Ikea ordered to pay Rs 3,000 for asking customer to buy Rs 20 carry bag
A consumer commission in Bengaluru has ordered Swedish furniture retailer Ikea to refund a consumer and also pay Rs 3,000 as compensation for charging her for a paper bag to carry the goods she had purchased.
IKEA India Private Limited was ordered to pay Sangeetha Bohra a sum of Rs 20 with interest, Rs 1,000 towards damages and Rs 2,000 towards litigation expenses. The carry bag, for which she charged Rs 20 by Ikea, had its logo printed on it. According to the commission, it amounts to unfair trade practice.
The Additional District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Shanthinagar, Bengaluru, in its order, said,” We are shocked to note the kind of service provided by these big malls/showrooms…the Opposite Party committed deficiency in service and unfair trade practice and the complainant is bound to be compensated.”
Bohra visited the Nagasandra branch of IKEA on October 6, 2022, and purchased a few items. She sought a bag to carry the items and was charged Rs 20 for it, though it had the logo of the store on it. She approached the consumer commission, claiming it was a deficiency of service and unfair trade practice.
IKEA contended that it does not indulge in any sale of goods that have hidden charges or, indulge in concealment of information from its consumers or indulge in any practices that may be considered as a breach of trust or unfair trade practice.
The information pertaining to all its products, including the paper bag, is conspicuously displayed on various aisles of its store and is not automatically or suspiciously added to the purchasers at the time of billing, it said.
The commission, headed by BN Arayanappa and Jyothi N and Sharavathi SM, in the judgment, dismissed this contention and said, “It has been held by Hon’ble State Commission that all kinds of expenses incurred in order to put goods into deliverable state shall be suffered by the seller. As such, the contention raised does not merit acceptance.”
The commission also noted that the consumers were also not allowed to carry their own bags.
“If a consumer wants to purchase say about 15 (items) in number from different shops, we cannot expect him/her to take 15 carry bags from home for the same…,” the judgment said.
IKEA was ordered to comply with the order within 30 days from the date of receipt of the order.
(With inputs from PTI)