New Delhi: Decathlon requested for her mobile phone number and email address to seal a purchase deal, according to Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra, who accused the French sporting goods shop of “violating privacy rules and consumer laws” by insisting on these personal details.
Ms Moitra said she went to the Decathlon store in Delhi’s Ansal Plaza, a renowned shopping district, to buy a pair of trousers for her father, but the store manager insisted on getting her contact information, including her phone number and email address, in order to complete the transaction.
She refused and tweeted about the matter from the store.
A screenshot of a message she said she received from a “leading counsel at the Supreme Court” was also posted by the Trinamool Congress MP.
Decathlon was not to be given her phone number, according to the text.
“Ask them to reconfigure their system,” the lawyer said, sharing their own experience with the company.
“I ran into the same problem with Lenskart (an eyewear retail chain) and refused to give my mobile number. I spoke to their head manager and finally he put in some random employee’s mobile number,” the lawyer said, alleging that these retail chains have configured their system in this way to “trap the customer”.
Ms Moitra also claimed that the “kind manager” at the Decathlon store gave her his phone number so she could leave with the trousers. She did, however, demand that the retail chain modify its system.
Ms Moitra said she normally buys things from Decathlon stores in the UK, and they never ask for mobile numbers; instead, if a consumer wants a paperless receipt, they ask for email addresses. “So it’s evident that just the Indian arm intends to deceive clients in the United States. @Decathlon India, that’s not polite “she continued.
When making a payment, most retailers ask for their customers’ contact information in order to create a data catalogue. It’s a business tool that’s popular in India. However, it is not required, and retailers cannot make a customer provide these facts.
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