Nat’l consumer rights body fines two major clothing outlets
Amid last-minute mad rush for Eid shopping, the Uttara outlet of local fashion brand Aarong was shut down for a few hours and fined Tk 4.5 lakh yesterday, for discrepancies in pricing labels of two products in the same category.
Receiving compliant from a customer that Aarong charged Tk 1,315 for a panjabi on May 31 which was sold at Tk 730 on May 25, the Directorate of National Consumers’ Rights Protection (DNCRP) launched the special drive.
“During the drive, we found the claim of the customer to be true, and slapped the fine,” Manjur Mohammad Shahriar, deputy director (Dhaka division) of DNCRP told The Daily Star.
“The punishment handed down to Aarong is a symbolic punishment. They admitted that they made a mistake,” said the official who supervised the drive.
Chief Operating Officer of Aarong, Mohammad Ashraful Alam, said that after the magistrate’s visit, they immediately conducted an internal investigation and found out that the price tags were placed wrongly.
“We regret the inconvenience caused unintendedly and are working with the authorities to resume normal operation as soon as possible.”
“Our customers are entitled to claim refund if any pricing discrepancy is found, as per standard store policy,” he added.
In a separate drive, DNCRP also fined Vasavi Fashion showroom at Gulshan Tk 2 lakh, as staff of the outlet could not show proper import documents of a lehenga with a price tag of Tk 85,000.
The fine was also for selling some foreign cosmetics without importers’ sticker on the items, said Shahriar.
He added that DNCRP also fined sweets shop Bikrampur Mistanna Bhander Tk 50,000 for selling substandard food, and another small bakery Tk 20,000.
CANTEEN OWNERS OF TWO FERRIES FINED
Meanwhile, our Manikganj correspondent reports that Asaduzzaman Rumel, Assistant Director of the district’s DNCRP fined owners of two ferry canteens at Paturia Ghat in Manikganj Tk 60,000 yesterday, for selling food at a higher price than the fixed price.
Canteen owner of Shah Makhdum Ferry was fined Tk 50,000 while the of canteen owner of Birshreshtha Matiur Rahman Ferry was fined Tk 10,000, said Asaduzzaman.
Comments