Professional Documents
Culture Documents
H allma rk in g i s the ac cu rate determin atio n and offic ial reco rdin g
of th e pro po rtio na te con te nt of pre ciou s me tal in gol d.
H allma rk s are th us offi cial mark s use d in many cou ntri es as a
g ua ra ntee of purity o r fi nene ss of gol d jewelle ry.
ISI
FPO
F PO- F rui t Pro du cts Orde r - 1955, promul gate d un der se ction 3
of th e E sse ntia l Commo di tie s Act - 1955, aim s at regu lati ng
s ani ta ry a nd hygie nic con di tio ns in man ufacture of f rui t,
vege ta ble pro du cts. It is mandatory fo r all man ufacturers of
f rui t & ve getable pro du cts to obtain lice nse un der thi s Order to
en su re good qual ity produc ts , man ufactured under h ygie nic
co ndi ti on s. The F rui t Pro du ct O rder l ays down th e mi nimum
requireme nts for:
Consumer in Market
All the people participate in the market either as consumer or seller or
producer. Any person who buys a commodity or service for direct use or
ownership. I, you, we all are consumers when we buy a product or service.
But people who acquires goods or services for resale or use in production
and manufacturing cannot be considered consumer.
In free market economics, consumers dictate what goods are produced and
are generally considered the center of economic activity. Individual
consumption of goods and services is primarily linked to the consumer's level
of disposable income, and budget allocations are made to maximize the
consumer's marginal utility.
Concern over the interests of consumers has also spawned much activism,
as well as incorporation of consumer education into school curricula. There
are also various non-profit publications, such as Consumer Reports and
Choice Magazine, dedicated to assist in consumer education and decision
making.
Consumer exploitation
In market, consumers are often exploitated. When a consumer is cheated in
anyway, either by the shopkeeper or by the producer by giving him poor
quality and adulterated goods or by charging more prices for a commodity or
service, it is called consumer exploitation. Consumers are explioted in the
following ways –
1. Adulteration
Adulteration means mixing of low quality products to a superier quality
product. In many costly items like oil, ghee and spices, adulteration is made
in order to earn higher profits. It causes monitary loss to the consumer as
well as it spoils their health
2. Sub-standard quality
Sometimes, traders sell goods of sub standard quality. For ex – selling of
medicines beyond expiry date, selling of defected home appliances, sub-
standard quality drugs, etc.
4. Lack of safety
Many electronic devices are produced localy lacking the required inbuild
safeguards. This causes accidents to the consumer
7.Dubligate article
Many false and dubligate article are being sold to the consumers. These fake
products are mainly imported from mostly from China. They had poor
quality.
Factors
1.Limited Information
The producers and sellers are free to produce any good or service in any
quantity and there is no regulation of prices. In such cases, providing full and
correct information about different aspects of products like price, quantity,
condition of use, etc to the consumer is of great importance. But consumers
have access to limited information which might be incomplete or false
2.Limited Supplies
The consumer are explioted, when the goods and services are available in
limited quantity. Limited supplies are usually a result of lower production of
goods as compared with the demand. This gives rise to the tendency of
hoding and price asclation
3.Limited competition
In many cases, a few sellers control the entire market and manupulate the
price and availability of commodities such as durable goods, medicines,
auto-mobiles, etc. The sellers have an upper hand in fixing the prices of such
products
Consumer awareness
The awakening among consumer by their rights and duties, social and legal
obligation of the buissness or government towards the consumer is called
consumer awareness.
Quality marks
BIS caters to the industrial and consumer goods, the Agmark for agricultural
products and the Hallmark is for jewellery. These logos and certification help
consumer get an assured quality of the goods and services. The producers
can use these logos provided if they follow certain quality standards.
Consumer Movements
There was dissatisfaction of the consumers as many unfair practices were
being induged in by the shopkeepers. There was no legal system or law
available to consumers to protect themselves from unethical and unfair
practices and expliotaion by sellers. In case of any defective product or
deficiency of services, it was considered to be responsibility of the consumer
to be careful while buying a commodity or service. These factors gave birth
to the consumer movements in India.
Early attempts
The Act was amended in 1991 and 1993. It has enabled the consumers to
have the right to represent in the consumer courts. The Act has also led to
setting up of seprate Departments of Consumer Affairs in Central and State
Government which focus exclusively on the rights of the consumers. Thus,
COPRA is an important step in the consumer movement in India.
