Now, WhatsApp to report errant shopkeepers

The food and civil supplies ministry has introduced a WhatsApp number and a call centre number for lodging complaints with the weights and measures department if customers find shopkeepers and hoteliers charging them in excess of the maximum retail price (MRP).

A senior official from the food and civil supplies ministry said that consumers can now WhatsApp their complaint to 9869691666 or dial 022-22886666 between 10 am and 5.30 pm. A special cell of four government employees has been created in the weights and measures department to screen complaints and take follow-up action.

“Most of the complaints we get are about sale of liquor and bottled water in bars and restaurants. Even they are not

allowed to charge more than MRP if they are selling packaged goods,” said the official. The move comes on the back of Thane District Consumer Redressal Forum’s recent judgment ordering a Thane hotel to pay hefty compensation to M.G. Bhagat for charging 10 times the MRP for three bottles of Bisleri mineral water. A senior FDA official said that this will also apply to bars and restaurants that sell liquor and bottled water at higher prices.

Sources said plans are afoot to make it mandatory for shopkeepers, eateries and other such establishments selling products to put up these numbers for public knowledge. The government plans to have the telephone number functional 24x7.

Presently, the law provides imposing compounding fines on shopkeepers charging prices in excess of MRP. Moreover, repeated offences by shopkeepers can result in legal tangle. The Weights and Measures Act, 2011, provides for inspectors to take action against such shopkeepers. However, given the wide scope of work that inspectors have to do, the state government has constituted state-level and municipal corporation-level vigilance committees. “Among other duties, these committees will also alert inspectors about incidents of overpricing, refer complaints against shopkeepers to the competent authority and display telephone and mobile numbers of vigilance committee members for the knowledge of everyone,” said an official.