Red Tape charged Rs 10 for a carry bag, court orders Rs 8,000 compensation to customer
NEW DELHI: A consumer commission in Rohtak, Haryana, has ordered footwear brand Red Tape to refund Rs 10 charged for a carry bag and pay Rs 8,000 in compensation and litigation costs to a customer, holding that the practice amounted to deficiency in service and an unfair trade practice.The complainant alleged that he bought a pair of black Red Tape shoes from the brand’s Rohtak outlet for Rs 2,069.70 on April 1, 2023. Along with the shoes, he was charged an additional Rs 10 for a carry bag.As per the complaint, when the complainant asked the store to give him the bag for free, the staff refused and asked him to pay for it as it was company policy. He argued that charging for the carry bag was illegal and approached the consumer commission seeking a refund of the Rs 10 along with Rs 50,000 as compensation for harassment, and Rs 22,000 towards litigation expenses.However, Red Tape in its defence argued that charging for carry bags was meant to promote environmentally responsible behaviour and discourage the misuse of free bags. It further said that the customers were informed through signage at the store entrance urging them to bring their own bags, that buying a carry bag was entirely optional and never made compulsory, and that the bags sold did not carry any brand logo or promotion.What did the commission sayThe bench comprising President Nagender Singh Kadian and Members Tripti Pannu and Vijender Singh examined the invoice, which clearly showed the Rs 10 was charged for the carry bag, along with the bag itself, which was also placed on record. They then looked at an affidavit filed by the company, and found that its own words ended up going against it.“I say that the opposite party is adamant on his act and charged unnecessarily Rs. 10/- for carry bag… The act and conduct of the opposite party is illegal, arbitrary and against the provision of law and principle of natural justice,” the affidavit said.Pointing to this, the commission said this showed that “opposite parties have itself admitted that they have unnecessarily charged Rs 10 for carry bag and that such action was not justified.”It added that the affidavit, taken as a whole, backed the customer’s case and amounted to an admission that the charge was wrong. The commission then held that charging Rs 10 separately for the carry bag was both a deficiency in service and an unfair trade practice on the part of Red Tape.It therefore allowed the complaint and directed Red Tape to refund the Rs 10 carry bag charge, pay Rs 4,000 as compensation for the deficiency in service, and pay another Rs 4,000 towards litigation costs — taking the total payout to Rs 8,010. The order must be followed within 30 days, failing which Red Tape will also have to pay Rs 50 every week as an extra penalty until the full amount is paid.
