Chicken burger instead of veg fries on bill: Bengaluru man sues McDonald’s for ₹2 crore, court throws out case

A Bengaluru man has sued McDonald’s and claimed compensation of ₹2 crore after he was mistakenly billed for a chicken burger instead of the vegetarian French fries he ordered.

The incident took place at McDonald’s outlet in Lido Mall, Ulsoor, where the man and his nephew had placed an order for vegetarian French fries, according to a report by The Times Of India.

The outlet’s billing system mistakenly charged him for a non-vegetarian McFried Chicken Burger (MFC) priced higher than the fries, said the report.

After noticing the error, the customer immediately raised the issue with the staff, who apologised for the mistake and offered ₹ 100 as compensation.

But the man aggravated the issue and demanded a formal apology from McDonald’s.

He further escalated the issue by filing a non-cognisable report (NCR) against the fast food chain with the police.

Eventually, the man also took the matter to the consumer court, charging McDonald’s with service deficiency and seeking a hefty ₹2 crore in compensation for the alleged “mental distress and public humiliation”.

In response to the complaint, McDonald’s said the suit was false and frivolous, as there was no malintent from the restaurant’s side.

The outlet said that the billing error was an oversight, and was quickly rectified with an apology and the ₹100 offer, which the customer had refused.

The Bangalore Urban II Additional District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission dismissed the case, saying that the customer did, in fact, receive the vegetarian French fries he ordered, and the billing error had no impact on his dietary preferences.

A minor billing mistake, immediately rectified, does not constitute grounds for a multi-crore compensation claim, said the court.

It may be noted that Westlife Foodworld, the operator of McDonald’s restaurants in west and south India, reported a nearly twofold drop in its second-quarter profit.

The restaurant operator’s consolidated profit after tax stood at ₹3.6 million for the second quarter ended September 30, sharply lower than ₹223.7 million a year ago.