Consumer’s Right to Education: An Analysis

Submitted By-
Mranal Sharma
SM0117030

Faculty in Charge

Thangzakhup Tombing

NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY, ASSAM

GUWAHATI
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION ------------------------------------------------------------------------

1.1. Research Questions ------------------------------------------------------------------

1.2. Literature Review---------------------------------------------------------------------
1.3. Scope And Objectives ---------------------------------------------------------------
1.4. Methodology --------------------------------------------------------------------------

2. Consumer Education in India ------------------------------------------------------------------

3. Solution to Consumer’s Problems----------------------------------------------------------------

4. Laws for protection of consumer in India------------------------------------------------------

Conclusion------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bibliography ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 CHAPTER 1:

INTRODUCTION

Education is the most powerful tool for the progress of the country and is a social and
political necessity. Education helps an individual—as a consumer—in making rational
choices and protects him from trade and business-related exploitation. But more is needed for
the effective functioning of the national market to create an increased level of awareness of
consumer rights, and for this consumers have to be educated about rights and responsibilities
through concerted publicity and awareness campaigns.
A consumer comes face to face with a lot of problems in this competitive market when he
avails any service or buys and good from the market. With the advancement in technology
new ways for buying and selling of goods are becoming popular, in such a dynamic market
scenario it is really easy for a consumer to get cheated and deceived.

In order to stay safe it is really necessary for a consumer to be aware of his rights and duties
also he must be aware about the procedure as to what should be done when these rights are
infringed. When talking about all this the role of consumer education comes into play.
Consumer education plays a vital role in such a situation. This project will be discussing in
detail about the need for consumer education.

1.1RESEARCH QUESTIONS

Q1. Who is a consumer?

Q2.what are the Areas covered under consumer education?
Q3. What are the various laws for protection of consumer rights which a consumer need to be
aware of?

Q4. What are the various legislations that a consumer can avail in case when his right is
infringed?

Q5. What are the importance and advantages of consumer education?

1.2 LITERATURE REVIEW

 Garima Tiwari, Understanding Laws: Consumer Rights, lexis Nexis publication 1st
edition 2014
This book helps us to understand the nexus between consumer education and right to
information. It provides us with the information about various judgement given by the
consumer dispute redressal commission in various cases relating to the issue of
Consumer Protection and RIGHT TO INFORMATION ACT 2005
 THE CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT 1986 (ACT NO 68 of 1986)
This bare act provided the researcher with necessary provisions of the constitution
pertaining to the project like section 2 which deals with definition of a consumer.

1.3 SCOPE AND OBJECTIVES

SCOPE:

This research paper aims the objective to limelight the need for consumer education and to
give an overview of importance of consumer education in regards to protection of Consumers
Rights.

OBJECTIVES:

1. To read in detail about the various issues and problems faced by the consumer in the
market
2. Project reads the detail the necessity for consumer education and various legislations
currently available to protect a Consumer’s Rights

1.4 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

In this project, researcher has adopted Doctrinal research. Doctrinal research is essentially
a library-based study, which means that the materials needed by a researcher may be
available in libraries, archives and other data-bases. Various types of books were used to
get the adequate data essential for this project. Researcher also used computer to get
important data related to this topic. Researcher also found several useful websites which
were very useful to better understand this topic.

Chapter-2
Consumer Education in India

 Who is a consumer?
According to the definition given in the Consumer Protection Act 1986 under
Section 2
(d) "Consumer" means any person who
(i) buys any goods for a consideration which has been paid or promised or partly paid
and partly promised, or under any system of deferred payment and includes any user
of such goods other than the person who buys such goods for consideration paid or
promised or partly paid or partly promised, or under any system of deferred payment
when such use is made with the approval of such person, but does not include a
person who obtains such goods for resale or for any commercial purpose; or

(ii) [hires or avails of] any services for a consideration which has been paid or
promised or partly paid and partly promised, or under any system of deferred payment
and includes any beneficiary of such services other than the person who [hires or
avails of] the services for consideration paid or promised, or partly paid and partly
promised, or under any system of deferred payment, when such services are availed
of with the approval of the first mentioned person; (but does not include a person who
avails of such services of any commercial purpose;)

[Explanation.-For the purposes of sub-clause (i), "commercial purpose" does not

include use by a consumer of goods bought and used by him exclusively for the
purpose of earning his livelihood, by means of self-employment;]1

In layman’s term Consumers are people who buy goods and services to satisfy their
needs. People buy a lot of thing which may include “goods” like food, clothing, fuel,
paper, electronic items, etc.

