Charged ₹20 for a carry bag, shopper wins ₹3,000 from MNC

BENGALURU: A woman who was charged Rs 20 by Ikea for a carry bag with the company logo took the multinational furniture retailer to a consumer court and won a refund as well as Rs 3,000 in overall compensation.Holding that Ikea was guilty of unfair trade practice, the court said the seller must bear all expenses in putting the goods in a deliverable state for the customer.Sangeetha Bohra, a resident of Jogupalya, visited Ikea at Nagasandra on October 6, 2022. She purchased goods worth Rs 2,428 and after billing, learnt that she'd been charged Rs 20 for a carry bag with Ikea branding.Bohra questioned the staff about why she needed to pay for a branded bag despite making purchases, and demanded that bags be given free to customers. With the store staff standing their ground, she had no choice but to buy the bag for Rs 20.Holding that forcing customers to buy bags with a printed logo of the brand amounts to advertising, which is spurious and an unfair trade practice, the woman sent Ikea a legal notice.The company replied to her that there is nothing unfair in making customers purchase bags with their logo and refused a refund.In March 2023, Bohra approached Bengaluru Urban first additional district consumer disputes redressal commission with a complaint against Ikea India Pvt Ltd.Ikea's counsel said the complaint is false, frivolous, vexatious, and liable to be dismissed. There is no direct or indirect compulsion for customers to purchase bags and there is nothing suspicious about its sale with no hidden charges, it argued.In their verdict on October 4, 2023, judges at the Bengaluru consumer forum said all kinds of expenses incurred in order to put goods into a deliverable state must be borne by the seller and, therefore, Ikea's contention doesn't merit consideration.If purchasing carry bag is made optional, customer can't bring bags for items. Expressing shock over the attitude of big showrooms, the judges said Ikea committed service deficiency and unfair trade practice and, that, the customer must be suitably compensated. It ordered Ikea India to refund with interest Rs 20 collected for the bag, apart from paying Rs 1,000 to the customeras compensation, as well as Rs 2,000 towards her court expenses.