The Concept of Consumer Protection

Consumers buy various goods and services in their daily life for different purposes. The customers pay for products or services and then enjoy the satisfaction they get from the same. However, in some cases, the customers feel unsatisfied and regret buying specific products or services. It happens because of faulty services or the defective products sold by the seller or sometimes due to the quantity or quality of a product or service. Therefore, to stop such activities, there is the concept of consumer protection – it protects consumers from such malpractices. It provides them with numerous laws and actions, which help them in getting compensation for the malpractices.

Concept of Consumer Protection

The concept of consumer protection basically means protecting consumers from fraudulent activities by sellers and safeguarding their rights. It gives them quick redressal of their grievances. There are various types of malpractices that can be done by a seller, and these are as follows:

•       Selling an adulterated product which means adding some bad materials to the product being sold
•       Selling fake goods, which means selling something with less value as an alternative to the real product
•       Selling substandard goods, which means sale of commodities that do not conform to the given standards of quality
•       Selling duplicate or copy goods
•       Using false weights and measures that lead to making the product underweight
•       Doing black-marketing that leads to shortage of goods as well as hike in prices
•       Charging over the MRP, i.e. maximum retail price of a product
•       Supplying defective or damaged goods
•       Showing false or misleading advertisements, which means the advertisements are falsely claiming that a product or service is good or of a great standard
•       Supplying poor services, which means the quality of services is worse than the expected or standard quality

In a democratic country such as India, is this okay to let these things happen? No, it should be stopped; therefore, there are various measures introduced by the government to protect and safeguard consumers.

The Consumer Protection Act – 1986

The Consumer Protection Act was introduced in 1986 and it came into effect on 1st of July, 1987. The main motive of this Act was to protect consumers from various fraudulent activities carried out by the sellers and safeguard their rights, so that they can never be cheated by sellers. This Act was designed to protect them from issues such as misleading advertisements, faulty services, defective goods, etc. Moreover, this Act also had provisions for providing compensation to customers for unfair trade practices.

The Consumer Protection Act – 2019

The Consumer Protection act – 2019 was introduced in the Lok Sabha on 8th of July in the year 2019. Moreover, the act now focuses on providing the customers more authority as well as power by taking transparency to the next level. In the month of September in the year 2020 the government confirmed a new draft called advertising code which provides the customer security and protection against false advertisements shown by the sellers. Furthermore, it was an essential upgrade to the previous consumer act that was now less effective due to the evolution of technology and various other factors.

Methods of Consumer Protection

There are plenty of malpractices and unfair trade practices that can be followed by a seller, so the question is, how can we stop these activities? Actually, it is not easy to stop these activities in one go or single-handedly. Therefore, consumers have to unite to stand against these activities and take the help of the government agencies as well as consumer organisations for the same. Consumers need awareness of their rights and a good education regarding these activities so that they can save themselves from these unfair trade practices.

Steps taken for the protection of the rights of consumers are as follows:

•       Right to satisfaction of basic needs
•       Right to safety
•       Right to be informed
•       Right to choose
•       Right to be heard
•       Right to redress
•       Right to consumer education
•       Right to a healthy environment

Consumer Protection Law

The consumer protection law is said to be an area of law that controls and manages the private law relations between a business and an individual customer, who are involved in selling and buying of products or services. The consumer protection law covers a wide range of issues such as privacy rights, fraud, unfair trade practices, misleading representations, and various other seller-consumer interactions and activities.

Filing a Complaint

A complaint can be filed by an individual, an authorised agent or through the post. It can be written on a blank paper with attached proof or evidence in support of the complaint being filed for the fraud that occurred. The complaint should clearly explain the issue and the compensation that the consumer is willing to get from the seller. It should also have all the details of the seller so that strict action can be taken as soon as possible.

Conclusion

The concept of consumer protection states that consumers are allowed to raise their voices against products and services that are dangerous to their lives and property. There are various options available for a consumer through the concept of consumer protection such as the right to information of the quantity, purity, consistency, quality as well as strength of the products and services provided by a seller or the service provider. Moreover, there are multiple objectives of consumer protection such as protection of consumers from fraud, safeguarding their rights, providing compensations, etc.