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By
not issuing a printed bill to the customer after charging
VAT, the forum said, Yummy Yummy Food Court in Sector 37
indulged in unfair trade practice and should hence refund
Rs 58, in addition to a compensation of Rs 1,000.
The
complainant, Rajeev Chaudhery, a resident of Sector 7,
Panchkula, had gone to the restaurant along with his
family in May this year.
They
ordered three buffet meals for Rs 149 each, totalling to
Rs 447.
After
they had finished with the dinner and demanded the bill, a
waiter verbally told them to pay Rs 505, including VAT.
Chaudhery asked the waiter to give him a bill, showing the
break-up, upon which he was given a “handwritten bill”
on a plain piece of paper.
Demanding
a printed bill, Chaudhery asked the waiter to call the
manager, who came after 15 minutes and said they were
unable to provide a printed bill but would issue one on
the hotel’s letter pad.
The
complainant then told the manager that they could not
demand VAT without giving a proper, printed bill to the
customer. after which the latter allegedly got angry and
used foul language, forcing Chaudhery to pay Rs 505 as the
total bill.
The
complainant then moved the consumer forum.
On
receiving a notice from the forum, Pushpinder Singh,
managing director of the restaurant, appeared on the first
hearing and sought time to file a reply. Noone, however,
turned up on behalf of the hotel thereafter.
The
forum observed that charging VAT without issuing a
permanent, printed bill surely amounted to unfair trade
practice and deficiency in service. This way, the forum
said, the hotel charged Rs 58 extra which it should refund
to the customer.
Source
: Chandigarh Newsline - Chandigarh, India, dated
14/11/2008
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