You know how we go to the supermarket and the big clothing chain stores and they ask whether you want a carry bag to cart your purchases home? And then they ask you to pay for said carry bag? Some of us are fine with this, some of us not so much. One shopper in Chandigarh was of the latter category and this is what happened:
Dinesh Prasad Raturi of Chandigarh filed a complaint with the consumer forum about a purchase he made from a Bata store in the city. He paid Rs. 402 for his purchase, which included a Rs. 3 levy for the price of the carry bag. It was the contention of the complainant that via the bag – with the trademark red and white colour scheme and the brand name emblazoned on it – the company was also promoting its own brand.
The customer alleged that making customers pay for the carry bag amounted to ‘deficiency of service’. According to him, the store was bound to provide a free bag as part of the service and since this did not happen, he was liable to be compensated for it. The consumer held in favour of the complainant and ordered Bata India to cough up Rs. 9,000: Rs. 3,000 to the customer as damages, Rs. 1,000 to compensate his legal expenditure and Rs. 5,000 to the State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission by way of legal aid.
The idea behind making people pay for bags is an admirable one. It helps reduce waste and raises awareness about our strained garbage disposal systems. When people have to pay extra for carry bags they are encouraged to bring their own, reuse bags and become more aware generally about plastic and other kinds of waste. I for one always carry a folding tote bag wherever I go and actually admonish shopkeepers for giving me plastic bags without me asking for them. We all certainly need to reduce the amount of plastic we use and throw. A lot of stores also take the trouble to manufacture environment-friendly paper bags (though paper bags are quite limited in their use because they are prone to tearing and one cannot use them for anything damp or frozen, for instance) or bags made from recycled material, which is a good thing.
On the flip side, any store is providing a service by selling us a product. That service ought to be adequate; in other words, it should be such that it is easy for the buyer to transport the product back home with them. Not doing so, would, in fact, constitute deficiency of service. For instance, could we possibly be able to buy eggs without an egg tray? Or oil without a bag, bottle or can? In this case, did Bata not think it necessary to provide a bag in which to carry home the product(s) bought?
Also, when brands force us to pay for bags, they ought not to be plugging their own brand via the bag. If the bag we buy is a generic one, without signage or logos of any sort, this would be fine. So the problem arises when we buy something from stores such as Lifestyle, Westside, or even from fast-food joints such as KFC etc., and the brand logo and name are prominently displayed on the bag. The company not only gets the customer to compensate if for what it presumably spent on the bag, but it also gets free publicity.
The bottom line is, I am all for shops charging us for bags; so long as they first inform us that it is chargeable. Also, the bags should be sturdy, reusable and capacious; without logos or brand insignia of any sort. So the next time the store charges you for a bag; remember to give them this gyan.
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