Consumer protection act

 ARTICLES RELATED CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT 1986.

By:- Aindri jaiswal

INTRODUCTION :-

Various aspects are to be taken into consideration while calculating these

ranks and one of them is satisfaction of the consumers, which depends upon

the existence of the laws supporting them. In India, we have many consumer

laws and one such law is the Consumer Protection Act of 1986 (COPRA).

Objectives & Importance of the Act

The Consumer Protection Act was implemented in order to provide better

protection to the rights of the consumers. Prior to the implementation of this

Act, there was no special act for protecting the consumers and the only remedy

available to the consumers was under the Law of Torts i.e filing a civil suit for

damages against the shopkeeper or the service provider. This act is based on

the doctrine of Caveat Emptor which means that it is the responsibility of the buyer

to identify the defects in the good.  

There are various objectives which are sought to be protected under the

Consumer Protection Act such as-

1. To promote and protect all the six rights of the consumers which will be

discussed later.

2. To provide simple and speedy disposal to the cases by providing quasi-judicial

machinery for the redressal of consumer disputes.

3. The act also aims to provide inexpensive redressal to the issues of the consumer. 

4. A consumer dispute redressal forum called state commission has been set up in

order to settle the disputes of each and every consumer in all the states of the country.

Rights and Duties of a Consumer  

The Consumer Protection Act has recognized six rights of a consumer which

are :

1. Right to Safety

2

2

2. Right to Information

3. Right to Choose

4. Right to be heard

5. Right to Redressal 

6. Right to Consumer Education.

Duties of a consumer

Every consumer right comes with the opposite duty. Right of one consumer is the duty

of the others. Accordingly, there are various duties such as:-

 On purchasing of goods or hiring of any services, it is the duty of the consumer to

pay for the same.

 While purchasing something it is his duty to check weights, balances, prices etc.

and also to give a careful reading to the labels. 

 It is the duty of the consumer to update himself about the various consumer

protection schemes.

 Duty to be careful while purchasing and not to fall in the trap of misleading

information and advertisements.

 It is the duty of the consumer to not purchase anything from the black markets.

 It is the duty of the consumer to be aware of his rights and duties and also

spreading the awareness of the same among others.

 It is the consumers’ duty to file a complaint if the goods which he purchased are

defective. 

 Each and every consumer should secure the bills of the goods purchased or the

services availed so that if in the future he finds the goods or services to be defective he

can easily file a complaint against the same and can prove it.

Conclusion

The Consumer Protection Act has proved to be a helping hand to the consumers and

protected them from being exploited in the hands of huge companies and famous

traders. The traders and the firms are still working on how to make huge profits and one

of the ways is by exploiting the consumer.  Corresponding to this the Legislature and the

Judiciary are making amendments in the act from time to time but the consumer

himself needs to be careful and aware of the people in the market.