1
THE CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT 1986 (ACT NO 68 of 1986), Sec. 2 (d)
 “Services” are the facilities offered to us by various agencies with or without
Payment. These include water, electricity, health and sanitation, education,
Transport, communications, etc.
Hence it can be clearly said that we all at some or the other level are consumers of
goods and avail some or the other service. Hence it is really necessary for us to be
aware of our right and this is where the consumer’s right to education come into play.
If a consumer is educated about his rights he won’t fall for the scams and frauds that
await to happen in this capitalist market of ours.

 Why Consumer Need Consumer Education?

Today’s society is a consumer society. Consumption is an important part of our life and
amounts to a significant part of our income consumption. This consumer society is
changing very rapidly. Ever since the mid-twentieth century consumers have faced
major changes in their lifestyles and consumption habits due to different cultural,
social, economic and technical influences and factors. The increasing mobility of
populations, production of new items and services, new purchasing methods and
information, availability modify perceptions and alter loyalties. This has led to
individuals constructing their identities in ways different from the past2.
This development has created the need for consumers who can interpret relevant
information and corporate messages in order to make prudent choice. Yet, due to the
enormous amount of products and services available and to the variation in the quality
of products and services, consumers may not always be able to meet their personal
needs effectively.
Hence a consumer education is really necessary for a consumer.

 Why Consumer Need Information and Education?

They need to develop an awareness of the difference between real and perceived
needs and they need the skills to be selective to truly obtain products and services
which match their needs. In addition, rapid changes and potential risks in
consumption make it essential for the consumer to consider the consequences of their
consumption.

 Why Business Needs Consumer Education?

2
Consumer education in India, chapter-5 ,page-168-169,
http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/7188/10/10_chapter%205.pdf
 Commercial interests need to maintain the confidence of consumers. Consumers need
information, but also need education for gaining the greatest benefit from the market,
for controlling their finances and for making rational choices in their consumption.
Business should see improved consumer education not as a threat but as a source of
commercial benefit. Consumers make better choices and because of their higher
expectations, there is a positive effect on competitiveness as companies improve their
products and services.
 Areas covered under consumer education.
1. Health, Nutrition, food borne diseases and food adulteration
2. Product hazards
3. Product labelling
4. Redressal of grievances
5. Weights and measures, prices, quality, credit conditions.

 Advantages of Consumer Education

1. Consumer education helps consumer to develop the ability to decide and choose
things intelligently.
2. Makes him aware as to demand safe, reliable and good quality products at a
reasonable price,
3. Makes him alert , well informed and vigilant against corrupt practices in the
market
4. And prepare them to take suitable action when faced with problem.
 Chapter-3
Consumer’s Problems and solutions
When a consumer buys a product from the market or avails any service he may face a lot of
problems. These problem may range from product to product or service to service. The
consumers are subjects to majorly 7 types of problems which are as follows-

1. Price variation
Many times while purchasing products you may notice that the price of the same
item is different in different shops within the same market. There are also price
variations between markets. Sometimes prices vary due to certain genuine reasons
and at other times, they vary because the salespersons over-charge3

Some of the ways in which sellers over-charge you are:-

1. Selling a copy of the popular brand name.
2. MRP for certain products varies in different states. These are mentioned on the
label, and the shopkeeper takes advantage of this to charge the highest mentioned
MRP.
3. Selling items loose without a label or packaging so that you cannot read and
check its real price.

2. Adulteration and Poor Quality

Adulteration means addition of certain things or their removal from a product,

thereby, lowering its quality. Adulteration can also occur because of the use of poor
quality raw materials or poor method of production or inappropriate storage of
finished products. Adulteration is usually intentional. Such products may be harmful
for the health and safety of consumers. However, all low quality products may not
necessarily be adulterated ones.

3
Consumer education, chapter-17, page- 38
http://download.nos.org/srsec321newE/321-E-Lesson-17.pdf
Consequences of Adulteration

People suffering from diarrhoea and vomiting after eating food and sweets from
roadside hawkers. Due to adulteration of the food with harmful colours, stale
ingredients, poor quality cooking oil, etc.

Cases of people getting electric shocks from poorly designed electric irons and
immersion rod, many fabrics shrink or the colour fades after the very first wash.
Readymade garments that are stitched badly or have loose buttons are the other
examples of poor quality products.

