Final doc

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1.0.1 INTRODUCTION
A consumer is defined as someone who acquires goods or services for direct
use or ownership rather than for resale or use in production and manufacturing.
Consumer means any person who buys any goods for a consideration which has been
paid or promised or partly paid and partly promised or under any system of deferred
payment and includes any use of such goods other than the person who buys such
goods for consideration paid or promised or partly paid or partly promised or under
any system of deferred payment when such use is made with the approval of such
person, but does not include a person who obtains such goods for resale or for any
commercial purpose or hires or avails of any services for a consideration which has
been paid or promised or partly paid and part by promised or under any system of
deferred payment and includes any beneficiary of such services other than the person
who hires or avails of the services for consideration paid or promised or partly paid
and partly promised or under any system of deferred payment, when such services are
availed with approval of first mentioned person.
The Consumer Protection Act 1986 is a social welfare legislation which was
enacted as a result of widespread consumer protection movement. The main object of
the legislature in the enactment of this act is to provide for the better protection of the
interests of the consumer and to make provisions for establishment of consumer
councils and other authorities for settlement of consumer disputes and matter
therewith connected.
The Consumer Protection Act was based on United Nations guidelines with
the objective of providing better protection of consumer’s interests. The act provides
for effective safeguarding to consumers against various types of exploitations and
unfair dealings relying on mainly compensatory rather than the punitive or preventive
approach. It applies to all goods and services unless specifically exempted and covers
the private, public and co-operative sectors and provides for speedy and inexpensive
adjudication.
In order to promote and protect the rights and interests of consumers, quasi-
judicial machinery is sought to be set up at district, state and central levels. These

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quasi-judicial bodies have to observe the principles of natural justice and have been
empowered to give reliefs, of specific nature and also to impose penalties for non-
compliance of the orders given by such bodies.
The act was passed in Lok Sabha on 9th December, 1986 and Rajya Sabha on
10th December, 1986 and assented by the President of India on 24th December, 1986
and was published in the Gazette of India on 26th December, 1986.
This act was enacted in the 37th year of the Republic of India and was amended from
time to time in the following years i.e. 1991, 1993 and 2002.
Consumer Protection consists of laws and organisations designed to ensure
the rights of consumers as well as fair trade competition and the free flow of truthful
information in the marketplace. The laws are designed to prevent business that engage
in fraud or specified unfair practices from gaining an advantage over competition and
may provide additional protection for the weak and those unable to take care of
themselves. Consumer protection laws are forms of Government regulations which
aim to protect the rights of consumers. For example, a Government may require
businesses to disclose detailed information about products, particularly in areas where
safety or public health is an issue such as food. Consumer Protection is linked to the
idea of Consumer Rights (that consumers have various rights as consumers), and to
the formation of consumer organizations, which help consumers make better choices
in the marketplace and get help with consumer complaints.
Now it is universally accepted that, the consumer has a right to be provided
with all relevant information in order to avoid exploitation and make a considered
choice in availing of products and services from the market. These rights are well
defined; both on international and national platform and several agencies like the
Government as well as voluntary organisations are constantly working towards
safeguarding them.

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1.0.2 REVIEW OF LITERATURE
Mr. Neelkanta Anand (1992) in this study it is found that people prefer to
absorb and endure that wrong done to them rather than fight against injustice.
This is because consumers do not know the ways and means of facing them
confidently. At present the consumer movement in India is in its infancy. Vast
majority of the people are not even aware of consumerism as a movement closely
connected with the protection of their interest. Many constitutional provisions have
been made by government to protect the consumers. Until and unless the consumers
avail of these provisions, the protection of consumer becomes inevitable. There
is a great need to make them aware of their rights and responsibilities.
Mr. S.K. Nanda (2011), in his address, explained the meaning of the
term consumer. According to him, the term consumer indicates the person who pays
the money for services of commodities. He focused on the increased power and the
role of consumer in the open market during the last five years and highlighted the
successful working of Consumer Committee in Gujarat by giving example of
Telecom service which is now regulated as per the norms of Consumer
Protection Act. He informed the gathering that the Committee established by
the state government works on the following six sectors, Credit Card, Milk
production and supply, Banking, Travel, Telecom and Consumers goods. The
committee is determined to prevent all kinds of unfair trade practices through advice,
information and redressal.
Mr. Pradeep Sharma (2008) threw a light on a bitter truth that only
government organizations and departments and their employees were not in fault
for weak projection and implementation of consumer awareness & protection
but the negligence of consumer was equally responsible for the current condition.
He felt that rural areas were the primary victims of mal-trade practices and that
there was a difference between the awareness of people in developed countries
as well as in countries of third world by sharing his personal experiences.

