Did you know that it is illegal to charge for carry bags with printed logos of the brand? You aren’t the only person unaware as a similar incident took place in Hyderabad when a man paid for a carry bag as he did not know that it wasn’t a legal practice to sell the packets when you buy any merchandise.
After knowing that it is an unlawful activity, the Kavadiguda resident lodged a formal complaint against the seller. This triggered the department’s action that fined the Hyderabad Central mall Rs.15000.
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The incident took place in Punjagutta’s Hyderabad Central Mall when V Bejjam bought a shirt worth Rs. 1,400 and was charged Rs.10 extra for a Carry bag that bore the mall’s logo for carrying the purchase.
Upon learning that it illegal to charge for carry bags, the customer registered a complaint with the Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission. The department then directed the mall to compensate the complainant by paying him Rs. 15,000.
In his complaint, Mr. Bejjam proclaimed that the mall was using customers as their advertising strategy with the branded logo while also making money by charging Rs. 10 for it.
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“The customer’s are informed about the price at the time of billing or after billing which amounts to unfair trade practice,” he said.
Despite laws, shopkeepers, malls, and many retail stores charge their customers for the carry bags. The act of asking a fee for carry bags was brought in to discourage people from opting for plastic bags as earlier those dominated the arena.
However, it is now being looked at as a money-making strategy as plenty of stores are charging for the bags.
Speaking about the same, Manjit Kumar Das, advocate, Guwahati High Court and Consumer Court, said, “Since March 2018, it was made illegal for shopkeepers or shopping malls to charge extra money from consumers for plastic bags or paper bags or any kind of bags. Case can be filed before the Consumer Redressal Forum just by submitting an application. The Forum will issue a notice on the basis of that application.”
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The issue gained spotlight back when a consumer approached the Chandigarh Consumer Commission after he was charged Rs. 3 at Bata India Ltd. For a shoe carry bag. The commission then fined the store Rs. 9,000 to be paid to the customer for the mental torture.
Free provision of bags infact fall under the Consumer Protection Act, 1986. Not even environment-friendly bags are supposed to be charged as they have their brands’ logos on it and become an advertisement at the cost of the customer.
Every district has a Consumer Court that can be approached to lodge such complaints through an application and an attachment of the purchase slip.
