Are you still paying the service fee on your restaurant meal bills? If the answer is yes, you must check through this article. The Centre and the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) recently provided the Delhi High Court with an update on the continuing “service fee” controversy, notifying it that hotels and restaurants are still charging patrons for services even after being given instructions to stop doing so. The Center said that even if clients aren’t happy with the service, they still pay the additional fee.
The application stated, “It was seen that restaurants and motels were blatantly disregarding the rules and collecting service costs from customers without their consent.”
It went on to say that 1105 more consumer complaints regarding unfair service charges levied by hotels and restaurants were made to the National Consumer Helpline after the July guidelines were released.
The Delhi High Court additionally set instructions for the prohibition during the hearing on this subject, making them simple for patrons and restaurant owners to follow. The Delhi High Court imposed specific requirements, some of which are listed below:
Eateries must conspicuously display the service fee portions of the food price. On takeout or delivery orders, restaurants won’t add service fees. The attorney had also stated that there had been several complaints of restaurants restricting customers who had not paid the service fee. “It’s up to you what you do. If you don’t want to pay, don’t go inside the restaurant, “says the High Court. Previously, the National Restaurant Association of India has contested the rules (NRAI). A PTI report states, “These petitions have been scheduled for November 25, 2022.”
