Whom to Complain If Departmental Store is found to be price discrepancy between shelf price and Billing price?

Social Off-topic & Debates
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Was shopping for grocery items with my aged mother at nearby Dept. Store.
Dept. Store name - ApnaMart.

We went around buying as usual in the store.

The price for 3 different food packets of Papad we bought, TEA bags, rice we bought were almost 100% higher from Shelf Price to my billed price.( almost full mrp with 1 or 2% off instead of 50% )
I will share pics soon.

anyways
Then when billing came… as the cashier lady billed my items. She also registered a Calendar into the system. Which I though was free.

They asked me to give phone number. Which I refused.
Then said if you give phone number, a calendar is free.

I said I dont want the calendar and I wont give number.
They still charged me for calendar Rs 150 and the cashier lady said…bill chahiya. I said yes ofcourse.

She reluctantly gave me the bill And when i looked at some of the items…few items were 100% more than shelf price and they still charged me for the calendar as well . Even people standing beside me , one lady in support Said but he said he does not want.

They were refusing to return the money for calendar and said Sorry I know it is my mistake but we cant return.

Now about other items like Tea bag box, papads etc
When I complained they said You should ask for the price before buying.

I replied but your shelf price is there . So why would I bother to ask around

. The senior employee said it is old and we have not changed yet.

The Shelf price had a date mentioned too . Which was 1st Dec. 2025.

I said Why should I care if you too lazy to change it since Dec 1st.

My aged mother cannot stand for long but she can walk short distance otherwise…just standing at one place is little difficult.

I could not make her stand for long…manage to make them payback for the calendar after letting them know clearly I will not let you guys off on this one .

I drop my mother home and went back…got them to fix the rice price also and pay me in another item .
But tea Bag box and other items like papads were still charged more than 100% from me than shelf price in the bill.

So I have the bill.
I have the pics of the shelf price.

I want to file a complain to concern government department over it. If we have any that looks into such complain?

If It is going to be police case and all. Then I wont care. I dont have patience for Indian justice system. I will take this as another lesson and tbh it is not about money at all.

What makes me want to go after them now is they were refusing to return the money for calendar and I had to literally raise strong objection for it.

if someone can guide me right department. I will be filing my complain. I have the evidence.
And I will share here also later.

Is the consumer Department suppose to look into this as well? or does this require police case ?

2

You will need to file a appeal through consumer helpline but that’s only first step. if the escalation team of the merchant rejects your claim then consumer court is the only option.

2 Likes
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Share the word on Twitter and the forum(s) of your liking. Do share your abhorrent experience with them and don’t shy away from explaining how that is affecting everyone who visits that store. Since most of the organisations are on the internet so they might contact you and offer some resolution. If not then at least others will know how they treat their customers and make their decisions gingerly.

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@shrimann thanks. I am on consumer grieveance page and filling details.

@Udai025 ..My main purpose is to make people aware of this and not let this off easily.
I feel sorry for employees also…poor people get sandwiched between customers and management.

I dont want money returned as luckily ..I did not shop much as I also was planning to come back again later and buy more in the evening. As with my mother it is hard to carry too much stuff and take care of her too.

1 Like
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Always get a copy of the bill before paying. If they don’t give you a copy you can leave and find a better place to shop at.

If already payed, shout a little. They will atleast refund you for stuff you don’t want. Never seen any store not refunding. they will call someone and get permission. They rely on you being very polite to sell calendars etc.

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That’s why you need to raise it on a bigger platform like Twitter.

Thank you for posting this here so others heed and proceed accordingly when it comes to interacting with the people at that mart.

I sort of, understand what you might be feeling at the moment but you did good thing by raising the issue here.

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How is getting bill in dept. stores before paying even possible? Because rolls out only after payment is paid and on the bill they also mentioned…How much you paid and balance given back.

yes they did return ..like I said I had to fight for it as they were forcing me to accept the calendar.

8

I don’t know any retail store that does this - D Mart, Reliance Smart, Star Bazaar or others.

You can spread the word in your local WhatsApp groups and social media pages.

If the employee accepts that it’s a mistake then I can empathize with them. Otherwise, they are inefficient and just as complicit in what is happening.

I always talk to the store manager if there’s any issue with the billing. Usually they pay the difference in cash. But, this is for organized retail.

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there were other few items also that has been listed with big price discrepancy in the bill but I did not take evidence of them. I got busy with phone call and taking care of my mom instead of going around the store taking more pics.

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I filled the details and evidence.

Should I just ask for Refund or Compensation also?
Though I might not get any but what do you guys suggest.

I am fine with any as long as it gives them the idea that consumers no longer will take shit quietly.

I am even fine with just an apology.

11

By asking for it.
I’ve got it multiple times, especially when i can’t see their screen. In super bazaars, in most stores in malls, in lifestyle etc too. I generally keep a mental note of approx amount, as ask for it if i feel something is wrong.

I’d rather ask you, why would they deny the bill once they’ve done the work to scan all the items and want you to pay. Infact when asking for payment they’re even more inclined to share the bill. In case of an over smart biller tell them you want to cross check discounts etc. So either they give you the bull copy before payment, if they say they can’t, ask them to show you their screens to check.

12

This is +1
Before hand, if you refused to buy then you did best and story is over..
Goto nearest police station, explain incident with photos, see if they can register FIR..

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They can show it on the system , if asked but I believe the way the billing machine works is once it gets paid. The paper bill rolls out. Like I said the bill comes mentioned How it was paid and how much was paid and balance returned to the customer.
Which is mandatory in these Mega stores.

This is first time I am hearing that you can ask for the bill in such stores without paying.

As for keeping a mental note. Yes I do that too often.
This time my mother was with me so had to be bit in a hurry also.

14

Anyways Grievance filed . Got message and email as confirmation.

Will update you guys on response from them. If any.
Not expecting much.

Btw I just asked for Refund .