Consumer commission restrains retail shop from taking customers' phone numbers

The UT State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Chandigarh, in its interim order, has directed a shop not to collect mobile numbers from consumers and issued a notice to appear and reply on October 14.

The complainant contended that insisting on mobile number during the sale of a product as a prerequisite was a violation of rights and constituted unfair trade practice

Pankaj Chandgothia, an advocate, had filed a complaint against a Sector 35 shop owner. He alleged that when he purchased products from the shop, his mobile number was 'compulsorily' taken on the pretext of issuance of the bill.

He contended that it violated data privacy rules and exposed his information to unscrupulous persons. He said the Ministry of Consumer Affairs had issued a notification dated May 26, 2023, to all retailers and sellers' association, which also included opposite parties, that insisting on mobile number during the sale of a product as a prerequisite was a violation of their rights and constituted unfair trade practice.

As per the notification under Section 72-A of the Information Technology Act, 2000, disclosing personal information of a person, including mobile number obtained at the time of sale, without her/his consent or in breach of a lawful contract, to any other person, is a punishable offence.

Chandgothia stated that by imposing a mandatory requirement to provide mobile number, consumers were often forced to share personal information against their will, after which they were often flooded with marketing and promotional messages from retailers.

He said despite the  order of the government, cafés and retailers continued to violate the orders.

After hearing the arguments, the commission, comprising presiding member Padma Pandey and member Preetinder Singh, said in view of the notification issued by the government, opposite  party 1 (M/s SAVVYY, Gurgaon) and opposition party 2 (KK Fashion, franchisee of SAVVYY) were restrained from taking any personal details, such as mobile numbers, from customers while issuing bills, during the pendency of the complaint.