Popular consumer products company, Colgate Palmolive India, has been in the news for wrong reasons. There were several instances when Colgate was penalised. Of late Rs 65,000 was sued by District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Sangareddy, for unfair trade practices.
In the petition filed by lawyer Ch Nagender, the statement was made that he bought 150 grams of Colgate Max toothpaste at Reliance Fresh in Sangareddy town on April 7, 2019 for Rs 92 In addition, a 50 gram pack of the same paste was bought for Rs. 20. If you buy three 50 gram packs .. it will be only Rs.60. But why charge Rs 92 per 150 gram pack?”, he questioned and sent notices to the company.
But the company retaliated by defending the petition saying that it has the freedom as a manufacturer to fix the price for its products. However, Nagender felt unjustified and approached the Consumer Forum in Sangareddy. The forum which heard the case sued an amount Rs.10,000 for causing mental distress to the customer, Rs.5,000 for litigation costs and Rs 10,000 for causing mental distress to a 67-year-old pensioner from Sangareddy.
The Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission observed that it shouldn’t charge different prices for the same product, which is unlawful.
The judgement was pronounced on Thursday and the court sent directives to the company to compensate within 30 days to the complainant.