Consumer Rights

Consumer - Person who purchase goods and services that he/she needs
Rules and Regulations required for the protection of Consumers
(i) Individual consumers find themselves in a weak position.
(ii) Markets do not work in a fair manner, Companies with huge wealth, power and reach can manipulate the market in various ways.
(iii) False information is passed on to attract consumers.
Forms of Consumer exploitation in Market place
(i) Under weight / Under measurement
(ii) Extra charges
(iii) Adulteration in food items
(iv) Not fulfilling the promises
(v) Duplicate or low quality products
(vi) Undue demands
Consumer Movements
(i) Unfair practices by sellers, no legal system available to consumers to protect them from exploitation led to the starting of Consumer Movements
(ii) Sellers and Producers not taking the responsibility of ensuring quality of goods and services
(iii) Rampant food shortages, hoarding, black marketing, adulteration of food and edible oil gave birth to the consumer movement in an organised form in the 1960s.
(iv) In the 1970s Consumer Groups were formed
(v) Forced private as well as public firms to correct business conduct which may be unfair and against the interests of consumers
(vi) Consumer Protection Act 1986 (COPRA) was enacted
Consumer Rights
Right to Safety - Consumers have the right to be protected against the marketing of goods and delivery of services that are hazardous to life and property. Producers need to strictly follow the required safety rules and regulations
Right to be Informed - Consumers must be informed about the particulars of goods and services, directions for proper use, side effects and risk associated with usage, MRP, date of manufacturing, date of expiry etc.
Right to Information Act 2005, provides for the information about the functions of government departments
Right to Choose - Consumer has the right to choose whether to continue to receive the service. Many a times you are forced to buy things that you may not wish to and you are left with no choice.
Right to Seek Redressal - If any damage is done to a consumer, he/she has the right to get compensation depending on the degree of damage.
Formation of Consumer forums or Consumer Protection Councils to represents individual consumers in the consumer courts, creates awareness among people.
COPRA has led to a three-tie quasi-judicial machinery
District level court - Claims upto Rs 20 Lakh
State level court - 20 lakh to 1 Crore
National level court - 1 Crore and above
has led to the setting up of separate departments of Consumer affairs in Central and State governments.
Factors causing exploitation of Consumers
(i) Limited information (ii) Limited supplies (iii) Limited competition (iv) Low Literacy
Duties of Consumers
(i) Look at the quality/guarantee/warantee of the product
(ii) ask for the cash memo
(iii) form Consumer Awareness Organisations
(iv) Must make complain for genuine grievances
(v) must know their rights and must exercise them
Organisations responsible for ensuring quality standards
in India
BIS - Beureau of Indian Standards, issues ISI certificates to industrial and consumer goods
AGMARK - for agricultural goods
HALLMARK - for Gold
at International level
ISO - Organisation for Standardization, headquarters at Geneva
 Codex Alimentarius Commission, headquarters at Rome, formed by WHO & FAO

Taking the Consumer Movement forward
(i) 24 December - National Consumer’s Day
(ii) 700 Consumer Groups, only 20-25 well organised and recognized for their work
Problems faced during Consumer Redressal process
(i) Expensive and time consuming (have to engage lawyer, time consuming in filing and attending the court proceedings)
(ii) Cash receipts are not issued, evidence is not easy to gather
(ii) existing laws are also not very clear on the issue of compensation to consumers injured by defective products
(iv) enforcement of laws to protect workers are weak, rules and regulations are often not followed