IKEA maintained that charging customers for bags with their brand was not unfair.
A Bengaluru court has ordered Swedish furniture retailer IKEA to pay a woman Rs 3,000 for charging her for a paper bag that had its logo printed on it. According to PTI, the woman, Sangeetha Bohra, had filed a case in the consumer court after she was charged for the paper bag at the Nagasandra branch of IKEA on October 6, 2022. She purchased a few items from the store and asked for a carry bag, for which the company charged her Rs 20.
According to the news agency, Ms Bohra questioned the IKEA staff after discovering she was charged Rs 20 for a carrier bag with the company's logo printed on it. Disturbed by the additional charge, she argued that charging for paper bags is an unfair trade practice. She also reportedly said that she was not informed about the charge before she made the purchase.
Ms Bohra approached the Consumer Commission the same month in 2022. In her lawsuit, she claimed that charging for the paper bag was a deficiency of service and unfair trade practice.
Now, the Consumer Commission in its ruling agreed with the woman and said that IKEA charging Rs 20 for a paper bag "amounts to unfair trade practice". "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 complainant is bound to be compensated," the Additional District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Shanthinagar, Bengaluru said in its order, as per PTI.
However, in response, IKEA maintained that charging customers for bags with their brand was not unfair. The company said that "it does not indulge in any sale of goods that has 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 are conspicuously displayed on various aisles of its store and are not automatically or suspiciously added to the purchasers at the time of billing," IKEA added.
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The Consumer Commission headed by President B N Arayanappa and Members Jyothi N and Sharavathi S M in their judgment, however, dismissed IKEA's contention. "It has been held by Hon'ble State Commission that all kinds of expenses incurred in order to put goods into the deliverable state shall be suffered by the seller. As such, the contention raised does not merit acceptance," the Court said.
It also noted that the consumers were also not allowed the 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 Court said.
The Bengaluru Court ordered the Swedish company to comply with this order within 30 days from the date of receipt of the order, and pay the consumer a sum of Rs 20 with interest, and also Rs 1,000 towards damages, and Rs 2,000 towards litigation expenses.