Bevco staff make hay during Onam

KOZHIKODE: As liquor retailers  mint money by stocking up liquor from the Beverages Corporation and the Consumerfed outlets in the city, the staff of  these outlets are also making quick bucks by overcharging and bill fudging.  

The outlets are overcrowded with buyers  rushing  to stock liquor for Onam celebrations and nobody bothers to check the MRP printed on the bottles.   

Sources told DC that the shop employees  do not  provide the original bill to the consumers and give fake computer printouts. The original bills are entered in the system in  bulk after the shop hours.

“When I went to a liquor outlet near Coronation Theatre in Kozhikode to purchase six  beer bottles, I was told they will give only five. As per MRP, a Tuborg beer costs Rs 90 and the total price comes to  Rs 450 for five bottles. However, they gave me a bill for Rs 475 and collected it  from me. Rs 25 has been shown as Est/Admn charges,” Sasi Menon, a resident of Chevayur told Deccan Chronicle.

Managing director of Kerala State Beverages Corporation, Jeevan Babu,  said that there was no provision for the staff to charge anything over the MRP on  the liquor bottle.

“However, I need to see the bill and would like to know the exact shop from where the purchase was  made to take a final call on this. Consumers can lodge a complaint with  us with the copy of the bill and our inspection team will be sent for an inquiry,” he said.

Sources in beverages outlets told DC that hoarding and stocking up of liquor of particular brands and pushing of some less known brands were also rampant in these outlets. Some liquor companies offer commission for the beverages staff to push their products.  

The staff refuse to give prominent brands to the consumers and push these lesser known ones  saying they do not have stock of other brands.

Consumerfed managing director Tomin Thachankari was not available for comments.