Consumer Protection and Entitlement

Introduction
The Industrialization and the development in International Trade has led to vast increase in
variety of consumer goods in the market to fulfill the needs of the consumers. In order to
maximize profits many manufacturers exploit consumers by supplying poor quality of goods at
higher price. They indulge in unfair trade practices such as adulteration, misrepresentation,
black-marketing etc.
Consumers do not get value for their money and are exposed to physical and environmental
hazards due to poor quality of goods which they are unaware of. Consumers need to be protected
from duplicate, adulterated, faulty, substandard goods and misleading advertisement.

Historical Background of Consumer Rights

Consumer Rights started to be recognized after the 1960s. Before 1960s they were practically
nonexistent. Todays consumerism finds its origin in the late 19th and early 20th century
marketplace in United States.
15th March of every year is celebrated as World Consumer Rights Day. On 15th March 1962
American President John F. Kennedy approved the consumer rights bill. Kennedy was the first
one to define basic consumer rights as they are still used today. The Bill included four basic points:
1. Rights to Safety- Consumers have right to protection against the product that can cause
physical harm
2. Right to Information- Traders must provide consumers with adequate and accurate
information so that consumers can make informed decisions about products and services.
3. Right to Choose- Consumers must be provided with free choices and options to choose
from among the various products and services offered by the companies
4. Right to be Heard- Consumers must have the right to file complaints against the unfair
practices and products provided by the traders.
Another American President, Gerald R. Ford added one more right to the abovementioned
rights i.e. Right to Consumer Education and after that many more rights were added including
Right to Healthy Environment.
After that in 1985, the General Assembly of United Nations also provided certain guidelines
for consumer protection. Guidelines covered particularly seven areas including:

Physical Safety
 Promotion and Protection of Consumers
Standards for Safety and quality of consumer goods and services
Distribution Facilities for essential consumer goods and services
Measures enabling consumer to redress
Education and Information Programs
Measures relating to food, water and pharmaceuticals

Although these guidelines were not legally binding but they provided general set of rules or
regulations which must be followed for protection and safety of consumers. In 1999 another
area of sustainable consumption was added.
These guidelines were adopted by many countries, especially these guidelines were more
helpful for developing countries but still there was need for bringing more stringent laws to
protect consumers from organized exploitation by the traders.

Need For Consumer Protection

Consumers need protection because of the following reasons:
1. Lack of Awareness amongst consumers: Consumers, especially in India are not aware
about their rights. Most of the consumers are illiterate and ignorant about their rights as
well as exploitation.
2. Expeditious growth in goods and services and invention of new technologies has made
consumer vulnerable for exploitation. It is very difficult for an ordinary consumer to
distinguish between genuine product and a duplicate one.
3. Delusive and Misleading Advertisements: Manufacturers and traders are using illusive
advertisements to lure consumer to purchase their products. Manufacturers are giving
false and misleading information about the quality of their products.
4. Development of E-commerce: In Recent times online shopping or e-retailing has also led
to the increase in consumer exploitation. Stringent laws needs to be developed regarding
e-shopping.
5. Unfair Trade Practices: To increase their profits the manufactures are using unfair trade
practices for luring the consumers. These practices needs to be restricted.
Thus consumers are needed to be protected from
a) Unfair Trade Practices
b) False Advertisement
c) Abuse of Monopoly Power
d) Identical or Duplicate Products
Consumer Protection in India
The earlier maxim of caveat emptor, which means Let the buyer beware, was a result of a
number of years, when the ignorant consumers were subjected to various malpractices such as
adulterating and selling low-quality goods, at higher prices. This necessitated the need to clearly
and distinctly recognize the basic rights which a consumer could enjoy and get compensation
against. Thus, the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 came into existence, along with other such
related acts, such as the Sale of Goods Act, 1930; the Competition Act, 2002; etc. The impact that
these laws have had on the masses can be clearly seen, as the maxim now followed is caveat
venditor, which means Let the seller beware
In India the Consumer Protection Laws were developed at later stage due to slow political
mechanism in India. Consumer Laws in India were result of large number of consumer
movements over a period of time. Earlier, when there was no legislation regarding consumer
protection in India, consumers used to avoid the particular brand or trader from which they were
not satisfied or which they knew was indulged in unfair trade practices. Consumer needed to be
very careful regarding the product which he/she was going to purchase. It was the responsibility
of the consumers to carefully examine the product. Hard work of many organizations led to the
formation of Consumer Protection Act of 1986.

Consumer Protection Act, 1986

The Consumer Protection Act, along with its amendments, is one of the legislations which has
helped the consumer to take a stand, and has also placed the country at par with the countries
which give utmost importance to consumer welfare, especially those in the region of Western
Europe and North America. The main objective of these legislations is to provide adequate
protection to the rights and interests of consumers against the possible malpractices of the
sellers and intermediaries.
Objectives of the Act
The Main Objective of Consumer Protection Act, 1986 is to protect the interests and rights of the
consumer and establishment of a commission for speedy trials.
Commission is formed to:

Protect consumers against marketing of goods hazardous to life

Ensure certain standard of goods
Ensure freedom of trade in the market and
Protect consumer from unfair trade practices
This act was created to promote fair competition among different business units. The act was
enacted to promote interests of consumers, to establish consumer councils for speedy disposal
of consumer disputes. This is a remarkable legislature created for consumers. The provisions of
this act are intended to provide effective safeguards to consumers against their exploitation. This
act has been amended time to time to tackle with the ongoing techniques to exploit consumers.
Unlike the other legislation the provisions of this act are compensatory in nature rather than
being punitive. The act covers all the sectors i.e. private, public and cooperative and this act
provides for adjudicatory authorities which are less expensive and provides justice in less time.
Consumer Dispute Redressal Forums
Section 9 of The Consumer Protection Act, 1986 provides for establishment of consumer dispute
redressal forums at District, State and National level. They are known as District Forums, State
Commission and National Commission. These forums are formed with an objective to help the
government to promote interests of the consumers.
District Forum consists of President and two other members (one of them should be women) as
provided under section 10 of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986. Each member should hold the
office for a term of five years or till the age of 65 years whichever is earlier. State Commission is
headed by High Court Judge whereas National Commission is headed by Supreme Court Judge.
District forum can decide matter upto 20 lakhs, State Commission can decide matter upto 1 crore
and National Commission can decide matter above 1 crore. The Act also has provision for circuit
benches.
These forums are to decide the matter within a period of 90 days from the date of notice received
by the opposite party. Time period to file an appeal against the order of district forum in the State
Commission and National Commission is 30 days. These forums need to work efficiently to
provide justice to the consumers.

Conclusion
Consumer Protection is the need of the hour. There is a need to evolve an effective and efficient
procedure for protecting the interests of the consumers. Consumers need to realize the
importance of organizing themselves to form a union to protect their rights. Active participation
of Government, NGOs and people at large is required safeguard the interests of consumers.