Consumer protection: Seller can't charge for bag carrying its name

The National Commission held that charging a customer for a bag, which prominently displayed the company's name, logo, or tagline, amounted to advertising at the customer's expense

In two unconnected incidents, Dinesh Parshad Raturi of Chandigarh and Rana Pratap Bhowmik of Agartala purchased footwear from different Bata showrooms. The showrooms packed the footwear and put them in carry bags for which an additional charge of Rs 3 was levied in the bill.

 

The bags had Bata’s name and logo printed on them. Therefore, Raturi and Bhowmik filed consumer cases before their respective consumer commissions to challenge the charge levied for the bags. They contended that Bata should allow customers to bring carry bags instead of compelling them to purchase bags. Secondly, if a customer requires a carry