AP: Consumer Court Asks Vizag Central to Compensate Customer for Charge on Carry Bag

By Shyamala Tulasi

Visakhapatnam: A consumer court in Vizag city has fined Central, a division of FLFL, a multi-brand clothing retailer located on VIP Road of Vizag city, and asked to pay Rs. 21,000 as compensation to a customer for reportedly charging him Rs. 12 for a carry bag. 

Members of the Visakhapatnam District Consumers Commission-I, Rahimunnisa Begum and Varri Krishna Murthy, also asked the retailer to refund Rs. 12, charged for the bag, to the complainant, Seepana Rama Rao, who is an advocate.

According to the complainant, he purchased clothes worth Rs. 628.96 from Central on July 14, 2019. Then he asked the cashier to put them in the bag, and he did so. But later the cashier asked for Rs.12 extra for the carry bag. 

The complainant asked why he should pay extra for the carry bag and he refused to pay, but the cashier insisted that he pay for the bag. He paid the amount and spoke to the manager, but the manager refused to give the carry bag for free. Later, the complainant noticed the bag had a Central’s logo on both sides.

He also explained to the manager and the remaining staff that it is illegal to charge for the bag which has a promotional print of their brand and requested to give it free for everyone. But the manager shouted at the complainant. 

The Complainant felt that he was wrongly charged for the carry bag and approached the consumer forum for justice. 

The commission ordered the retailer to pay Rs. 21,000 towards compensation for mental harassment and Rs. 1,500 towards the legal costs.