Chapter 5 Solutions — Consumer Rights

Individual consumers often find themselves in a weak position in the marketplace. Whenever there is a complaint about a good or service, the seller tries to shift all the responsibility on to the buyer, as if the seller has no responsibility once a sale is completed. Rules and regulations are therefore required to protect consumers.

Exploitation happens in various ways. For example, shopkeepers sometimes weigh less than they should, traders add charges that were not mentioned before, or adulterated/defective goods are sold.

Markets also do not work fairly when producers are few and powerful while consumers purchase in small amounts and are scattered. Large companies with huge wealth, power and reach can manipulate the market and pass on false information. For example, a company for years sold powder milk for babies claiming it was better than mother's milk, and a long battle had to be fought before cigarette-manufacturing companies accepted that their product could cause cancer. Hence rules and regulations are needed to ensure protection for consumers.

In India the consumer movement as a 'social force' originated with the necessity of protecting and promoting the interests of consumers against unethical and unfair trade practices. Rampant food shortages, hoarding, black marketing, and adulteration of food and edible oil gave birth to the consumer movement in an organised form in the 1960s.

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 road passenger transport. More recently, India witnessed an upsurge in the number of consumer groups.

These efforts brought pressure on business firms and the government, leading to a major step in 1986 — the enactment of the Consumer Protection Act 1986 (COPRA), which was later amended in 2019.

When consumers become conscious of their rights while purchasing goods and services, they are able to distinguish and make informed choices, and to complain and seek compensation when cheated.

Example 1: If we buy a product and find it defective within the expiry period, being conscious of the right to be informed we can ask for a replacement. If the expiry period is not printed, or if a good is sold above the printed MRP (maximum retail price), an aware consumer can protest and complain.

Example 2: Being conscious of the right to safety, a consumer checks that products which affect health and safety carry proper certification and safety features — for example, a pressure cooker's safety valve, which if defective can cause a serious accident.