Refund Rs 466, pay Rs 10,000 relief, CCD told

MOHALI: The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum here has directed Cafe Coffee Day (CCD) to refund Rs 466 to a Chandigarh resident along with interest at 9 per cent and pay a lump sum compensation of Rs 10,000 for mental agony, harassment and cost of litigation.

Kulwinder Sangha

Mohali, February 29

The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum here has directed Cafe Coffee Day (CCD) to refund Rs 466 to a Chandigarh resident along with interest at 9 per cent and pay a lump sum compensation of Rs 10,000 for mental agony, harassment and cost of litigation.

Vishal Gargi, a resident of Sector 41, Chandigarh, visited Cafe Coffee Day in Phase III A (Opposite Party) here on September 27, 2015, and ordered coffee and snacks worth Rs 233. He tried to pay the bill twice through his credit card, but due to some error in the machine, the receipt was not generated. Finally, he paid the bill amount of Rs 233 in cash. Later, the complainant came to know from his bank account statement that the amount had been debited twice from his credit card in the name of the OP. Thereafter, he requested the OP to refund the amount, but to no avail.

Proceeding ex parte in the case, the forum, headed by Madhu P Singh, stated that the complainant visited the OP on September 27 and ordered coffee and snacks. The OP raised a bill of Rs 233 which included the price of the food articles as well as various taxes thereupon. As per the bill, the complainant made the payment through his credit card of HDFC Bank, but due to an error in the credit card machine of the OP, the money was deducted from the card but the receipt was not generated. This happened twice. Finally, the complainant made the payment in cash. The statement of account issued by HDFC Bank showed two payments of Rs 233 each having been cleared in favour of Cafe Coffee Day on September 27, 2015. Thus, the OP had received double the amount i.e. Rs 466 against the bill of Rs 233, as the complainant had already made the payment of Rs 233 in cash. The complainant had approached the OP asking for a refund of Rs 466, but the OP neither returned the excess amount nor responded to the complainant till date. In order to prove the excess payment of Rs 466 accepted by the OP, the complainant had provided the statement of account issued by HDFC Bank showing the use of the credit card twice. There is nothing on record to show that the OP had refunded the extra amount to the complainant.

By not returning the extra amount received by the OP, it was clearly an unfair trade practice.