IKEA charges for bag with its logo on it; Consumer Court orders compensation to consumer
Bengaluru (PTI): A Consumer Commission here has ordered Swedish furniture retailer IKEA to refund a consumer, and also pay Rs 3,000 as compensation for charging her for a paper bag to carry the goods she had purchased.
IKEA India Private Limited was ordered to pay the consumer a sum of Rs 20 with interest, and also Rs 1,000 towards damages and Rs 2,000 towards litigation expenses.
The carry bag, which was charged Rs 20 by IKEA had its logo printed on it, which the Commission said "amounts to unfair trade practice by charging for the bag."
The I Additional District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Shanthinagar, Bengaluru, in its order said: "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 consumer, Sangeetha Bohra, had visited the Nagasandra branch of IKEA here on October 6, 2022 and purchased a few items. She sought a bag to carry the items and was charged Rs 20 for it though it had the logo of the store on it.
She approached the Consumer Commission claiming it was a deficiency of service and unfair trade practice.
IKEA contended 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, is conspicuously displayed on various aisles of its store and is not automatically or suspiciously added to the purchasers at the time of billing."
The Commission headed by President B N Arayanappa and Members Jyothi N and Sharavathi S M in their judgment however dismissed this contention and said, "It has been held by Hon'ble State Commission that all kinds of expenses incurred in order to put goods into deliverable state shall be suffered by the seller. As such, the contention raised does not merit acceptance."
The Commission noted that the consumers were also not allowed to 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 recent judgment said.
IKEA was ordered to comply with the order within 30 days from the date of receipt of the order.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
