Shoe store charges Rs 3 for bag, fined Rs 9,000

A consumer forum in Chandigarh criticised a leading shoe firm for making a customer pay Rs 3 for a paper bag on purchase of goods. It also instructed Bata India Limited to pay Rs 9,000 to the consumer for deficiency in services.

Chandigarh resident Dinesh Prasad Raturi had moved the consumer forum after the store charged him Rs 402 for a pair of shoes and this also included Rs 3 for the paper bag. The forum described it as an unfair trade practice and asked Bata India to provide free paper bags to its customers.

The firm was directed to refund Rs 3 wrongly charged for the paper carry bag; pay Rs 3,000 as compensation for mental and physical harassment; pay Rs 1,000 as litigation expenses; and deposit Rs 5,000 in the Consumer Legal Aid account as punitive damages.


State consumer disputes redressal forum has directed Westside in Elante mall to provide free carry bags to customers and pay Rs 3,000 to a complainant. The authorities of Westside were also told to refund Rs 10, which it had charged for a paper carry bag from a customer. In her plea, the complainant had stated that she had purchased garments from Westside was shocked to see that the shop had charged Rs 10 for a bag.