Furniture company found it expensive to charge Rs 20 from a woman for a carry bag, will have to pay a fine of Rs 3,000
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Consumer Court: Multinational furniture retailer Ikea has found it costly to charge Rs 20 from a woman for a carry bag with the company’s logo on it. The company will have to pay a fine of three thousand rupees for this. Actually, the woman had complained against this in the consumer court.
It is being told that on October 6, 2022, Sangeeta Bohra, resident of Jogupalya, Bengaluru, went to the Ikea showroom in Nagasandra. There he bought goods worth Rs 2428 from the company. But, at the time of billing he was asked for Rs 2448. When the woman asked the reason for taking Rs 20 more, she found out that the money for the carry bag had been added.
Sangeeta Bohra opposed adding money for carry bags. They asked why they needed to pay for branded bags despite making purchases, and demanded that the bags be given to customers free of cost. Due to the staff being adamant, he had no option but to buy the bag for Rs 20.
Sangeeta Bohra sent a legal notice to Ikea on October 17, 2022, against the company’s behavior, saying that forcing customers to buy bags with the brand’s printed logo is an unfair trade practice. The company replied to him that there is nothing inappropriate in this. Customers buy bags with logo. Refund refused.
In March 2023, Bohra approached the Bengaluru Urban First Additional District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission in Shantinagar with a complaint against Ikea India Private Limited. Ikea’s lawyer told the court that the complaint is false, frivolous, vexatious and deserves to be dismissed. It was argued that there is no direct or indirect obligation for customers to purchase paper bags and there is nothing suspicious about its sale without any hidden charges.
In its judgment delivered on October 4, 2023, the Bengaluru Consumer Forum judges said that all expenses incurred in bringing the goods to a deliverable condition will have to be borne by the seller. Therefore, Ikea’s argument is not acceptable. If purchasing a carry bag is made optional, the customer may not bring a bag for each item.
Expressing surprise at the attitude of big showrooms and malls in the case, the judges said that Ikea has committed poor service and unfair trade practices and the customer should be given appropriate compensation. The court ordered Ikea India Pvt Ltd to return Rs 20 collected for the bag with interest, besides paying Rs 1,000 as compensation to the customer for harassment and mental agony caused and Rs 2,000 towards his court expenses. Ordered.
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