Consumer: Why Consumer Movements?
* Rules and regulations are required to protect people who are in a weak position.
* Consumers also need to be protected.
* Individual consumers are often scattered and not united, which makes them easy targets for exploitation.
* Shopkeepers refuse to take back defective goods once they are sold.
Consumers also get cheated when shopkeepers:
* Use incorrect weights and measures
* Put extra charges in the bill
* Adulterate the foodstuff that they intend to sell
* Sell defective goods, or sell goods whose expiry dates have passed
* Big companies can also manipulate the consumers who are individual, scattered and make small purchases.
* Big companies spend a lot of money on advertising to give out misleading information about their products.
* The consumer movement was born out of consumer dissatisfaction.
* Initially, consumers had no means of redness against the malpractices of manufacturers and sellers, or if they were not pleased with a product.
* In the post-independence period, there were artificial food shortages and adulteration in India.
* The first consumer forums were formed in the 1960’s.
* Until the 1970’s, the role of the consumer movement was limited to exhibiting and writing in magazines and papers.
* Later, consumer groups starters looking into malpractices.
* The movement got a boost from the UN Guidelines for Consumer Protection formulated in 1985.
* The Consumer Protection Act was passed in India in 1986.
* Consumers themselves need to make their voice heard in consumer forums and courts.
Consumer Rights
* Consumer’s rights include the right to safety, the right to be informed, the right to choose, the right to seek redress and the right to represent I consumer courts.
* Under the right to safety, a consumer has the right to buy only safe products.
* In case of any malfunctioning, the producer must compensate the consumer.
* Consumers have the right to be informed about the goods and services that they buy, including price, batch number, ingredients, expiry date and manufacturer’s address.
* Medicines must have directions of usage and any possible side effects printed on the packaging.
* In case any false or misleading information is provided, consumers can take the producer to the consumer court.
* The Right to Information (RTI) act of 2005 gives citizens the right to know about the functioning of any government department.
* Consumers have the right to choose the goods or services that they want to avail.
* Consumers possess the right to seek redress and to demand compensation.
* While seeking redress, consumers have the right to represent in consumer courts.
* In this representation, they can seek the help of consumer forums or councils as well as Resident’s Welfare Associations.
* The Consumer Protection Act (COPRA) of 1986 ensures that consumers have the right to represent in consumer courts.
* Consumer courts have a three-tier structure. They are district level, state level and national level.
* Strengthen Consumer Movement to Protect Consumer Rights
* Consumers need to be aware of the choices available to them.
* The departments of consumer affairs regularly take out consumer awareness campaigns in the media.
* Agencies like BIS-Hallmark and Agmark test the quality of various products sold in the market.
* Only products that pass the test of quality get certified.
* For products that are crucial from a health or safety angle, certification is mandatory or compulsory.
* We celebrate the 24th of December as National Consumer Day.
* There are over 700 consumer groups in the country, but only about 30 of them work efficiently.
* It is very difficult to prove anything conclusively against the wrongdoings of shopkeepers.
* Laws relating to compensation are often vague and their enforcement is weak.
* The progress in consumer awareness has been slow, but positive.