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Mr. Alka Sirohi (2007), quoted that her transfer to the Dept. of Consumer
Affairs put her in an important and powerful designation which has helped her
serve the maximum number of people. She felt that Consumer Protection is
required to give respite to the hapless consumers in India. She also gave the reference
of Kautilya who had even so long ago, imposed on the king the duty of preventing
malpractices by business. She further informed the audience that before
independence, there was no specific legislation regarding consumer affairs but
after independence they enacted a landmark legislation called the Consumer
Protection Act, 1986 to deliver justice to the consumers through the District
Forum, State Forum and National Forum.
Mr. Narmawala (2008) explained the role of Panchayatiraj in consumer
affairs & awareness. He mainly focused on effective utilization of key persons
such as Talati, Sarpanch, Gram Sevak etc to spread awareness among rural
consumers. Mr. Narmavalla informed that the Public Facility Centre and Civil
Service Centre will soon start operating and will be conducted in every group of
six villages within a month. In the 151 phrase, it will commence in 250 villages
from856villages. He suggested that maximum effective use of available
manpower and infrastructure should be made and efforts should be made to
utilize e-gram project, Civil service centre, involvement of Gram Sabha and
organization of training program for the non-officials, and creation of Grievance cell.
This was followed by a presentation of the two T.V spots-Lalaji and Netaji,
prepared under the project for a duration of 60 seconds, 40 seconds and 15 seconds.
Though the content and style of the two spots were appreciated by the audience; the
audience perceived them as documentary films. They felt that the main object of the
documentary film was to inform the people to purchase the things after testing the
quality and not to Purchase blindly. Moreover it was also shown that a consumer can
approach the consumer forum by paying nominal fees.
Prof. Lothar Maier (2008) addressed the following issues in his
presentation-the need to pay special attention to the rural population, Problems in
reach the rural consumer, like, difficult access to adequate print media and Internet,
illiteracy, low degree of consumer organization in the countryside and absence of

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trained multiplications of consumer information; Objectives of consumer information
and education in the countryside; activities needed in consumer information.
OECD, the paper discussed on how competition policy and consumer
protection share common goals and how they complement each other. The two
policies share a common goal that is both aim at the welfare of consumer, they both
speak the same language with the same goal. In this case this research paper will
research if there is a need of having two legislations with the same aim, the paper will
evaluate if competition law is effective tool to protect consumers or there are some
consumer’s problems that cannot be protected under competition legislations.
The WTO centre for international trade, Economics and Environment, under
CUTS International conferences on competition policy published an article19for the
purpose of helping consumers to generate minimum awareness on anti-competitive
behaviours in the market. So that consumers can alert the government as well as
competition authority in the implementation of competition legislations. Furthermore
the article raise emphasis that, consumers gain a lot from healthy competition in the
market, due to the fact that competition enables undertakings to function efficiently.
Also competition presents to consumers a greater choice of products at lower prices.
The article purports that developing countries should design their competition
structure based on their economic, social and historical factor not based on the
developed nations.
1.0.3 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
Consumers have always faced many problems in different situations and
surroundings. These days, different types of adulteration are found in different
products and services and the Consumers should be able to reach out to fight against
these activities. The major problems faced by the consumers are that of the
adulteration of food substances, use of deceptive or incorrect rates on the products,
use of non-standard weight and measures in supply of goods, selling above MRP and
illegal MRP fixation, supply of incomplete information regarding products, non
fulfilment of guarantee or warranty and sale of essential products like Medicine

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beyond their expiry dates etc. There is a need to examine all these basic necessities
that a consumer should be availed of without any double checking.
1.0.4 NEED AND IMPORTANCE OF THE STUDY
As a consumer, many people are not aware of their basic rights. Hence, there
is a need to conduct a study to know about their level of awareness towards their
rights and responsibilities. This study is oriented towards Consumers and the several
laws which have been issued towards the protection and awareness of the consumer.
The research work was conducted at Trivandrum district, Kerala randomly selecting
common customers throughout the place. The study is based on Consumers, their
protection acts and how the consumers are effectively using them for the same.
1.0.5 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
 To study the Consumer Protection steps among common people.
 To analyse whether the steps are successfully implemented or not.
 To study the knowledge level of people regarding rights of Consumers.
 To analyse success of various Consumer Protection steps taken by the
Government.
 To analyse the view of the common people regarding Consumer Protection.
1.0.6 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Designing suitable methodology and selection of analytical tools are important
for a meaningful analysis of any research problem. This section is devoted to the