In October 2005, Right to Information Act was enacted. This enables citizens
to have all the information about functions of government departments. The
citizens have the right to know all the particulars of goods and services they
purchase.
It has become the vehicle for enabling people to secure speedy and in-
expensive redressal of their grievances. With the enactment of The
Consumer Protection Act, 1986 this law, consumers now feel that they are in
a position to declare “sellers be aware” whereas previously the consumers
were at the receiving end and generally told “buyers be aware”.
Various claims are dealt with these courts. Complaints involving costs and
compensation upto Rs. 20 lakhs are required to be filed at the District
Consumer Redrassal Forum. Complaints involving costs and compensation
between Rs. 20 lakhs and Rs. 1 crore are required to be filed at the State
Commission which is situated in all the State capital cities. Complaints
involving costs and compensation of over Rs. 1 Crore are required to be filed
at the National Commission at - National Consumer Grievances Redrassal
Forum, 5th Floor, Janpath Bhawan, New Delhi 110001
Procedures for filing complaints and seeking redressal are simple. There is no
fee for filing a complaint before the District Forum, the State Commission or
the National Commission. ( A stamp paper is also not required). Three to five
copies of the complaint on plain paper are required to be submitted by the
complainant or his authorized agent in person or could be sent by post to
the appropriate Forum / Commission.
.................... COMPLAINANT
Rights and Duties of a Consumer
AND
Education is a life long process of constantly acquiring relevant information,
IN THE MATTER OF : (Name and address of the accused)
knowledge and skills. Consumer education is an important part of this
process and is a basic consumer right that must be introduced
.................... at the school
OPPOSITE
level
PARTYThe most important step in consumer education is awareness of
consumer rights. However, consumer education is incomplete without the
responsibilities and duties of consumers, and this influences individual
behaviour to a great extent.
1. Right to Safety
Consumers have right to be protected against the marketing of goods and
services, which are hazardous to life and property. The purchased goods
and services availed of should not only meet their immediate needs, but
also fulfil long term interests. For ex – if an electronic good, chemical
product, gas cylinders, etc happen to have any manufacturing defect, it
may harm the consumer resulting in injury or death or damage to
property.
Before purchasing, consumers should insist on the quality of the products
as well as on the guarantee of the products and services. They should
preferably purchase quality marked products such as ISI,AGMARK, etc
2. Right to Informed
Consumers have 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 be informed – how to use the product, what safety
measures or precations are to be taken to avoid injury, expiry of the
product, etc. This will enable him/her to act wisely and responsibly and
also enable him/her to desist from falling prey to high pressure selling
techniques.
3. Right to Choose
Consumer has the right to choose the product at competitive price which
are fair and reasonable. He/she must have access to the variety of goods
avaiable and must be able to compare the relative quality and price of
similar product. In case of monopolies, it means right to be assured of
satisfactory quality and service at a fair price
4. Right to be heard
Consumer's interests should receive full and sypathic consideration in the
formation and execution of economic and other politics which effect the
consumer. Consumer had the right to be heard by the manufacturers,
traders, government and local bodies. It also includes right to be
represented in various forums formed to consider the consumer's welfare.
Consumer have the right to seek redressal against unfair trade practices
or unscrupulous exploitation of consumers. It also includes right to fair
settlement of the genuine grievances of the consumer.
1. While purchasing the goods, the consumer should look at the quality of
product as well as guaranty of the product and services. Whenever
possible, one should insist of waranty card. One should preferably
purchase quality product, ISI mark product or Agmark, etc. Agmark is for
agricultural product
2.Whenever possible, consumer should ask for cash memo for the item
purchased
Role Of Producers
The role of producers is very significant with far reaching consequences.
4.Packing of products to reach them safe at the end user point, quick
response and remedial measures in case of any wrong happening, etc could
be very helpful to save consumers from big hassles and losses.
If the producer take all reasonable care, a high volume of troubles gets
eliminated by facilitating the consumer rights this way providing right quality
products, each unit tested and certified.
Conclusion
An aware consumer is the one who is aware of all unfair practices by the
shopkeepers and the producers. He/she should checks at various shops and
buy a commodity or service at a competetive price. He/she should be
conscious of his/her rights and duties and therefore, he/she should be
informed about the following before purchasing a product -
Source(s):
Google,Yahoo,Ask,Starware,Consumerreports,Wikipedia,answers.com,
outlookindia, http://www.consumercourt.netfirms.com/index.htm
http://members.tripod.com/arun.saxena/consum2.html#b
www.fcamin.nic.in