The restaurant refuses to waive the service charge? Here’s what you can do

The restaurant refuses to remove the service charge from the bill? Here’s what you can do

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The Department of Consumer Food and Retail recently issued guidelines for hotels and restaurants prohibiting them from charging a service charge to the consumer’s bill.

The ministry clarified that if a consumer finds that a hotel or restaurant is charging a service charge in violation of the guidelines, the consumer can ask the hotel or restaurant concerned to remove the charge from the bill amount. If the restaurant refuses to remove the service charge from the bill, the consumer can file a complaint against the restaurant or hotel by calling 1915 or via the NCH mobile app.

“The consumer can lodge a complaint with the National Consumer Helpline (NCH), which operates as an alternative dispute resolution mechanism at the pre-litigation level by calling 1915 or via the NCH mobile app,” the department said in a statement. released on Saturday. .

The consumer can also lodge a complaint against an unfair commercial practice with the Consumer Commission. The complaint can also be filed electronically via e-daakhil gate www.edaakhil.nic.in for its quick and efficient repair. In addition, the consumer may address a complaint to the Collector of the municipality concerned for investigation and prosecution by the CCPA. The complaint can also be addressed to the CCPA by e-mail at the address com-ccpa@nic.in, adds the release.

The difference between the new guidance issued by the CCPA and the previous guidance from the Department of Consumer Affairs is that, in the meantime, the old Consumer Protection Act 1986 has been replaced by the Consumer Protection Act 2019. consumers, which came into force in July 2020. It created a new statutory body, namely the Central Authority for Consumer Protection, which was empowered by Parliament to deal with unfair commercial practices. Therefore, any violation of the guidelines will be considered seriously and appropriate action will be taken for unfair business practice and violation of consumer rights.