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statement of the methodology, which includes collection of data, sampling procedures
and tools of analysis.
1.0.7 COLLECTION OF DATA
Both Primary & Secondary data have been used for the present study. The
primary data was collected from different segments of respondents. Secondary Data
was collected from various published sources like Books, Journals, Magazines,
Research dissertation and websites.
1.0.8 TOOLS OF ANALYSIS
For analysing the data and to drive meaningful conclusions arithmetical tools
like Percentage, Column Charts, Pie Charts and Stacked Column Charts were used.
1.0.9 SAMPLING DESIGN
The sampling design for the study had been decided after careful
consideration convenience sampling method was adopted. The researcher identified
20 sample respondents. The researcher collected Primary Data from sampling
respondents with the help of a well-constructed questionnaire.
By following the convenience sampling, the researcher has selected a sample of 20
respondents from Trivandrum area.
In order to get equal representation, the sample was selected from all kinds of people
disregarding their age and profession, and other factors.

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1.0.10 CHAPTERISATION SCHEME
CHAPTER ONE - INTRODUCTION
This chapter presents an introduction to the study, review of literature,
statement of the problem, need and importance of the study, objectives of the study,
research methodology and chapter scheme.
CHAPTER TWO - THEORETICAL OVERVIEW
It presents the theories related to Consumer Law, the CPA, and the importance
and also to how a consumer can file a complaint against any consumer related
violation.
CHAPTER THREE – GOVERNMENT MEASURES IN CONSUMER
PROTECTION
This chapter presents various schemes that are provided by the Government,
the strategic plan for a better perspective of the situation and how to tackle the
currently facing problems effectively.
CHAPTER FOUR - ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA
This chapter is concerned with the analysis of the data results and
interpretation of analysis made in accordance with the objectives stated.
CHAPTER FIVE - FINDINGS AND SUGGESTIONS
This chapter presents summary, major findings and conclusion, and
Recommendations for the betterment of Consumers.

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CHAPTER - 2
CONSUMER PROTECTION –
AN OVERVIEW

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2.0.1 Consumer Protection – An Overview
Consumer Protection consists of laws and organizations designed to ensure the
rights of consumers as well as fair trade competition and the free flow of truthful
information in the marketplace. The laws are designed to prevent businesses that
engage in fraud or specified unfair practices from gaining an advantage over
competitors and may provide additional protection for the weak and those unable to
take care of themselves. Consumer protection laws are a form of government
regulation, which aim to protect the rights of consumers. For example, a government
may require businesses to disclose detailed information about products—particularly
in areas where safety or public health is an issue, such as food. Consumer protection
is linked to the idea of "consumer rights" (that consumers have various rights as
consumers), and to the formation of consumer organizations, which help consumers
make better choices in the marketplace and get help with consumer complaints.
Other organizations that promote consumer protection include government
organizations and self-regulating business organizations such as consumer protection
agencies and organizations, the Federal Trade Commission, ombudsmen, Better
Business Bureaus, etc.
A consumer is defined as someone who acquires goods or services for direct
use or ownership rather than for resale or use in production and manufacturing.
Consumer interests can also be protected by promoting competition in the markets
which directly and indirectly serve consumers, consistent with economic efficiency,
but this topic is treated in competition law. Consumer protection can also be asserted
via non-government organizations and individuals as consumer activism.
2.0.2 Consumer Law
Consumer protection law or consumer law is considered an area of law that
regulates private law relationships between individual consumers and the businesses
that sell those goods and services. Consumer protection covers a wide range of topics,
including but not necessarily limited to product liability, privacy rights, unfair

