CONSUMER AWARENESS

1. Introduction: We go to market and buy a variety of goods and avail services required in or day-
to-day life. In exchange of these goods and services, we pay money and derive satisfaction by
consuming them. But sometimes, we feel dissatisfied due to poor quality, high prices, false
promises made in advertisements, hidden information and costs, etc. and so on. This is done
because we are not aware of our rights as a consumer.

2. Objective: The objective of the project is to reduce consumer exploitation by making them aware
about their rights as a consumer.

3. Who is a Consumer?
Under the Consumer Protection Act, a consumer is defined as:

A p e r s o n who buys any goods for a consideration, which has been paid or promised, or partly
paid and partly promised, or under any scheme of deferred payment. It includes any user of
such goods, when such use is made with the approval of the buyer, but does not include a
person who obtains goods for resale or any other commercial purpose.
4. Consumers face problems in market place due to some common malpractices by shopkeepers
which are given below:
 Sale of adulterated goods i.e., selling goods by adding something inferior to the product being
sold.
 Sale of spurious goods i.e., selling something of little value instead of the real product
 Sale of sub-standard goods i.e., sale of goods which do not confirm to prescribed quality standards

 Misleading advertisements i.e., false claims made in advertisements by marketer

 Overcharging of price i.e., selling product at price which is higher than MRP
 Fake scarcity to raise the price and black marketing by hoarding of products
 Sale of defective goods

5. Consumer Movement in India

During 1960s, in India, the consumer movement were originated as social force to protect the
interest of consumers against the malpractices adopted by marketer.

Some of the main reasons for Consumer Movement were:

 Lack of legal system to protect the consumers from exploitation in the marketplace
 Rampant food shortages
 Black marketing
 Hoarding
 Adulteration of food and edible oil
Till the 1970’s consumer organizations were largely engaged in writing articles and holding
exhibitions. They formed consumer groups to look into the malpractices in ration shops and
overcrowding in the road passenger transport. More recently India witnessed an upsurge in the
number of consumer groups.
6. Consumer Protection Act, 1986
Consumer Protection Act, 1986 was passed in year 1986 and was enforced from July 1st 1987 with
the motive to protect the interest of consumers from being exploited by shopkeepers or markets to
maximize profits which ultimately harm the well-being of the consumer and society.
This Act teaches the consumers to make right choices by educating them about their rights and
responsibilities of being a consumer and make them aware that how to seek redressed if they face
any kind of exploitation.
This Consumer Protections Act, 1986:
 applies to all goods, services and unfair trade practices unless specifically exempted by the Central
Government
 covers all sectors-private, public or co-operative
 provides for establishment of consumer protection councils at the central, state and district levels,
i.e., three tier machinery system.

Advisory Bodies Adjudicatory Bodies

Central Consumer National Consumer

Protection Council Disputes Redresssal

Commission
.
District Council District Forum

6.1 Three-tier System

District Forum

 A complaint can be made to the appropriate District Forum when the value of goods or services in
question along with the compensation claimed does not exceed ` 20 lakh.
 The appeal against the orders of the District Forum can also be filed before the State Commission.
State Commission

 A complaint can be made to the appropriate State Commission when the value of goods or services
in question along with the compensation claimed exceeds ` 20 lakh but does not exceed ` 1
crore.
 The appeal against the orders of the State Commission can also be filed before the National
Commission.
National Commission

 A complaint can be made to the appropriate National Commission when the value of goods or
services in question along with the compensation claimed exceeds ` 1 crore.
 An order passed by the National Commission in a matter of its original jurisdiction is appealable
before the Supreme Court.
6.2 Consumer Rights
consumer is an important participant in the market. In case of consumer exploitation, the rights of
the consumer must be protected. There are six consumer rights as mentioned in the regulatory
Consumer Protection Act of 1986.
Right to Safety
 Consumer has a right to be protected against marketing of those goods and services which are
hazardous to life, health and property.
 This states that consumer has a right to get protection against the risks caused due to the use of
substandard products or products that do not confirm to the safety norms.

