Overview
- The Central Consumer Protection Authority opened suo motu proceedings on July 19 and has issued final orders against 41 restaurants after reviewing complaints and invoices submitted to the National Consumer Helpline (1915).
- Chaayos (Sunshine Teahouse Pvt. Ltd.) was fined ₹50,000, ordered to refund the disputed charge to a complainant, and directed to change its software so service charges are not added automatically across outlets.
- The CCPA found that automatically adding a service charge without explicit customer consent violates its July 2022 Guidelines and amounts to an unfair trade practice under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.
- Final orders were also issued against other named outlets including Barbeque Nation, Cafe Blue Bottle (Patna), China Gate, L'Opera French Bakery, FOO Ahmedabad and Zorro night club, while proceedings continue for additional restaurants.
- Consumers can challenge default service charges by asking restaurants to remove them at payment and by filing complaints with the National Consumer Helpline at 1915, a step the regulator has urged to trigger further enforcement.