3. Non-availability - Hoarding and Black Marketing

Many times a product may not be genuinely unavailable because of off-season,
lower production or less supply but Many times, when the manufacturers want to
raise prices, they temporarily withhold the supply of their products from the
market, thus causing artificial scarcity. Even in normal periods, when the sellers
expect a rise in prices, they hoard products.
4. Defective Weights and Measures
Shopkeepers use several malpractices while measuring or weighing the good that
we purchase. use of a short or dented measuring rod, or by stretching the fabric or
measuring the fabric on marked table tops to measure less fabric, etc. The
shopkeepers’ intention all the while is to give you less than the promised quantity
without your knowledge, thereby earning higher profits.
5. Deceptive Trade Practices
Deceptive trade practices like –use of brand names, labels and packaging similar
to good quality popular products for low quality products. Offer of attractive free
gifts, sales and discounts with some low quality products or offer of cheap free
gifts and discounts that are not genuine, etc. selling expired articles at lower
prices. Hence consumers are deceived and cheated.
6. Poor Consumer Guidance
Often shopkeepers and manufacturers for information required to make any
purchase. But they do not always give us the correct and complete information.
The consumers get very little help from these salespersons while making choices.
7. Lack of Standardised Products
 Some standardization or certification marks and are issued by the Government
like ISI, AGMARK or FPO. The numbers displayed along with the marks are the
numbers of Indian standards corresponding to a product and unique for it. These
marks convey that products bearing them are of good quality, correct weight and
safe to use. However, all the products sold in the market including some very
popular brands do not bear a standardization mark. This leaves the consumer
confused.

Solutions to consumer problems

1. Always conduct market surveys and tap all the sources of information (TV,
magazines, newspapers, salespersons, and if possible somebody who is already using
the product) before buying a product.
2. Buy from Kendra Bhandar, fair price shops, authorised company showrooms,
cooperative stores or other reliable shops of good reputation in your area. This will
enable you to buy good quality products at right price.4
3. Obtain bills, receipts and guarantee cards for all purchases made and keep them
safely. They will be of use in case of any fault in the products.
4. Instead of loose items, preferably buy properly packed and labelled products.
5. Read labels carefully for brand names, ingredients, nett weight, MRP (maximum
retail price), expiry date and standardization mark.
6. Think of alternate items, for those that are in short supply. Refuse to pay more and
discourage hoarding and black marketing.
7. Do not accept irregular weights like bricks and stones. Be alert and vigilant about the
weights and measures and the procedure used by the seller.
8. Do not get deceived by sales tricks and sales talks, like free gifts and high discounts

4
Consumer education, chapter-17, page- 42
http://download.nos.org/srsec321newE/321-E-Lesson-17.pdf
 Chapter-4
Laws for Consumer Protection
An important part of consumer education is the knowledge of consumer protection laws. A
consumer must be aware if all his rights and the legislations that are available to him for the
protection of his rights. Our government has passed certain laws to protect our rights as
consumer. Under these laws any consumer with a genuine grievance can file a formal
complaint against a trader and take him to court.
A consumer has certain rights that he must have knowledge of
1. Right to safety –
2. Right to be informed-
3. Right to choose-
4. Right to be heard-
5. Right to redressal-
6. Right to consumer education-

In order to protect these laws of a consumer government has made certain law and
legislations

The concern in the Indian Constitution for protection and promotion of an individual‘s rights,
and for the dignity and welfare of the citizen makes it imperative to provide for the welfare of
the individual as a consumer, a client and a customer. The rights under the Consumer
Protection Act, 1986 flow from the rights enshrined in Articles 14 to 19 of the Constitution of
India. The RTI, 2005 which has opened up governance processes of our country to the
common public also has far reaching implications for consumer protection.

The Indian Penal Code, 1860:

The Indian Penal Code, 1860 contains certain provisions which are worth noting in
connection with consumer protection and satisfaction. It provides penalties for offences (i)
relating to weights and measures, (ii) affecting the public health, (iii) concerning
counterfeiting the property mark. It is the most important law in the country, which was
enacted in the British days, and contains the substantive law against crime. Section 264 to
267 of the Indian penal code relate to the fraudulent use, possessing and sale of false weight
and the resulting punishment. 5

The Indian Contract Act, 1872:

5
Consumer education in India, chapter-5 ,page-168-169,
http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/7188/10/10_chapter%205.pdf
The Indian Contract Act sowed the seeds of consumer protection. The Act deals with the
buyer‘s right to annul agreement made without free consent and to claim damages for the loss
and damage caused by breach of contract. But these contracts should be in writing; otherwise
it would be difficult to prove the exact terms and conditions thereof, subsequently

