CBSE - Consumer Rights

Rules and regulations are required in the marketplace to protect consumers. Sellers often abdicate responsibility for a low-quality product, cheat in weighing out goods, add extra charges over the retail price, and sell adulterated/ defective goods. Hence, rules and regulations are needed to protect the scattered buyers from powerful and fewer producers who monopolise markets. For example, a grocery shop owner might sell expired products, and then blame the customer for not checking the date of expiry before buying the items.

The factors that gave birth to the consumer movement in India are manifold. It started as a "social force" with the need to protect and promote consumer interests against unfair and unethical trade practices. Extreme food shortages, hoarding, black marketing and adulteration of food led to the consumer movement becoming an organised arena in the 1960s. Till the 1970s, consumer organisations were mostly busy writing articles and holding exhibitions. More recently, there has been an upsurge in the number of consumer groups who have shown concern towards ration shop malpractices and overcrowding of public transport vehicles. In 1986, the Indian government enacted the Consumer Protection Act, also known as COPRA. This was a major step in the consumer movement in India.

Consumer consciousness is being aware of your right as a consumer while buying any goods or services. Example :
→ It is common to see consumers bargaining with sellers for additional discounts below the MRP. 
→ Because of conscious consumers, most of the sweet shops do not include the weight of the container when they weigh sweets.

Factors which cause exploitation of consumers are :
→ Lack of awareness of consumer rights among buyers.
→ Improper and inadequate monitoring of rules and regulations.
→ Individual purchase quantity is quite small.
→ Consumers are scattered over large areas.

The rationale behind the enactment of COPRA 1986 was to set up a separate department of consumer affairs in Central and State governments and it has enabled us as consumers to have the right to represent in a consumer court.

Some of my duties as a consumer if I visit a shopping complex include checking expiry dates of the products I wish to purchase, paying only the maximum retail price printed on the goods, preventing shopkeepers from duping me with defective products, and registering a complaint with a consumer forum or court in case a seller refuses to take responsibility for an adulterated or flawed product.

We should look for Agmark symbol before buying the food items because this mark is certified by the government and assures the quality of the product.

Legal measures taken by the government to empower consumers in India are plenty. First and foremost being the COPRA in 1986. Then, in October 2005, the Right to Information Act was passed, ensuring citizens all information about the functioning of government departments. Also, under COPRA, a consumer can appeal in state and national courts, even if his case has been dismissed at the district level. Thus, consumers even have the right to represent themselves in consumer courts now.

Some of the rights of consumers are as follows :
→ Right to choice — Any consumer who receives a service in whatever capacity, regardless of age, gender and nature of service, has the right to choose whether to continue to receive that service. Under this right, a consumer may also choose any one of the various brands of a product (say, a refrigerator) available in the market.
→ Right to redressal — Consumers have the right to seek redressal against unfair trade practices and exploitation.
→ Right to represent — The act has enabled us as consumers to have the right to represent in the consumer courts.

Consumers can express their solidarity by forming consumer groups that write articles or hold exhibitions against traders' exploitation. These groups guide individuals on how to approach a consumer court, and they even fight cases for consumers. Such groups receive financial aid from the government to create public awareness. Participation of one and all will further strengthen consumer solidarity.

The consumer movement in India has evolved vastly since it began. There has been a significant change in consumer awareness in the country. Till the enactment of COPRA in 1986, the consumer movement did not bear much force, but ever since its inception, the movement has been empowered substantially. The setting up of consumer courts and consumer groups has been a progressive move. However, in contemporary India, the consumer redressal process is quite complicated, expensive and time-consuming. Filing cases, attending court proceedings, hiring lawyers, and other procedures make it cumbersome. In India, there are over 700 consumer groups of which, unfortunately, only about 20-25 are well-organised and functioning smoothly.

Match the following:

ans (i) e (ii) c (iii) a (iv) b (v) f (vi) d

(i) COPRA applies only to goods.
(ii) India is one of the many countries in the world which has exclusive courts for consumer redressal.
(iii) When a consumer feels that he has been exploited, he must file a case in the District Consumer Court.
(iv) It is worthwhile to move to consumer courts only if the damages incurred are of high value.
(v) Hallmark is the certification maintained for standardisation of jewellry.
(vi) The consumer redressal process is very simple and quick.
(vii) A consumer has the right to get compensation depending on the degree of the damage.

