By

Divya Rajput

CONTENTWHO IS A CONSUMER

DUTIES OF CONSUMERS

HOW CONSUMERS ARE EXPLOITED

FACTORS CAUSING EXPLOITATION OF CONSUMERS

CONSUMER MOVEMENT

NEED OF CONSUMER MOVEMENT

CONSUMER MOVEMENT IN INDIA

CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT, 1986

IMPORTANT DAYS

RIGHT TO BE HEARD

RIGHT TO INFORMATION

RIGHT TO CHOOSE

RIGHT TO SAFETY

RIGHT TO SEEK REDRESSAL

RIGHT TO CONSUMER EDUCATION

MORE TO KNOW

WHERE SHOULD CONSUMER GO TO GET JUSTICE

WHO IS A CONSUMERç A person who has indicated his or her

willingness to obtain goods and/or services from a supplier with the intention of paying for them.

ç Someone who has purchased goods

and/or services for personal consumption

ç A person or group of people, such as a household, who are the final users of products or services. The consumer's use is final in the sense that the product is usually not improved by the use.

DUTIES OF

CONSUMERS‼ Buying quality products at reasonable price.‼ To check the weights and measures before making purchases‼ Reading the label carefully.‼ To procure the bill, cash received warranty, etc.‼ Shopping carefully and wisely‼ Understanding the terms of the sale‼ Reading and following instructions‼ Getting guarantees in writing

HOW CONSUMERS ARE EXPLOITEDDue to the expansion of business activities in an economy, we have a variety of goods available in the market. The demand for goods and services is influenced by the advertisements in television, newspaper and magazines. The companies spend a considerable amount on a advertisements alone attract consumers and feed information that they want us to know, but not the information that we as consumers want. When we, as consumer, do not have sufficient information about the products, we normally get exploited and are sometimes even harassed by business community.

§Underweight and Under-measurements : The goods being sold in the market are sometimes not measured or weighed correctly§Sub-standard Quality : The goods sold are sometimes of sub-standard quality. Selling of medicine beyond their expiry dates is generally the grievances of consumers. §High Prices : Very often the traders charge a higher price than the prescribed retail price§Duplicate Articles : In the name of genuine parts or goods, fake or duplicate items are being sold to the consumers.§Artificial Scarcity : In order to amass illegitimate profit, businessman create artificial scarcity by hoarding. They sell it later at a higher price.§False or Incomplete Information : Sellers easily mislead consumers by giving wrong information about the product, its price, quality, reliability, life cycle, expiry date and durability

FACTORS CAUSING EXPLOITATION OF CONSUMERS

¡ Limited Information : In a capitalist economy, producers and sellers are free to produce any goods or services in any quantity and there is no regulation on the prices. In the absence of information about different aspects of the products, namely, price, quality, condition of use, etc., the consumers are liable to make a wrong choice and lose money.

¡ Limited Supplies : The consumers are exploited when the goods and services are not available in the required quantity or numbers. This gives us rise to hoarding and price-escalation.

¡ Limited Competition : When only one producer or group of producer or a group of persons controls the production and supply of a product, and is in a position to restrict the availability of supplies, there is a possibility of manipulation in prices and availability.

¡ Illiteracy : Illiteracy is one of the major drawbacks that lead to the exploitation of consumers. The level of literacy directly affects the level of awareness about products and the market.

CONSUMER MOVEMENTConsumer movements arose out of the following:

‡ Dissatisfaction of the consumers as many unfair practices were being indulged in by the sellers.

‡ There was no legal system available for consumers to protect them from exploitation in the market place.

NEED OF CONSUMER MOVEMENT† Providing consumer

education.† Providing consumer

protection.† Building pressure on

government .† Arranging consumer

protection programmes.† Organizing public

opinion.† Providing guidance to

consumer.† Fight against marketing

system † Consumer awareness

CONSUMER MOVEMENT IN INDIA

It took many years for organisations in India and around the world, to create awareness amongst people. In India, the consumer movement as a social force originated with the necessity of protecting and promoting the interests of consumers against unethical and unfair trade practices. Rampat food shortages, hording, black marketing, adulteration of food and edible oil gave birth to the consumer movement in an organised form in the 1960s. Till the 1970s, consumer organisations were largely engaged in writing articles and holding exhibitions. They formed consumer groups to look into malpractices in ration shops and overcrowding in the road passeneger transport. More recently. India witnessed an upsurge in the number of consumer groups. Because of all these efforts, the movement succeeded in bringing pressure on business firms as well as government to correct business conduct which may be unfair and against the interest s of consumers at large. A major step taken in 1986 by the Indian government was the enactment of the Consumer Protection Act 1986, popularly known as COPRA.

CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT, 1986

Consumer Protection Act, 1986, popularly known as COPRA, is an Act of the Parliament of India enacted in 1986 to protect interests of consumers in India. It makes provision for the establishment of consumer councils and other authorities for the settlement of consumers' disputes and for matters connected therewith. This Act was enacted in 1986 with the objective of providing better protection of consumer’s interest. Effective safeguards are provided to the consumer, against various types of exploitations and unfair dealings, relying mainly on compensatory rather than a disciplinary or preventive approach under the Act. It applies to all goods and services unless specifically exempted, which covers the private, public and cooperative sectors. It also provides speedy and inexpensive. The rights under the Act flow from the rights enshrined in Articles 14 to 19 of the Constitution of India. The Right to Information Act (RTI), which has opened up governance processes of our country to the common public, also has far-reaching implications for consumer protection. The Consumer Protection Act, 1986 is the most important legislation enacted to provide for effective safeguards to consumers against various types of exploitations and unfair dealings, relying on mainly compensatory rather than a punitive or preventive approach. The Act has set up a three-tier quasi-judicial consumer disputes redressal machinery at the National, State and District levels, for expeditious and inexpensive settlement of consumer disputes.

