivolous pretext. Though the amount appears negligible, shopkeepers are making lakhs of illegal money by this unfair trade practice.”
The forum has already issued warrants against Westside store and Lifestyle store at Elante Mall for not complying with the orders in which the stores were directed to provide free carry bags to the customers purchasing articles from their respective stores. The warrants against the two companies managing directors have been issued after their appeals were dismissed by the State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission of Chandigarh.
The Westside store in appeal had submitted that “after ban on polythene/plastic bags, they have adopted eco-friendly practices and provide for high quality, environmentally safe paper bags in all its stores, and the purchase of paper carry bags, at all points of time, is entirely optional on the customer and the customer is not mandated to purchase the bag from them”.
However, the commission while dismissing the appeal of the Westside store had observed that “…the argument raised is totally absurd and vague and against the interest of consumers….One cannot be expected to take the goods/garments purchased in hands. We are shocked to see the kind of services provided by these big malls or showrooms. On one side huge discounts are given ranging up to 70% on the products by these shops/showrooms etc. and on the other hand, they are charging for a carry bag and could not give it free of cost to its worthy consumers….”
The forum has issued warrants for Westside and Lifestyle store for June 26, 2019, for failing to provide free carry bags to customers and not paying the awarded compensation and cost of Rs 3,000 to the complainant.
