CONSUMER AWARENESS

• INTRODUCTION

• Rights of consumers
• Duties of a Consumer
• How you may get
Exploited
• Consumer Protection

• Conclusion

An alert consumer is a safe

consumer!
INTRODUCTION
• Anyone who consumes goods is a consumer. Consumers get exploited in the
market. They respond to advertisements and buy goods.

• Generally advertisements do not give all the information that a consumer

needs to know or wants to know about a product.

• Kautilya (the most able politician and minister in Indian history) was one of the
earliest to write in his Arthasastra about the need for consumer awareness &
protection.

• With the growth of private sector there is a greater need for discipline and
regulation of the market. Legal measures for consumer safety & awareness
must be uniform & transparent in terms of prices, quality of goods, and stock.

• Each and every consumer must have the tools to combat malpractices and
protect their rights.
Rights of Consumers
As codified under the Indian Laws the
consumers have the following rights:

 Right to Safety - to protect against

hazardous goods.

 Right to be Informed - about price, quality

& purity.

 Right to Choose - access to a variety of

goods and services.

 Right to be Heard - Consumers interest and

welfare must be taken care of.

 Right to seek Redressal – protection against

unfair trade practices.
Duties of a prompt Consumer
• Get a bill for every important
purchase and also the
warranty card.

• Check the standardisation

marks (ISI or Agmark) on the
goods.

• Form consumer awareness

groups.

• Make a complaint on genuine

grievances.
 Methods of Exploitation
• Under weight and under
measurements.

• Substandard quality.

• Duplicate articles.

• Adulteration and Impurity.

• Artificial Scarcity.

• Unsatisfactory service after sales.

• Rough Behaviour.
Consumer Protection
• Where do I file my complaint?

 District Forum - constituted in the specified districts of a

state, it handles cases where the value of goods and services
involved is less than Rs. 20 Lakhs in value .

 State Commission- constituted in the capital cities of

different states, handles cases where the value of goods
involved is more than Rs. 20 Lakhs in value but does not
exceed Rs 1 crore.

 National commission- Present only in New Delhi, handles

cases where the value is more than one crore.

There are consumer forums at the District, State and National level. At
present, there are 569 District Consumer Forums, 33 State Commissions
& the highest body which is the National Consumer Disputes Redressal
Commission (NCDRC) having its office at New Delhi.
Rise up! Don’t get
cheated.
• Consumers have the social responsibility of exposing the
manufacture/supplier or the service provider for resorting to illegal trade
practices. Unethical notings like “Goods once sold will never be taken
back” are in sharp contrast to the practice in some of the developed
countries, where the sellers declare, “In case you are not fully satisfied
with our product, you can bring the same to us within a month for either
replacement or return of your money.”

• The consumer movements can be winner movements only with our active
involvement by knowing our rights and enforcing them. It requires a
voluntary effort involving the participation of one and all.

• An alert consumer is a safe consumer!