Right to Choose
 This right gives the freedom to the consumer to choose goods or avail services from a variety of
products at competitive prices.
 As per COPRA, to enable the consumer to make the right choice, the marketers should offer a wide
variety of product in terms of quality, price, size etc.
Right to be Heard
 If a consumer feels dissatisfied with a product or a service, he/she has a right to file a complaint
and to be heard in consumer court.
 It is because of this reason, many firms have set up their own consumer service and grievance cells.

Right to Seek Redressed

 The consumer has a right to get relief in case the product or service falls short of his expectations.
 The Consumer Protection Act provides relief to customers such as replacement of product, removal
of defect in the product, compensation for any loss or injury suffered by the consumer.

Right to be Informed
 The consumer has a right to have complete information about the product he intends to buy such
as ingredients, date of manufacturing, price, quantity, etc.
 It is because of this reason that the legal framework in India requires the manufacturers to provide
such information on the package and label of the product.

Right to Consumer Education

 A consumer has a right to acquire knowledge on matters regarding consumer protection and their
rights and to be a well-informed consumer.
 A consumer must be aware about the rights, responsibilities and reliefs made him/her available in
 case of a product or service falling short of his expectations.

7. Learning to become a well-informed Consumer

7.1 Consumer Responsibilities
A person must his/her responsibilities to become a well-informed consumer. A person, as a consumer,
should make every effort to educate himself/herself about his/her rights.

8. Responsibilities that a consumer should discharge while purchasing, using and

consuming goods and services:

 Be aware about various goods and services available in the market so that an intelligent and wise
choice can be made.
 Buy only standardized goods as they provide quality assurance. Thus, look for ISI mark on electrical
goods, FPO/FSSAI mark on food products, Hallmark on jewelry etc.
 Learn about the risks associated with products and services, follow manufacturer’s instructions and
use the products safely.
 Read labels carefully so as to have information about prices, net weight, manufacturing and expiry
dates, etc.
 Assert yourself to ensure that you get a fair deal.
 Be honest in your dealings. Choose only from legal source and discourage unscrupulous practices
like black-marketing, hoarding etc.
 Ask for a cash memo on purchase of goods or services. This would serve as a proof of the purchase
made.
 File a complaint in an appropriate consumer forum in case of a shortcoming in the quality of goods
purchased or services availed. Do not fail to take an action even when the amount involved is small.
 Form consumer societies which would play an active part in educating consumers and
safeguarding their interests.
 Respect the environment. Avoid waste, littering and contributing to pollution.

8.2 Quality Standard Marks

A quality mark gives consumer a visual and easily identifiable quality assessment tool, originating
from a reliable source. Government of India has introduced some quality standard mark for almost
all the products. A consumer should check for these marks before buying any commodity or product
from market place.
Hallmark: It is a certification scheme issued by Bureau of Indian Standards to judge the purity of
gold and silver jewellery. It is applicable for gold since April, 2000 and for silver since 2005.
AGMARK: It is a certification scheme issued by Directorate of Marketing and Inspection of the
Government of India for agricultural products. It is applicable since 1937 and was amended in 1986.
Agricultural products having this mark, ensures that given products conform to a set of standards.
ISI Mark: ISI Mark is a certification mark for industrial products in India issued by bureau of Indian

A
G
M

Standards. It is applicable since 1955. It is both mandatory or voluntary. Thus, if a person wants to
purchase an electronic item/industrial items from the market place, he/she should make sure that the
product has ISI mark.

Vegetarian and Non Vegetarian Marks: It has been made mandatory by the Indian Government for
packaged food products sold in India to have a green symbol for vegetarian products and red/brown
symbol for non-vegetarian products in order to distinguish between them. It is applicable since 2011.

Green Brown/Red
9. Conclusion: It can be concluded that both Government and consumers should make efforts
collectively to create awareness about the rights and responsibilities of the consumers and to
reduce exploitation of consumers.
India has been observing 24 December as the National Consumers’ Day as on this date, Indian
Government enacted Consumer Protection Act, 1986. There are today, about 20-25 well
organized and recognized consumer groups in today out of 700 hundred. In India, after
consumer movement, consumer awareness was spreading very slowly, but after the
enactment of Consumer Protection Act, 1986, it took a little speed, though slowly in our
country.

For the speedy process of the consumer movement, we require a voluntary effort and active
participation of the people.