Reader’s Digest Asked to Pay Rs 5 Lakh For ‘Dishonest’ Marketing
The Delhi consumer commission has directed popular magazine Reader's Digest to pay Rs 5 lakh to an 86-year-old lady and deposit Rs 50 lakh as punitive damage with the Consumer Welfare Fund of the state for running a "deceptive contest" and promoting its sale "dishonestly".
The Delhi State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission held that the magazine had indulged in "unfair trade practice" by deceptively trapping readers by alluring them with contest prizes of Rs 24 lakh and a luxury car.
The Commission praised complainant R Balamma, a Mysore resident who had filed the complaint, saying such people had a 'pro bono publico' spirit and served the public by bringing unscrupulous elements to courts of law.
The magazine has denied all allegations in the district forum and termed them as fal...