Retailers in B'lore take consumers for a ride - 2

Read Retailers in B'lore take consumers for a ride... first.

And some more episodes:

1. Foodworld: charged higher than MRP on packaged goods. Stock on the shelf is old, while the price on the system is new.

2. Central: charged higher than MRP on packaged goods. Stock on the shelf is old, while the price on the system is new.

3. Central: double billed, i.e. the same item was billed twice during checkout. Got the store manager to write "wrong billing" and sign on the bill this time.

4. Spencers: Bought a clothes drying rack. Came home, removed Spencer's sticker and voila! the MRP written below was far lower, and had been painted over with black ink. This is by far the most interesting case: blatant disregard for laws, overcharging on MRP, fraud... ah my mouth is watering.

Anyway, evidence collection is going on good. I want to take multiple retailers to court at one shot. No point in doing this one by one.

Now what would make this a very powerful case is to try for a class action suit, or what is known as a public litigation. If you would like to be a part of this case, do please let me know. You would not need to do anything, except be able to show me proof / and or an affidavit showing one or more cases of cheating / fraud / double billing / over charging on MRP / not given freebies / whatever, and I will do all the court running around. Now for all the lazy bones who wont lift a finger to help themselves, is that a good deal or what?

Retailers in B'lore take consumers for a ride...

...and consumers in B'lore are enjoying it.

Time and again, I've found clear cases of cheating and fraud by all the big retail names in Bangalore: Foodworld leads the list, but the others (Reliance, Spencers, Spar, Monday 2 Sunday) are not far behind.

Sample Foodworld's blitzkrieg advertising, with banners hanging everywhere: "lowest prices for vegetables in B'lore". Once at a Foodworld I bought some veges under such an offer. Then stepped across to the Monday 2 Sunday next door and what do I find? Almost all the veges that I'd bought were cheaper there. Went back to the Foodworld and forcefully returned all the veges I'd bought. The manager had no excuse to make.

Other cases at Foodworld: the price on the shelf will show a price lower than MRP as a "special offer", the price at check-out will be the MRP. This is quite common. The price sticker for items not carrying MRP will show something, the price at check-out will be higher. For this kind of stuff I have the usual remedy: call the manager, make a racket in front of other customers, finally get the lower price in all cases.

I have already posted about Liquor sold above MRP. Found this in both Spencers and Foodworld. Still following that up.

Another case is where some freebie is being given by the manufacturer, one has to be aware and remember to take it. Its not going to be given by the store with compliments.

Latest incident at Spar: while billing I found that 2 items has been charged over MRP. And a discount that was supposed to be given was not given. Called the manager, created a racket in front of other customers, got the money back and apologies, etc. Got some senior manager's name and address. Will send in a written complaint.

And so and and so forth :/ Sample another post by Neeraj here: Two examples of how retailers are looting customers - Total Mall Sarjapur Road and Vishal Mega Mart Hosur Road.

Why do retailers cheat and commit such small fraud? Quite simple: because YOU dear consumer are allowing them to. The retailers have found that they can get away with it. Consumers don't care. Or if they do, they cant be bothered. I s'pose consumers in India (or at least Bangalore) think its below their dignity to fight when their modesty is being violated.

Why are consumers here so apathetic to their own condition? Why don't people shout, abuse, threaten? Hell, why don't people even check their bills at check-out? If they would be even aware that they are being cheated, perhaps they would shout, abuse and threaten. But most of the times, I see people wheeling fully loaded carts to check-out, standing around chatting while the billing is being done, then swiping their cards and walking out. Where does such trust come from? Or is it too demeaning to check that the prices are correct, that the discounts are being applied, that the freebies are being given?

Well, if consumers are so naive then they deserve to get fooled. After all, caveat emptor. Unfortunately, all this behavior does is increase corruption in an already corrupt country.

Perils of the new Direct Tax Code for long term investors

A new (draft) Direct Tax Code (DTC) from April 2011 has been proposed by the Hon'ble Indian Finance Minister in Aug 2009. The DTC has undergone quite favorable analysis. Sample articles like this: New tax code: Pay 10% tax on Rs 10-lakh salary, or Decoding the direct tax code.

Unfortunately, what articles like these have not brought out is the massive impact on long term investors of one simple clause which removes the distinction between Short Term Capital Gains (STCG) and Long Term Capital Gains (LTCG). Currently, LTCG on equity is taxed at 0%, while STCG is taxed at 15%. After April 2011, a gain on account of transfer of equity will be taxed at personal taxation slab rates, irrespective of when it was acquired. In essence this means that the taxation of 0% on LTCG on equity is being abolished with retrospective effect!

