Chandigarh: Big Bazaar asked to pay Rs 23,000 for charging for carry bags

In a similar complaint, another Panchkula resident, Santosh Kumari, said that she was also charged Rs 18 for a carry bag.

In its reply, Big Bazaar said that the amount had been rightly charged as the same was displayed in the store. It added that the consumer had given their consent for the cloth bag, after which the cashier added the extra amount.

However, the complainants alleged that it was not mentioned anywhere in the store that extra charges will be applicable for a carry bag. Thus, they filed a formal complaint at the Consumer Forum on April 4, 2019.

After hearing the arguments, the forum said, “…it would have been very odd and inconvenient for the complainant to carry the new articles in hand throughout, without a carry bag. In this backdrop, charges of such things (cloth bags) cannot be separately foisted upon the consumers and would amount to overcharging….”

“…the Complainant and other gullible consumers like him has certainly been taken for a ride by the opposite party. Undoubtedly, the opposite party (Big Bazaar) has several stores across the country and made a lot of money. Thus, the act of the opposite party, by forcing the gullible consumers to pay additionally for the carry bags, surely and certainly amounts to deficiency in service and its indulgence into unfair trade practice…”, the forum’s judgement added.