IMPORTANT DAYS

NATIONAL CONUMER RIGHT DAY - National Consumers

Right Day was observed across India on 24 December

2013. The day is being observed on 24 December, since

the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 was enacted on this

day in 1986.

WORLD CONSUMER RIGHT DAY - Every year 15th March

is observed as "World Consumer Rights Day". It

commemorates a historic declaration (1962) by former

US President John F. Kennedy of four basic consumer

rights. World Consumer Rights Day is an annual

occasion for celebration and solidarity within the

international consumer movement. Participants observe

the day by promoting the basic rights of all consumers,

demanding that those rights are respected and

protected, and protesting about the market abuses and

social injustices which undermine them.

CONSUMER RIGHTS

Right to

be heard

Right to information

Right to choose

Right to safety

Right to seek

redresssal

Right to consumer education

RIGHT TO BE HEARDRight to be heard means that

consumer's interests will receive due consideration at appropriate forums. It also includes right to be represented in various forums formed to consider the consumer's welfare. The consumers should form non-political and non-commercial consumer organizations which can be given representation in various committees formed by the Government and other bodies in matters relating to consumers.

RIGHT TO INFORMATIONThe conumer has the right to be informed about

the quality, quantity, potency, purity, standard

and price of goods so as to protect the consumer

against unfair trade practices. Consumer should

insist on getting all the information about the

product or service before making a choice or a

decision. Consumer can then complain and ask for

compensation or replacement if the product proves

to be defective in any manner. This enables the

consumer to act wisely and responsibly and also

enable him to desist from falling prey to high

pressure selling techniques.

RIGHT TO CHOOSEThe consumer has right to be assured, wherever possible of access to variety of goods and services at competitive price. In case of monopolies, it means right to be assured of satisfactory quality and service at a fair price. It also includes right to basic goods and services. This is because unrestricted right of the minority to choose can mean a denial for the majority of its fair share. This right can be better exercised in a competitive market where a variety of goods are available at competitive prices. Any consumer who recieves a service in whatever capacity, regardless of age, gender and nature of service, has the right to choose whether to continue to recieve the service.

RIGHT TO SAFTEYThe conumers have the right to be protected against

the marketing of goods and services, which are

hazardous to life and property. Producers need to strictly follow the required safety rules and

regulations. There are many goods and services that

we puchase that require special attention to safety.

For example, pressure cookers have a safety valve

whih , if it is defective, can cause a serious accident.

The manufacturers of the safety valve have to ensure

high quality. The purchased goods and services

availed of should not only meet their immediate

needs, but also fulfill long term interests. Before

purchasing, consumers should insist on the quality of

the products as well as on the guarantee of the

products and services. They should preferably

purchase quality marked products such as ISI,

AGMARK, etc.

RIGHT TO SEEK REDRESSALConsumers have the right to seek redressal against unfair trade practices or unscrupulous exploitation. It also includes right to fair settlement of the genuine grievances of the consumer. Consumers must make complaint for their genuine grievances. Many a times their complaint may be of small value but its impact on the society as a whole may be very large. They can also take the help of consumer organizations in seeking redressal of their grievances. A consumer can claim compensation for damage caused by any product or service. He/She can file a case in the consumer court against the shopkeeper or manufacturer.

RIGHT TO CONSUMER EDUCATIONThe right to acquire the

knowledge and skill to be an

informed consumer throughout

life. Ignorance of consumers,

particularly of rural consumers,

is mainly responsible for their

exploitation. They should know

their rights and must exercise

them. The government or other

organisation should make

attempts to educate citizens

about various aspects of

consumer welfare.Only then real

consumer protection can be

achieved with success.

WHY CONSUMER EDUCATION IS IMPORTANT

† It provides the person with the basic knowledge to handle consumer problem, he/she becomes a discriminating buyer by taking rational decisions, and thus not fall prey to advertisements or persuasions.

† Technological developments have flooded the market with a variety of products, goods and services, it is therefore important that a person possesses basic knowledge and skills to judge the product.

† School children are mostly dependent on their parents, it is therefore important that they make the best use of their pocket money.

† Consumers education can alert the pupils to the corporate dumping of dangerous pharmaceuticals and similar products.

MORE TO KNOWWhile buying many commodities, on the cover you might have seen a logo with the letters ISI, Agmark, Hallmark. These logos and certifications help consumers get assured of quality while purchasing the goods and services. The organisations that monitor and issue these certificates allow produces to use their logos provided they follow certain quality standards.

WHERE SHOULD CONSUMER GO TO GET JUSTICE

Consumers have the right to seek redressal against unfair trade practices and exploitation in the consumer court. If any damage is done to a consumer, he or she has the right to get compensation depending on the degree of damage. The consumer movement in India has led to the formation of various organization locally known as consumers forum or consumers protection council, they guide Consumers on how to file cases in the consumer court, on many occasions they also represent individual consumers in the consumer court.

Under COPRA a three- tier system is set up at the district, state and National level for redressal of consumer disputes. Various claims are delt with by these courts as given below :

¢ District level : Up to Rs 20 Lakhs.¢ State level : Between Rs 20 Lakhs and

Rs 1 Crore.¢ National level : Exceeding Rs 1 CroreIf a case is dismissed in district level

court, the consumer can appeal in the state and then in the National level court.

THANK YOU