The consumer is the one who purchases and uses the goods and the services, and the consumer is the king in the market. However, the consumers often face the exploitation in the market, through the unfair practices of the producers and the sellers, such as the overpricing, the adulteration, the false advertising and the supply of the defective goods. The chapter examines the concept of the consumer and the consumer exploitation, the rights of the consumers, the duties of the consumers, and the ways in which the consumers can protect their rights.
The chapter begins with the discussion of the consumer exploitation in the market and the need for the consumer awareness and the consumer protection. It then discusses the factors that cause the consumer exploitation, and the need for the laws to protect the consumers. The chapter then examines the rights of the consumers, which are the right to safety, the right to be informed, the right to choose, the right to be heard, the right to seek redressal and the right to consumer education.
For the board examination, students must understand the concept of the consumer and the exploitation of the consumers, the need for the consumer protection, the rights and the duties of the consumers, the consumer movement in India, the working of the consumer courts, and the ways in which the consumers can protect their rights.
The consumer is the one who purchases the goods and the services for the personal use, and the consumer is the central figure in the market. However, the consumers are often exploited by the producers and the sellers, and the exploitation of the consumers takes many forms. The consumers are exploited through the overpricing, the underweighting, the adulteration, the false advertising and the supply of the defective goods. The consumers often pay a higher price for the goods and the services of the inferior quality.
The exploitation of the consumers is caused by the several factors, such as the lack of the consumer awareness, the shortage of the goods and the services, the monopoly of the producers and the sellers, and the inadequate laws for the protection of the consumers. The consumers who are not aware of their rights and the quality of the goods are the most exploited. The consumers who are illiterate, poor and unorganised are the most vulnerable to the exploitation.
The chapter stresses that the consumers need the protection from the exploitation, and the government has enacted the laws and the regulations for the protection of the consumers. The consumer protection is essential for the fair functioning of the market, and the consumers have to be aware of their rights and the ways to protect them.
The consumers need the protection because they are the weaker party in the market, and they face the exploitation from the producers and the sellers. The producers and the sellers have the better information and the greater power, and they can exploit the consumers. The consumer protection is the set of the laws and the measures that protect the interests of the consumers, and it ensures the fair trade and the fair prices.
The consumer movement in India has a long history, and it has been fighting for the rights of the consumers. The consumer movement began as a social force in the 1960s, with the formation of the consumer groups, and it grew in the 1970s, with the rise of the many consumer organisations. The consumer movement demanded the consumer protection laws, and it led to the enactment of the Consumer Protection Act in 1986.
The Consumer Protection Act, 1986, is a landmark legislation that provides the legal protection to the consumers, and it has set up the consumer courts for the redressal of the complaints of the consumers. The consumer movement in India has been strengthened by the efforts of the consumer organisations, the media and the aware citizens, and it has led to the increasing awareness of the consumer rights.
The Consumer Protection Act, 1986, has defined the six rights of the consumers. The first right is the right to safety, which protects the consumers from the goods and the services that are dangerous to the health and the life, such as the pressure cookers, the electrical appliances and the medicines. The second right is the right to be informed, which gives the consumers the right to know the details of the goods and the services, such as the ingredients, the date of the manufacture, the expiry date and the price.
The third right is the right to choose, which gives the consumers the right to choose from the variety of the goods and the services available in the market. The fourth right is the right to be heard, which gives the consumers the right to be heard in the matters that affect their interests, and the right to file the complaints. The fifth right is the right to seek redressal, which gives the consumers the right to seek the compensation for the unfair practices and the exploitation.
The sixth right is the right to consumer education, which gives the consumers the right to acquire the knowledge and the skills to be the informed consumers. These six rights protect the consumers from the exploitation, and they empower the consumers in the market. The consumers also have the duty to be aware of their rights and to be responsible in the market.
The consumers have the duties as well as the rights, and the responsible consumers follow the certain duties. The consumers should be aware of the quality, the safety and the price of the goods and the services, and they should read the labels and the details of the products. The consumers should buy the goods from the authorised and the reputed sellers, and they should take the receipts and the bills of their purchases. The consumers should also be careful not to get cheated, and they should not fall for the false advertising and the misleading promotions.
The consumers have the right to seek the redressal, and they can file the complaints against the unfair practices. The Consumer Protection Act, 1986, has set up the three-tier system of the consumer courts: the district forum, which deals with the complaints of the value up to twenty lakh rupees, the state commission, which deals with the complaints between twenty lakh and one crore rupees, and the national commission, which deals with the complaints above one crore rupees. The consumer courts provide the quick and the cheap redressal of the consumer complaints.
The consumers can also approach the consumer helplines and the consumer organisations for the help and the guidance. The consumer courts have played an important role in the protection of the consumers, and they have awarded the compensation to the consumers who have been exploited.
The consumer awareness is the knowledge of the consumer about the rights, the duties and the ways to protect themselves from the exploitation. The consumer awareness is essential for the protection of the consumers, as the consumers who are aware can make the informed choices and can fight against the exploitation. The consumer awareness can be spread through the education, the media, the consumer organisations and the government campaigns.
The consumer rights are also connected to the social responsibility, and the responsible consumers have the social duties. The consumers should buy the goods that are environment-friendly, and they should not waste the resources. The consumers should also support the fair trade and the ethical production, and they should not buy the goods that are produced by the exploitation of the workers and the children.
The chapter stresses that the consumers are the important part of the economy, and the consumer rights are an essential part of the democracy. The aware and the responsible consumers can protect their own rights, and they can also contribute to the fair and the just functioning of the market and the society.
The chapter concludes by stressing the need for the consumers to become well-informed, and it discusses the ways in which the consumers can learn to protect their rights. The consumers can become well-informed by the reading of the labels and the details of the products, by the comparison of the prices and the quality of the products, by the awareness of the legal rights, and by the participation in the consumer organisations.
The consumers can also use the information given on the products, such as the ISI mark for the electrical appliances, the AGMARK for the agricultural products and the Hallmark for the gold jewellery, to ensure the quality of the products. The consumers should also be careful about the misleading advertisements, and they should verify the claims of the advertisements before the purchase.
The chapter concludes with the hope that the aware and the responsible consumers, who are aware of their rights and their duties, can protect themselves from the exploitation and can contribute to the fair and the just functioning of the market and the society.
| Right of the Consumer | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Right to safety | Protection from goods and services dangerous to health and life |
| Right to be informed | Right to know details of goods and services |
| Right to choose | Right to choose from a variety of goods |
| Right to be heard | Right to be heard in matters affecting interests |
| Right to seek redressal | Right to compensation for unfair practices |
| Right to consumer education | Right to knowledge and skills as an informed consumer |
| Consumer Court | Handles Complaints of Value |
|---|---|
| District forum | Up to twenty lakh rupees |
| State commission | Between twenty lakh and one crore rupees |
| National commission | Above one crore rupees |
The consumer is the king of the market, but the consumers are often exploited through overpricing, adulteration, false advertising and the supply of defective goods, and they need the protection of the laws. The consumer movement in India, which began in the 1960s and grew in the following decades, culminated in the Consumer Protection Act of 1986, which defined the six rights of the consumers, including the right to safety, the right to be informed, the right to choose, the right to be heard, the right to seek redressal and the right to consumer education. The consumer courts, at the district, state and national levels, provide the quick and the cheap redressal of the consumer complaints. The chapter concludes that the consumers must be aware of their rights and their duties, and that the informed and responsible consumers can protect themselves from the exploitation and can contribute to the fair and the just functioning of the market and the society.