Consumer forum fines Tonique over charging for branded carry bag

Bengaluru: Liquor mart Tonique in Bengaluru was directed to pay Rs 5,000 compensation to a customer for charging for a carry bag with a brand name, logo, and outlet details.

The order was passed by the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (Bengaluru Urban).

The commission directed Tonique to refund Rs 14.29 that was charged for the carry bag, pay the complainant Rs 5,000 towards litigation expenses, and pay Rs 1 lakh as compensation for unfair trade practices towards the Consumer Welfare Fund.

The complainant stated that he purchased beverages worth Rs 1,585 from Tonique on November 23, 2023. He requested a carry bag, which had the brand name, logo, and other outlet details, and was charged Rs 14.29 for it.

The complainant claimed that it amounted to “deficiency in service and unfair trade practice”, and the consumer forums in several instances held that “the seller should not be charging for the carry bag containing its logo as it amounts to the advertisement, and all the expenses incurred to put the goods in the deliverable state should be borne by the seller.”

Tonique, the opposite party in the case, claimed that the complainant “requested” for the carry bag, but wasn’t “compelled, insisted, or offered to purchase the bag and was well informed of the charges before being charged”.

It also claimed that the complainant had "several options on his hand, including bringing his own shopping bag before visiting the store, carrying the beverages by hand or billing it and collecting it later by bringing his own bag”.

The commission noted that Tonique’s response that the complainant could have carried his own bag was “unprofessional and unfair on their part as the complainant might have purchased the said liquor bottles in any such circumstance where he could not carry the bag to the store”.

The order was issued on March 29 and Tonique was directed to comply with it within 45 days.