The Poisons Act, 1919:

The Poisons Act regulates the importation, possession and sale of Poisons and empowers
notification of certain substances as poisons

The Dangerous Drugs Act, 1930:

The Act seeks to centralise and vest with the Central Government the control over certain
operations relating to dangerous drugs. It prohibits operations like, cultivation of the coca
plant or gather any portion of the coca plant, manufacture or possession of prepared opium,
unless it is prepared from lawfully possessed opium; or import into India, export from India,
tranship or sell prepared opium. Further the Central Government exercises control over the
production and supply of opium

The Sale of Goods Act, 1930:

Sections 12 to 18 of the Sale of Goods Act of 1930 provide consumers with certain basic
rights in relation to the sale of goods. Thus, by virtue of these provisions in the sale of Goods
Act, 1930, the consumer is entitled to goods in a fit, proper and consumable condition. The
Act also provides for legal remedy in case of breach of contract or warranty between the
buyer and seller by way of claiming damages against the defaulting party in a court of law.

The Agricultural Produce (Grading and Marketing) Act, 1937:

The legislation was enacted in 1937 to provide for the grading and marketing of agricultural
and other produce. Under the Act, the Central Government is empowered to make rules
regarding prescription of grade designation as indicative of the quality of any scheduled
article included in the Schedule to the Act. The Act, popularly known as AGMARK Act is an
enabling legislation of permissive nature. The new provisions have been made to prevent
supply of substandard or misguided goods AGMARK products to the consumers.

Consumer Protection Act (CPA/COPRA):

This Act clearly defines consumer rights and responsibilities. It seeks to provide consumers
with quick easy and inexpensive redressal of their genuine complaints. Under this Act, the
consumers can file complaints against goods and services provided by not only private
companies but also the Government departments. For the legal settlement of complaints,
courts have been set up at the District, State and National level. Such courts are called
Consumer Redressal Forums.

Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices (MRTP) Act:

This act protects consumers from being exploited by unfair trade practices like giving false
or misleading statement and advertisements, sale of substandard products, hoarding and black
marketing. It also prevents traders from conducting any contest or lottery with no intention of
giving the promised prizes.6

Right to information and consumer protection Act

The national consumer dispute redressal commission, in Dr. S. P. Tirumala Rao vs.
7
Municipal Commissioner, Mysore city Municipal Corporation, Mysore held that failure to
supply information on an application under RTI amounts to deficiency in services. 8

6
Consumer education, chapter-17, page- 42
http://download.nos.org/srsec321newE/321-E-Lesson-17.pdf
7
III (2012) CPJ 72 (NC) [RP No. 1975/2005 decided on 28.05.2009]
8
Garima Tiwari, Understanding Laws: Consumer Rights, lexis Nexis publication 1st edition 2014 , page-23-24
 Conclusion
The efficient and effective programme of Consumer Protection is of special significance to
all of us because we all are consumers. Even a manufacturer or provider of a service is a
consumer of some other goods or services. If both the producers/ providers and consumers
realize the need for co-existence, adulterated products, spurious goods and other deficiencies
in services would become a thing of the past.

In this project we have seen various problems a consumer faces when he avails a service or
buys any good from the market also we have discussed about the ways in which the consumer
can seek remedies.

We discussed about the need for consumer education for a consumer and for a business. We
discussed as to how a consumer is dubbed in to buying thing which he doesn’t need and how
he is subjected to pay more sometimes. We also about the various rights of a consumer which
he need to be educated about in order to seek the remedy whenever his right is infringed.

This project discussed some of the legislation and laws which are available at a consumer’s
disposal provided by the government in order to protect a consumer’s right.

The various areas covered under consumer education like health, quality, price all are
protected by various legislations. These legislations are designed to control product, supply,
distribution, price and quality of a large number of goods and services. Government has also
been empowered to regulate the terms and conditions of sale, nature of trade and commerce,
etc.

In order for a consumer to live a happy life it is very necessary for a consumer to be educated
of his consumer rights and duties.
 Bibliography

Books referred

 Garima Tiwari, Understanding Laws: Consumer Rights, lexis Nexis publication 1st
edition 2014

Articles
 Consumer education
http://download.nos.org/srsec321newE/321-E-Lesson-17.pdf

 Consumer education in India

http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/7188/10/10_chapter%205.pdf