Overcharging for an ice cream pack has left a bitter taste for a Mumbai Central-based restaurant, Shagun Veg Restaurant, that charged Rs 10 over the Maximum Retail Price (MRP) five years ago and has now been fined Rs 2 lakh and ordered to pay Rs 15,000 to the complainant as compensation.
The complainant is then police sub-inspector (PSI) Bhaskar Jadhav, who on June 8, 2014, was heading home after work when he got a call from his daughter. “My daughter wanted ice cream so I went to Shagun Veg Restaurant and asked for a family pack. There was a buy one get one free offer. The hotel manager gave me a 700ml pack of ice cream and charged Rs 175, which I paid. While checking the expiry date, I saw that the MRP was Rs 165, so I asked the hotel to return Rs 10 but they refused, saying Rs 10 is cooling charge.”
Jadhav, well aware of his consumer rights, asked again but the hotel refused saying a product once sold cannot be returned. “I decided to take the matter to court. I asked for a bill and was given a cash memo of Rs 175. I approached the District Commissioner Disputes Redressal Forum in South Mumbai with the help of activist Prakash Sheth and after five years, the forum’s order came in my favour.”
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