Charging Additional Costs For Carry Bags At Payment Counter Without Prominent Prior Notice Is An Unfair Trade Practice: NCDRC

The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) has directed Big Bazaar to discontinue its unfair trade practice of arbitrarily imposing additional cost of carry bags on the consumer at the time of making payment.

Dismissing the revision petition filed by it, the Commission observed that a consumer has the right to know that there will be an additional cost for carry bags and also to know the salient specifications and price of the carry bags, before he exercises his choice of patronizing a particular retail outlet and before he makes his selection of goods for purchase from the said retail outlet.

The issue before NCDRC was whether the charging of additional cost (Rs. 18/- in this case) for carry bag(s), to carry the goods purchased by the Complainant, can be said to be deficiency and unfair trade practice. The District Forum and the State Commission has held against Big Bazaar.

The commission observed that the normal practice in retail outlets is to provide carry bags without additional cost, to enable convenience in carrying the purchased goods. Presiding Member, Dinesh Singh, observed thus:

"The consumer has the right to know, before he exercises his choice to patronize a particular retail outlet, and before he makes his selection of goods for purchase, that additional cost will be charged for carry bags, and also the right to know the salient specifications and price of the carry bags. Prominent prior notice and information has necessarily to be there ( inter alia at the entrance to the retail outlet also), to enable the consumer to make his choice of whether or not to patronize the concerned outlet, and the consumer has necessarily to be informed of the additional cost for carry bags and of their salient specifications and price before he makes his selection of the goods for purchase. It cannot be that a notice is displayed at the payment counter or that the consumer is informed at the time of making payment that additional cost will be charged for carry bags, after the consumer has already made his selection for purchase and has already made payment or is in the process of making payment for the selected goods. It also cannot be that carry bags of (undisclosed) specifications and of price as fixed by the Opposite Party Co. are so forced on the consumer. Such notice or information at the time of making payment not only causes embarrassment and harassment to the consumer and burdens him with additional cost but also affects his unfettered right to make an informed choice of patronizing or not patronizing a particular outlet at the initial stage itself and before making his selection of goods for purchase."

While dismissing the petition, the commission further directed:

The Opposite Party Co. through its Chief Executive is ordered under Section 39(1)(g) of the Act 2019 [corresponding Section 14(1)(f) of the Act 1986] to forthwith discontinue its unfair trade practice of arbitrarily and highhandedly imposing additional cost of carry bags on the consumer at the time of making payment, without prominent prior notice and information before the consumer makes his choice of patronizing its retail outlets and before the consumer makes his selection of goods for purchase, as also without disclosing the salient specifications and price of the carry bags. The necessary notice / signs / announcement / advertisement / warning should be in the place and manner as may enable the consumer to make his informed choice of whether or not to patronize its retail outlets, and whether or not to make his selection of goods for purchase from its retail outlets. The notice or information cannot be at the occasion of making payment, after the consumer has exercised his choice to patronize its retail outlet, and after he has made his selection of goods for purchase.

Case: Big Bazaar (Future Retail Ltd.) vs Sahil Dawar [RP 975 OF 2020] 

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