Answer

(i) False
(ii) True
(iii) True
(iv) True
(v) True
(vi) False
(vii) True

1. A consumer
(i) Sells goods and services (ii) Buy goods and services
(iii) Produces goods and services (iv) Delivers goods and services

2. Adulteration is
(i) Selling defective items (ii) Overpricing
(iii) Underweight measurement (iv) Mixing cheap materials

3. Causes of consumer exploitation
(i) Right to Information (ii) Proper Supply (iii) Low literacy (iv) High literacy

4. Which is not a function of PDS
(i) Control Hoarding (ii) Control Prices
(iii) Control over charging (iv) Consumer Redressal

5. COPRA stands for
(i) Consumer Protection Act (ii) Consumer Prevention Act
(iii) Consumer Police Act (iv) Consumer Power Act

6. Pick odd one out
(i) Right to information (ii) Right to choice
(iii) Right to adulteration (iv) Right to redressal

7. Pick odd one out
 (i) Right to safety (ii) Right to life
(iii) Right to consumer education (iv) Right to representation

8. National Consumer Day is celebrated in India
(i) 24 December (ii) 25 December (iii) 26 December (iv) 27 December

9. COPRA does not propose formation of
(i) National Consumer Court (ii) State Consumer Court
(iii) District Consumer Court (iv) High Court

10. ISO stands for
(i) International Standard Organization
(ii) International Organization for Standardization
(iii) International School Organization
(iv) International Standardization 

Answer Key of MCQ:
1(ii) 2(iv) 3(iii) 4(iv) 5(i) 6(iii)
7(ii) 8(i) 9(iv) 10(ii)

Consumer Protection Act 1986 (COPRA) is enacted in India with following motives:
(i) To pressurize business firms. 
(ii) To correct unfair business conduct.
(iii) To protect the interests of the consumers.

By consumer protection we mean the protection of the consumers against the unfair and malpractices
 adopted by the businessmen. These may be grouped mainly into two categories.
(i) Government measures
(ii) Voluntary measures

These logos and certification help consumers get assured of quality while purchasing goods and services. The
organizations that monitor and issue the certificates allow the producers to use these logos provided they follow
certain quality standards.

When some foreign matter, injurious to health, is mixed with any good or natural production, it is called
 adulteration. This is the most heinous crime against humanity.

(i) BIS and ISI (ii) AGMARK (iii) HALLMARK
 It means International Organization for Standardization which has its headquarter at Geneva. It does the
 Standardization work at the international level.

The need for consumer awareness was felt because both the manufacturers and traders can go to any extent
 out of their selfishness. They can charge high prices, and resort to underweight and under measurement
 methods. Their lust for money may lead to loss of money and health of consumers. 

The different forms of consumer exploitation are:
(i) Less weigh. (ii) Defective goods. (iii) Provide poor services.
(iv) Impure quality of products/goods. (iv) High prices: sellers usually charge a price higher than the
 prescribed retail price. (v) Duplicate Articles.
(vi) False or incomplete information, misleading consumers.
(vii) Lack of safety devices which cause harm to the consumers.
(vi) Adulteration: Mixing or substituting undesirable materials in food items etc.
(vii)Unsatisfactory after sale service: supplies do not provide satisfactory behavior.
(viii) Large companies with huge wealth, power and reach can manipulate in the market.

The following factors are responsible for the consumer exploitation:
 (i) Limited information - For a correct decision and choice about a product, a consumer needs full information about the price, quality, durability, composition, etc of the Product. In the absence of full and correct information, a consumer may get exploited. 
(ii) Limited supplies- when the supply of goods is less than their demand, the prices may go high and may also encourage the tendency of hoarding. As a consequence, consumers will get exploited.
(iii) Limited competition-when there is limited competition with regard to production i.e., when producers are few and can control and restrict the supply of a product there is a possibility of manipulation in prices.
(iv) Low literacy-Illiteracy causes ignorance, which leads to exploitation of consumers. The level of awareness in our country is generally low.

These are voluntary organizations locally known as consumer forums or consumer protection councils. The main activities of the consumer forums or consumer protection councils are:
(i) They guide consumers on how to file cases in the consumer court.
(ii) They may represent individual consumers in the consumer courts.
(iii) They create awareness among the people.