DISTRICT CONSUMER DISPUTES REDRESSAL FORUM-I, LUCKNOW
CASE No.836 of 2013
Mujeeb Effendi, Adult,
S/o S.K. Effendi,
R/o Old Bhopal House (New Shalimar Hotel),
Lalbagh, Lucknow.
……Complainant
Versus
Big Bazar (Future Value Retail Ltd.),
Sahara Mall,
Saharaganj,
Hazratganj, Lucknow-226001.
.......Opp. Party
Present:-
Sri Vijai Varma, President.
Smt. Anju Awasthy, Member.
JUDGMENT
This complaint is filed by the Complainant against the OP for refund of Rs.40.00 with 18% interest and for payment of Rs.25,000.00 as compensation and cost of litigation of Rs.5,000.00.
The case in brief of the Complainant is that the OP claims itself to be one of the biggest chains of the retail shop of household goods and consumable items. They also claimed the price of goods to be the cheapest in the market. The OP, a few days before the independence day on 15.08.2013 publicised through the media, offering heavy discounts on products on the independence day. The Complainant went to the retail store of OP on 15.08.2013 and purchased goods worth Rs.6,983.00 and amongst the items purchased by the Complainant he also purchased Lakme DP Pore 120 m the MRP of which was Rs.110.00 printed on the sticker but the Complainant was shocked to see that the price charged was Rs.150.00 from the Complainant, hence he immediately demanded refund of excess amount of Rs.40.00. As the OP
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had charged in excess of the price displayed on the packet but the OP did not relent and said that they did not have power to change the price of the goods as fed in the software of Big Bazar. But in this way the OP looted and robbed thousands of customers on the day of independence by taking benefit of the fact that very few customers had ever thought that the OP could charge excessive price. Besides due to immense crowding on the date of independence, for the purchase of goods the consumers also avoided checking list of goods purchased. The OP is guilty of unfair trade practice by charging price in excess of what is displayed on the packet, hence this complaint for compensation etc.
Notice was issued to the OP but none appeared, hence the case proceeded exparte against OP vide orders passed on 30.07.2015.
The Complainant has filed his affidavit with 2 annexures.
Heard Counsel for the Complainant and perused the entire record.
In this case, the Complainant had purchased an item Lakme DP Pore 120 m from the OP which was priced at Rs.110.00 but the OP charged Rs.150.00 for the same and when the Complainant asked for the refund of excess amount of Rs.40.00 then the OP refused to do so, hence the OP committed unfair trade practice. The Complainant has filed the photocopy of the receipt as annexure 1 with his affidavit where Rs.150.00 is charged for LAK FC DP PORE 120m by the OP. The Complainant has also filed the photocopy of the printed price on the bottle which shows it to be priced at Rs.110.00 as is evident from annexure 2. The product shown is Lakme deep pore cleanser and it is priced at Rs.110.00 whereas the OP has charged Rs.150.00 for the same. The Complainant has also filed his affidavit in support of the contention made by him in his complaint. The OP has not filed
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any WS or any reply nor any counter affidavit to counter the allegations of the Complainant, therefore there is no reason to disbelieve the unchallenged testimony of the Complainant. Thus, from the affidavit and documents filed by the Complainant, it is clear that the Complainant was charged Rs.150.00 for the product which was priced at Rs.110.00 and when he asked the OP to refund the amount of Rs.40.00 then they refused to do so on the ground that they cannot change the price fed in the software of Big Bazar. Therefore, obviously the OP has committed unfair trade practice as they have charged more than what was the MRP of the product. The Complainant, therefore, is entitled to get Rs.40.00 with interest. As he also appears to have been harassed in this regard, hence he is entitled to compensation as well as cost of the litigation.
But the more important factor in this case is that on an independence day when the retail chain of OP publicized it to be a day of discount then thousands of customers flock to their chain all over India so that they can avail of the discounts provided by the OP. Therefore, a lot of rush is there in the retail chain of the OP and also this rush causes the customers to buy goods without verifying as to what is the price charged from them and so if the OP charges more than what is printed on the MRP then it usually over looked by the customers and when the vigilant customer sees the anomaly and raises his point for refunding the amount then he does not get the respite on the basis of the arguments such as advanced by the OP of not being able to correct the feeding in the software. Consequently thousands could be duped on such days, therefore this type of charging more than what is printed on the product fills the coffers of the OP. So there is every possibility that thousands of customers on this day might have been cheated and duped of their valuable money. Therefore, it is very essential that such type of malpractices are stopped and
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the OP is to pay for such malpractices for such unidentifiable customers in general. Therefore, the OP is also directed to pay Rs.50,000.00 to be deposited in the a/c of the Forum for further action at this end.
ORDER
The complaint is partly allowed. The OP is directed to refund the amount of Rs.40.00 (Rupees Forty Only) with 9% interest from the date of filing of the case till the final payment is made to the Complainant.
The OP is also directed to pay Rs.5,000.00 (Rupees Five Thousand Only) and Rs.2,000.00 (Rupees Two Thousand Only) as cost of the litigation.
The OP is also directed to deposit Rs.50,000.00 in the a/c of the Forum for further action at this end as per Section 14 of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986.
The compliance of the order is to be made within a month.
(Anju Awasthy) (Vijai Varma)
Member President
Dated: 15 January, 2016
