Consumer Awareness

Hmm… What’s that?

Table Of Contents

Overview Responsible Consumer

Consumer Awareness Case Study

Consumer Protection

Consumer Rights
Overview
Consumers are the lifeline of a market. But they are not often recognized. Sometimes, the
market gets shrewd and the consumer has to suffer the brunts of it. Misleading ads,
unsafe products, unweighing, and other malpractices are often practiced by unethical
sellers; And that’s why Consumer Awareness, Consumer Protection, and Consumer
Rights become more and more important
 Consumer Awareness is very important as it
is the consumers who invest all the money
and they have the right; the right to know,
the right to transparent information

Consumer Awareness Consumer Awareness is an act of making

sure the buyer or consumer is aware of the
information about products, goods,
The Process of making the consumer of goods services, and consumers rights.
and services aware of his rights.
To sum up: being aware as consumer in the
market, being aware of your consumer
rights is consumer awareness.
Understanding Consumer Protection & Rights
Consumer Protection Act
Individual customers find them in a week position in the marketplace. This happened more
often in the 1960s. The consumers were not the ones who were in the driving seat. They were
exploited, fooled, tricked by many various ways. Food adulteration, malweighing, inadequate
pricing, black marketing, hoarding, selling unlicensed products: is just naming a few.

The consumer dissatisfaction grew in the 60s. Consumer Movement began in the 1960s and
accelerated in the 1970s. The disapproval was represented by various newspaper articles and
exhibitions. The level of dissatisfaction saw an upsurge recently.

All these collective efforts were successful in pressurizing the government and persuading
them to listen to the consumers, to correct the wrong. Recognition was given to consumer
protection by enacting the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 (COPRA) on 24 December 1986.

There are six main consumer rights as defined by COPRA:-

01
Right to Safety

Right to be protected against marketing of

such goods which are hazardous to life and
property

This critically applies to automobiles, food

commodities, pharmaceuticals, LPG cylinders.
Such products critical to life have to be verified
by certain organizations before being marketed
02
Right To Information
Right for consumers to informed about the
quality of the goods and services being sold

Consumers must be informed about details like

price, ingredients, date of manufacture, batch
number, directions for use, and other specific
information
03
Right to Choose

The consumer must have the right to choose

between a variety of goods and services

This right requires a free and fair competition in

the market, where many sellers sell similar
products and customers can actually choose.
This is essential to avoid monopoly in the
market
04
Right to Seek Redressal
Right for a consumer to approach the
consumer court if/when he/she feels
exploited
A consumer court is a forum that hears the
complaint and provides justice to the party that
has been hurt. If the quality of the product is
compromised, the consumer has the right to
redress and get compensation accordingly.
05
Right to Be Heard

Right to get due recognition in consumer

court and redressal forms

This right ensures the consumer the due

respect that his/her complaint will be heard in
the court or forum. It empowers them to be
fearless in voicing their concerns and seeking
justice
06
Right to Consumer Education
Right to have education on matters
regarding consumer protection

Being aware of rights and information enables

consumers to make the better choice in the
market
Who is a Responsible Consumer
● One who is well aware of his rights and responsibilities.
● One who well checks the product - for price, quantity, quality, date of
manufacture/expiry and other details before purchasing
● One who is assertive; who can take a stand for himself against the
wrong
● One who checks for standard marks of quality and authenticity like
Hallmark, Agmark and ISI
Case Study: MEDICAL SERVICES ARE TO BE RENDERED ACCORDING TO THE LAW
Poonam Varma Vs Ashwin Patel & Ors
Background
Dr Ashwin Patel was trained in Homeopathy
for four years and then started his private
practice. The appellant Poonam Varma’s
husband was administered allopathic drugs
for viral fever and then typhoid fever by the
homeopathic doctor. Her husband died within
eight days of treatment. She approached the
Supreme Court for compensation for her
deceased husband.
Questions Before the Court
1. Whether the appellant's husband is a
consumer, who can avail damages for
negligence
2. Was the action of the doctor negligent
3. Determining the amount of damages to
the deceased’s wife
Final Verdict of the Court
Deceased was a consumer of medical
services: The court held that Consumer
Protection Act is applicable to medical
professionals. Thus, the deceased was a
consumer who could avail damages.
Prescription of allopathic drugs by Legal costs in the case were also reimbursed,
homeopathic doctor amounts to negligence: and and the Medical Council of India was
The certificate of registration issued to directed to take appropriate action against the
homeopathy practitioners states that it entitles doctor by the supreme court.
them to practice in “Homeopathy Only”. Thus, in
accordance with established legal cases, rules of
medical negligence, evidence in the form of
prescriptions, the court held the doctor guilty of
active negligence

Compensation and Costs: The Court decided a

compensation of ₹ 3 lacs while considering the
last drawn salary of the deceased and the
number of dependents.
Project By Rewant Kumar Rai
Thank You.