CONSUMER RIGHTS & CONSUMER

PROTECTION ACT

• BY
DR. AMULYA .M
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR,
BIMS, UNIVERSITY OF MYSORE,
HOW ARE CONSUMERS EXPLOITED ?
•HIGH PRICE
•UNDER WEIGHT AND MEASUREMENT
•SUBSTANDARD QUALITY
•ADULTERATION
•DEFECTS
•DEFICIENCIES
HOW ARE CONSUMERS EXPLOITED ?
• FALSE PROMISES
• FAKE PRODUCTS
• UNFAIR TRADE PRACTICES
• RESTRICTED TRADE PRACTICES-BLACK MARKETING
• INCOMPLETE INFORMATION
• MISLEADING ADVERTISEMENTS
CON S U M ER R IG HT S
WHO IS A CONSUMER ?
A person who has indicated his or her willingness
to obtain goods and/or services from a supplier
with the intention of paying for them.

Someone who has purchased goods and/or

services for personal consumption

A person or group of people, such as

a household, who are the final users of
products or services.
 Right to
C seek
O redresssal
N Right to Right to
consumer
S safety education
U
M
E
R
Right to CONSUM
R choose ER
I RIGHTS
G
H
T
Right to
S
information

Right to
be heard
RIGHT TO INFORMATION

• The consumer has the right to be informed about the quality,

quantity, potency, purity, standard and price of goods so as to
protect the consumer against unfair trade practices.
• Consumer should insist on getting all the information about the
product or service before making a choice or a decision.
• Consumer can then complain and ask for compensation or
replacement if the product proves to be defective in any
manner.
RIGHT TO CHOOSE

• The consumer has right to be assured, wherever possible

of access to variety of goods and services at competitive
price.

• This right can be better exercised in a competitive market

where a variety of goods are available at competitive
prices.
RIGHT TO SAFTEY

• Producers need to strictly follow the required safety rules and regulations.
• For example, pressure cookers have a safety valve which , if it is defective,
can cause a serious accident.
• purchase quality marked products such as ISI, AGMARK, Quality
checked, etc.
RIGHT TO SEEK REDRESSAL

• Consumers have the right to seek redressal against

unfair trade practices or unscrupulous exploitation.
• It also includes right to fair settlement of the genuine
grievances of the consumer.
• He/she can file a case in the consumer court against the
shopkeeper or manufacturer.
RIGHT TO CONSUMER EDUCATION

• The right to acquire the knowledge and skill to be an

informed consumer throughout life.
• Ignorance of consumers, particularly of rural
consumers, is mainly responsible for their exploitation.
• Consumers should know their rights and must exercise
them.
• The government or other organisation should make
attempts to educate citizens about various aspects of
consumer welfare.
RIGHT TO BE HEARD
• Right to be heard means that consumer's
interests will receive due consideration at
appropriate forums.
• It also includes right to be represented in
various forums formed to consider the
consumer's welfare.
• The consumers should form non-political
and non-commercial consumer
organizations which can be given
representation in various committees
formed by the government and other
bodies in matters relating to consumers.
CONSUMER MOVEMENT IN INDIA

Rampant food shortages, hording, black marketing, adulteration of food and edible oil gave birth to the
consumer movement in an organised form in the 1960’s.
Till the 1970s, consumer organisations were largely engaged in writing articles and holding exhibitions.
They formed consumer groups to look into malpractices in ration shops and overcrowding in the road
passeneger transport.
More recently, India witnessed an upsurge in the number of consumer groups , because of all these efforts,
the movement succeeded in bringing pressure on business firms as well as government to correct business
conduct which may be unfair and against the interest s of consumers at large.
A major step taken by the Indian government was the enactment of the consumer protection act of
1986 , popularly known as COPRA.
 ER P RO T ECT IO N A CT
CO N SU M
1986
• Consumer protection act, 1986 is an act of the parliament of India enacted in 1986 to protect the interests
of consumers in India. It makes provision for the establishment of consumer councils and other authorities for
the settlement of consumers' disputes and for matters connected therewith also.
• Effective safeguards are provided to the consumer, against various types of exploitations and unfair
dealings, relying mainly on compensatory rather than a disciplinary or preventive approach under the
act.
• It applies to all goods and services unless specifically exempted, which covers the private, public and
cooperative sectors.
• It also provides speedy and inexpensive service.
• The rights under the act flow from the rights enshrined in articles 14 to 19 of the constitution of India.
• The right to information act (RTI), which has opened up governance processes of our country to the
common public, also has far-reaching implications for consumer protection.
• The consumer protection act, 1986 is the most important legislation enacted to provide for effective
safeguards to consumers against various types of exploitations and unfair dealings, relying on mainly
compensatory rather than a punitive or preventive approach.
• The act has set up a three-tier quasi-judicial consumer disputes redressal machinery at the national, state
and district levels, for expeditious and inexpensive settlement of consumer disputes.

CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT 1986

CONSUMER DISPUTE REDRESSAL MACHINERY

• THERE ARE CONSUMER FOR AT THE DISTRICT, STATE AND NATIONAL LEVEL
• DISTRICT FORUM – AT THE DISTRICT LEVEL
• STATE COMMISSION – AT THE STATE LEVEL
• NATIONAL COMMISSION – AT THE NATIONAL LEVEL
FINANCIAL JURISDICTION

• DEPENDS ON VALUE OF GOODS AND SERVICE AND COMPENSATION

CLAIMED
• LIMITS ARE :
• DISTRICT FORUM
• NOT EXCEEDING RS.20 LAKHS
• STATE COMMISSION
• EXCEEDS RS.20 LAKHS BUT DOES NOT EXCEED RS.1 CRORE
• NATIONAL COMMISSION
• EXCEEDS RS.1 CRORE.
TIME LIMIT FOR FILING COMPLAINT

• WITHIN TWO YEARS FROM THE DATE ON WHICH THE CAUSE OF ACTION ARISES
• EVEN WHERE THE TIME LIMIT EXPIRES, THE COMPLAINT CAN BE TAKEN UP
• PROVIDED COMPLAINANT IS ABLE TO SATISFY THE FORUM OR COMMISSION ABOUT THE
REASONABLENESS IN THE DELAY

• THE DELAY FOR EVERY SINGLE DAY HAS TO BE EXPLAINED.

DISPOSAL OF DISPUTES
DISTRICT FORUM MAY
◦ ASK THE OPPOSITE PARTY TO REMOVE THE DEFECT,
◦ REPLACE THE GOODS WITH NEW GOODS AND FREE FROM DEFECT
◦ TO RETURN TO THE COMPLAINANT THE PRICE OF GOODS OR
◦ TO PAY ANY AMOUNT AS COMPENSATION
APPEALS TO BE PREFERRED WITHIN THIRTY DAYS
◦ FROM THE ORDER OF THE DISTRICT FORUM TO THE STATE COMMISSION AND
◦ FROM THE ORDER OF THE STATE COMMISSION TO THE NATIONAL COMMISSION
CAN ENTERTAIN APPEALS BEYOND THIRTY DAYS
◦ ON SUFFICIENT CAUSE SHOWN FOR THE DELAY
IT HAS TO BE DISPOSED WITHIN NINETY DAYS FROM ITS ADMISSION.
WHERE TO CONTACT IN MYSORE?
District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum -
Consumer Court Mysore
No.
• . 845, New Kantharaj Urs Road, G.C.S.T. Layout,
Kuvempu Nagar, Mysore – 570023 Consumer Court
Contact Number: 0821-2344902
DUTIES OF CONSUMERS
• BUYING QUALITY PRODUCTS AT REASONABLE PRICE.
• TO CHECK THE WEIGHTS AND MEASURES BEFORE
MAKING PURCHASES
• READING THE LABEL CAREFULLY.
• TO PROCURE THE BILL, CASH RECEIVED WARRANTY, ETC.
• SHOPPING CAREFULLY AND WISELY
• UNDERSTANDING THE TERMS OF THE SALE
• READING AND FOLLOWING INSTRUCTIONS
• GETTING GUARANTEES IN WRITING
• SAVING RECEIPTS
• ASKING QUESTIONS AT POINT OF SALE
IMPORTANT DAYS

NATIONAL CONUMER RIGHT DAY: National Consumers Right Day was observed on 24 December,
since the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 was enacted on this day in 1986 .

WORLD CONSUMER RIGHT DAY : Every year 15th March is observed as "World Consumer
Rights Day". It commemorates a historic declaration (1962) by former US President John F. Kennedy
of basic consumer rights.
FOR MORE INFORMATION , PLEASE
VISIT

• HTTP://WWW.JAGOGRAHAKJAGO.COM/
• WWW.CONSUMERAFFAIRS.NIC.IN/
• HTTP://CONSUMERHELPLINE.GOV.IN/
CONCLUSION
• KNOW YOUR RIGHTS AND EXCERCISING THE RIGHTS
• SELF CONTROL AND SELF PROTECTION
• LAW IS ALWAYS IN FAVOUR OF THE CONSUMER , IT IS THERE TO PROTECT WHO CANNOT HANDLE
THEMSELVES

• JAGO GRAHAK JAGO

Thank you
for being
such a
wonderful
audience