ITC fined Rs. 1 lakh for packaging one less biscuit
FMCG giant ITC Limited has been directed to pay Rs. 1 lakh in compensation for selling biscuit packets with one biscuit less than advertised. The Chennai-based consumer forum found ITC guilty of adopting unfair trade practices and ruled in favor of the complainant. This might just be ITC Limited's costliest biscuit ever produced, but not packed.
Missing biscuit, unanswered queries
Two years ago, a Chennai resident named P Dillibabu bought two packets of "Sun Feast Marie Light" biscuits from a store in Manali to feed stray dogs, but he was in for a surprise. Dillibabu was shocked to find only 15 biscuits in one of the packets, despite the wrapper clearly stating that there were 16 biscuits inside. Perplexed, he sought answers from the store, receiving no response. Frustrated, he turned to ITC for clarification, but their response proved unsatisfactory.
Calculating the cost of deception
As per Dillibabu's complaint, the FMCG major's oversight in packaging resulted in a substantial daily loss for unsuspecting customers. With each biscuit priced at Rs. 0.75 and the company producing approximately 50 lakh packets daily, it was estimated that ITC was shortchanging the public by over Rs. 29 lakh daily.
ITC's defense and court ruling
ITC attempted to defend itself by claiming that the biscuits were sold based on their weight and not the number of biscuits per packet. The stated net weight of the biscuit packet was 76 grams. However, when independent assessments were conducted by weighing the biscuit packets, they consistently contained only 74 grams. This defense was subsequently dismissed by the consumer court.
Complainant was compensated with Rs. 1 lakh
In a significant victory for the consumer, the Chennai-based consumer court ruled in favor of Dillibabu and ordered ITC to pay him Rs. 1 lakh as compensation. Furthermore, the court directed the company to cease the sales of the particular batch of biscuits that had caused the dispute, ensuring that other customers would not fall victim to the same issue.
