The Thane Consumer Redressal Forum has directed a lodge owner here to pay a compensation of Rs 2,000 for charging a consumer more than the MRP for mineral water bottles.
Forum president Sneha Mhatre and members, Madhuri Vishwarupe and ND Kadam, in their order delivered last week, held that charging of excess amount of a product than the printed MRP is considered as deficiency in services.
The court directed owner of Divyar International Hotel in Charai here to make a payment of Rs 2,000 to complainant MG Bhagat, a resident of Naigaon in Vasai, for charging him Rs 17 more than the MRP each for three mineral water bottles.
The forum also ordered refund of the excess amount of Rs 51 charged for the three bottles.
Bhagat had stated in his complaint that he had purchased three Bisleri mineral water bottles from the counter of the lodge on September 12, 2009, and he was charged Rs 30 for one bottle while the printed MRP was Rs 13 only.
He had later sent a legal notice to the lodge owner, which were unanswered. Hence, he filed a complaint with the forum.
Bhagat also made Bisleri Company as the second respondent but the forum absolved the company of the complaint as the complainant was not the direct customer of the company.
In its argument, the lodge owner said the complainant had not booked any room during the stated period and that he was not served the water in his hotel. It also denied that the complainant had purchased the bottles from his lodge.
The Forum dismissed all the submissions made by the lodge owner and held that the receipts produced by the complainant proved that it had charged excess amount for the sale of the water bottles and this was nothing but deficiency in service.
