KOCHI: The Consumer Redressal Commission (CRC) in Thrissur has ordered a textile shop owner to deposit Rs 20,000 to the Legal Benefit Fund (LBF) after he was found guilty of fleecing a customer by charging more than the MRP for an innerwear. This is for the first time the CRC has invoked the legal provision against a trader in the state.
The owner of Inner Shoppe at MG Road in Thrissur was ordered to pay Rs 15,000 as compensation to the complainant and deposit Rs 20,000 to the LBF as the CRC felt he would have fleeced more consumers who are yet to be identified.
The LBF, maintained at the registry of each CRC, is used towards reparation for losses and injuries inflicted on a large number of consumers who are not identifiable conveniently. The fund is later used for legal aid and awareness programmes.
The incident in question took place eight years ago on May 13, 2015. The complainant bought an innerwear from the shop for Rs 175. However, after returning home, she saw that MRP mentioned on the packet was Rs 140. Following this, she approached the Thrissur District CRC.
At the hearing, the trader told the commission that the complainant produced the wrong bill and the wrong product with a malafide intention. However, when the CRC comprising president C T Sabu and members Sreeja S and Ram Mohan R examined the packet, they found it had two stickers, one mentioning the MRP as Rs 175 and the other as Rs 140.
The CRC held that the trader violated Section 18(2) of the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, and observed that such a case should not end with compensation alone. “We want to dispel the belief harboured by wrongdoers that they are liable to compensate only the consumers who sue them,” the panel said.
Breakdown
The total compensation amount of Rs 15,000 includes Rs 10,000 for the agony and hardship the complainant underwent and Rs 5,000 towards the cost she helmed for the proceedings