The Delhi-based District Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission (DCDRC) has mandated Lifestyle, a prominent fashion brand, to compensate a customer with ₹3,000. This penalty follows their act of charging a customer ₹7 for a paper carry bag at one of their outlets.
The panel, led by President SS Malhotra alongside members Rashmi Bansal and Ravi Kumar, found the outlet accountable for inflicting mental distress upon the customer. Additionally, they instructed the outlet to refund the ₹7 charged for the carry bag.
"The commission is of the opinion that OP (Lifestyle) cannot charge any amount for carry bags, particularly those items that have been purchased from the OP outlet itself and charging any amount from the consumers for that amounts to a deficiency of service on the part of the OP. Therefore, OP is directed to refund Rs. 7 as the cost of the carry bag to the complainant and Rs. 3000 as compensation for causing mental agony and harassment, which shall include litigation costs," the November 28 order said.
The commission further stipulated that in the event of non-compliance with this directive, Lifestyle would be subjected to an interest rate of 9% per year.
The Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum was addressing a complaint lodged by Anmol Malhotra, who asserted being charged ₹7 for a paper carry bag without his awareness during a visit to a lifestyle-owned outlet.
Reportedly, the incident occurred on December 8, 2020, subsequent to Malhotra's purchase of items amounting to ₹706 from the outlet. Within this total, there was an additional charge of ₹7 labeled for the paper carry bag.
Malhotra argued that the fashion brand imposed this extra cost without any prior notification, causing him distress and inconvenience. He maintained that this act constituted a deficiency in service and was an unfair trade practice.
The consumer court observed that the customer has a right to be informed of such additional charges prior to making a purchase.
"The carry bag of undisclosed specifications were forced on the consumers at the price fixed by the OP (Lifestyle). Such information at the time of making payment causes harassment to the customer and burden him with additional cost and also affects his rights to make an informed decision to opt for a specific outlet or not," the DCDRC held.
The commission also referred to similar observations in a 2020 order issued by the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) concerning a case involving Big Bazaar.
Hence, the district consumer court reached the conclusion that Lifestyle was not justified in imposing supplementary charges for carry bags, particularly without informing the customer beforehand. As a result, the court mandated Lifestyle to compensate its customer, Malhotra, for this action.
Website designed, developed and maintained by webexy