Capital gains are voluntary, i.e. chargeable to tax when profits are booked. Imagine that you invested in equity for many years and remained invested through the vagaries of the stock market. Along comes April 2011, and any sale of these long term assets will attract a tax of upto 30%. But what will the intelligent investor do? Sell all these assets in March 2011, thus attracting no tax on the LTCG.

But since we all are intelligent investors (hic), everyone and his uncle will be getting rid of equity when 2011 comes around. My prediction: we are going to see the biggest stock market crash in history. Hang around and have fun.

PS: Whats the government thinking? Huh? Isn't that an oxymoron? Anyway, if you think this is one irritating little clause that has been slipped in by the babus in Dilli, then please do your bit as a shining new Indian by writing a Comment on Direct Taxes Code and please do take some time to Rate the Direct Taxes Code.

Airtel and Citibank: change for the better?

Whats up with Airtel and Citibank? These two companies had offered me mediocre service in the past. And in some instances had also caused me much grief. But things sure seems to have changed for the better.

Citibank service seems to have become superlative. Customer service touch points are excellent. The online access is quite perfect and serves all my needs, so are the account statements, the informative emails and messages I receive, etc etc. I haven't been mischarged for some unwanted service in a long long time. In fact Citi even gallantly reversed a charge on my credit card when (by oversight) I didnt pay the full amount due a couple of months ago. Finally, a couple of things have recently happened which have turned me into a delighted customer: I got an email from Citi asking whether I would like my credit card replaced free of charge since I'd swiped it recently in Thailand and they "foresee a possibility of misuse". (BTW, I'd similarly replaced my Citi credit card some years ago when Citi asked me after I'd used my card in some other country.) And Citibank has started soliciting feedback for service touch point interactions. Which needless to say, is a must for organizations engaged in the service industry.

Airtel service also seems to have become superlative. Customer service touch points have become far better, specially for prepaid mobile service. Service in general was quite excellent for Airtel broadband, but the prepaid mobile service used to be downright sucky. Call drops rates were quite high, invariably at the start of the minute which used to be quite frustrating. Trying to reach a service exec would leave one floundering in a flurry of button presses while navigating the IVRS maze. Call drops are a thing of the past (I hope). Its much easier to reach a service exec these days. The personnel are better trained, they speak better, they interact better, and they provide meaningful answers for a change. Finally, a couple of things have recently happened which have turned me into a delighted customer: My call charges have been reduced by Airtel. Cynical me says they were forced to do so what with all the fancy new offers floating around by Reliance and Docomo and Bee-Bop-Boo. But the fact remains that have reduced the charge without intervention by me. And like Citibank, Airtel has started soliciting feedback for service touch point interactions via toll free SMSes!

Getting to BIAL early in the morning

Hahahah... how unlivable can this city be?

I need to catch a 6 am flight tomorrow and have been trying to figure out the cheapest way to get to the new Bangalore International airport. I need to get there no later than 5 am, which means I need to leave at about 3:30 am from where I stay (JP Nagar).

The earliest BMTC Vayu Vajra Volvo Service bus from Jayanagar IVth block is 4am, while the earliest from BTM Layout is 4:30. For obviously reasons, I cant take either.

I called up BMTC airport kiosk to find out other options, and they said that buses from Majestic will leave at 3:00am, 3:30 and 3:55. Excellent.

But having past experience with the likes of BMTC I called up the Kempegowda Bus Stand to cross check. These guys had a different story. They said between 12:00 am and 4 am, Vajra buses are every hour only. So no buses at 3:30 and 3:55. Good thing I cross checked.

Armed with this info, I called up Celcabs which is the official feeder service for BIAL buses and they said there are no buses from Majestic before 6 am!

(On a side note, I was surprised how helpful the guys were. They refused to take a booking unless I was quite sure that I would get a bus at 3:00 am. Which of course I was not.)

Then I started checking the net for information on traveling on the Volvos at night and chanced upon the scanned schedules of the BIAL service in BMTC Vayu Vajra Volvo Service to Airport (BIAL) Timings and Schedule, which bears out what Celcabs said.

Finally, I thought I would call up the special BMTC number given for Route 9 on the last scanned schedule page to cross check all the info yet again. The first number is always busy. The second goes to someone's residence!

BMTC, I bow down before your superior service.

Tomorrow I will take my trusted cab service, Easycabs to the airport and hang the expense.

Welcome all to the armpit of the world: Namma Bangaluru.

PS: Big thanks to Vinay for taking the huge trouble of scanning and posting the BMTC Vajra schedules!