HYDERABAD: Many of us book movie tickets using BookMyShow. But did you know that the “Internet Handling Fees” or “Payment Gateway Charges” (amounting to over 15 per cent of ticket price) that we shell out every time need not be paid? That it is illegally forced upon consumers, violating RBI’s Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) regulations?
Malls and multiplexes have no right to ask for parking charges. They are obligated to provide free parking to shoppers. Yet, many multiplexes in city keep collecting parking fees. The next time someone asks parking fees, just show them your bill. Alternately, you can get the parking amount refunded upon showing the bill.
“In 2008, I joined Abhilasha Foundation, where I got an idea of what NGOs do. And in 2011, I met my mentor, renowned social activist Dr Jayaprakash Narayan. JP sir introduced us to citizen activism and said questioning the government is an important aspect of it. In 2012, I joined Foundation for Democratic Reforms,” says Satish.
Since 2015, he has been conducting RTI workshops and has filed four public interest litigations (PILs). Going forward, Satish says he plans to educate at least 20 people per month to file RTIs. Satish is an advocate by profession and teaches Civil Services aspirants on Constitution and Current Affairs. Vijay Gopal is another Hyderabad-based activist and the president of Forum Against Corruption NGO. He filed an RTI with the RBI, which responded that portals like BookMyShow were not allowed to levy additional charges from moviegoers. He then filed a case against BookMyShow, PVR and the IT Department in the Hyderabad Consumer Court 3 at Nampally, which is set to be heard tomorrow.
He has sent legal notices were sent to Uber, Ola, Transport Commissioner of Telangana and Legal Metrology Commissioner in December 2018 over the issue of surcharges levied by these cab aggregators. Vijay is also planning to file cases with the concerned departments on parking fees at Metro stations, on IKEA charging for paper bags, Dominos India charging for branded plastic bags, and so on.
Signing off, Vijay says, “Our elders have considered the quality of questioning things as an insult to their authority. There is nothing wrong in asking questions in a respectful manner. Fight for what is right; only you can solve the problems your country has”.
