Chandigarh: Charging ₹12 for carry bag proves costly for retail store, fined ₹1k
Stating that the seller is obliged to deliver the goods in complete state of delivery, the panel directed the Miniso India, Chandigarh, to refund the carry bag’s amount and also pay litigation charges and compensation for causing mental agony and harassment to the complainant
The district consumer disputes redressal commission penalised a retail store for charging ₹12 for a paper carry bag.
Stating that the seller is obliged to deliver the goods in complete state of delivery, the panel directed the Miniso India, Chandigarh, to refund the carry bag’s amount and also pay litigation charges and compensation for causing mental agony and harassment to the complainant.
Tanya Sehgal of Sector 35 filed a complaint against Miniso India, Chandigarh, alleging that on March 30, 2022, the store raised a bill of ₹1,380, including ₹12 for the paper carry bag, for the things she bought from the retail store. She alleged that the charges of the carry bag were added without her consent.
The store stated that there was no rule which obligated the retailers to provide carry bags free of cost. “It is the choice of purchaser to purchase or not to purchase a paper carry bag, and this information has been disclosed on the screens and at prominent places of Miniso India’s counter, and if the complainant had chosen to purchase the paper carry bag, she was liable to pay the cost of the same,” it stated.
The commission observed: “It is clear that the seller is obliged to deliver the goods in complete state of delivery and the delivery of goods means physically handing over the goods from the seller to the buyer in a complete deliverable state and also that the packing of goods is also a state in putting the goods in deliverable state and the expenses incurred in order to putting the goods into deliverable state shall be suffered by the seller.”
Stating that the opposition party had wrongly charged ₹12 for the paper carry bag, the commission added, “It is safe to hold that the said act clearly amounts to unfair trade practice on its part.”
The commission directed Miniso to refund the wrongly charged carry bag amount of ₹12 to the complainant and to pay ₹1,000 as compensation for causing mental agony and harassment to the complainant and the cost of litigation.