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business practices, fraud, misrepresentation, and other consumer/business
interactions.
It's a way of preventing fraud and scams from occ service and sales contracts,
bill collector regulation, pricing, utility turnoffs, consolidation, personal loans that
may lead to bankruptcy.
2.0.3 The Act - Consumer Protection Act
In India, Consumer Protection Act of 1986 is the law governing consumer
protection. Under this law, Separate Consumer tribunals have been set up throughout
India in each and every district in which a consumer [complaint can be filed by both
the consumer of a goods as well as of the services] can file his complaint on a simple
paper without paying any court fees and his complaint will be decided by the
Presiding Officer of the District Level. Appeal could be filed to the State Consumer
Disputes Redressal Commissions and after that to the National Consumer Disputes
Redressal Commission (NCDRC). The procedures in these tribunals are relatively less
formal and more people friendly and they also take less time to decide upon a
consumer dispute when compared to the year’s long time taken by the traditional
Indian Judiciary. In recent years, many effective judgements have been passed by
some state and National Consumer Forums.
The act was passed in Lok Sabha on 9th December, 1986 and Rajya Sabha on
10th December, 1986 and assented by the President of India on 24th December, 1986
and was published in the Gazette of India on 26th December, 1986.This act was
enacted in the 37th year of the Republic of India and was amended from time to time
in the following years i.e. 1991, 1993 and 2002.
An act to provide for better protection of the interests of consumers and for that
purpose to make provision for the establishment of consumer councils and other
authorities for the settlement of consumer disputes and for matters connected
therewith.

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The Act provides following remedies to an aggrieved consumer:
o Removal of defects in goods or deficiency in service.
o Replacement of defective goods with new goods of similar description which
shall be free from any defect.
o Return of price paid by the consumer.
o Payment of compensation for any loss or injury suffered by the consumer.
o Discontinue the restrictive, or unfair trade practice, and not to repeat it.
o Withdraw the hazardous goods from being offered for sale and not to offer them
for sale.
o Provide for adequate cost to the aggrieved party.
2.0.4 Consumer Disputes Redressal Agencies
This part of the Act contains 22 sections i.e. Sections 9 to18, 18-A, 19 to 23,
24-A, 24-, 25, 26 and 27.
This part provides for establishment of consumer disputes redressal forum at
district level, state level and central levels known as “District Forum”, “State
Commission” and “National Commission”.
It also makes provisions regarding the composition, jurisdiction, procedure to
be followed by the District forum, State commission & National commission. Any
person aggrieved by an order of the District forum may appeal to the State
commission & an order of the State commission can be challenged before the
National Commission. Any person aggrieved by the order of the National
Commission can resort to the Supreme Court as the last remedy.
It also provides for a limitation period for preferring appeals to the State
Commission, National Commission and Supreme Court. District forum, State
Commission or National Commission shall not entertain any appeal filed after expiry

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of 2 years from the date on which the cause of action has arisen. However, the forums
have the power to condone the delay in preferring appeals within such time limit if
sufficient cause is shown for not filing the appeal within the prescribed time limit.
What is “sufficient cause” will depend on the facts and circumstances of every
particular case.
It also makes provisions regarding enforcement of the orders of the District
forum, State Commission and National Commission and penalties to be levied under
the Act.
2.0.5 Consumer Rights
In the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 of India, the following six consumer
rights have been recognized.
2.0.6 Right to Safety
As stated in the Consumer Protection Act 1986, this consumer right is defined
as the ‘right to be protected against marketing of goods and services which are
hazardous to life and property’. Specifically significant in areas such as healthcare,
food processing and pharmaceuticals, this right spans across any domain that could
have a serious impact on the consumers’ health or well-being such as Automobiles,
Travel, Domestic Appliances, Housing etc. Violation of this right is almost always the
cause of medical malpractice lawsuits in India. Every year, it is estimated that
thousands, if not, millions of Indian citizens are killed or severely hurt by
unscrupulous practices by hospitals, doctors, pharmacies and the automobile industry.
Yet the Indian government, renowned for its callousness, fails to acknowledge this
fact or to make a feeble attempt at maintaining statistics of these mishaps. Indian
government is required to have world class product testing facilities to test drugs,
cars, food, and any other consumable that could potentially be life threatening. It is
not a coincidence that Tata Nano sells in India for half of what it would cost in an
industrially developed country; this being a classic case of need for a cheap product
outweighing the need for safety of self and family. In developed countries such as the
United States, stalwart agencies oversee the safety of consumer products; the Food
and Drug Administration (FDA) for food and drugs, the National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration (NHTSA) for automobiles and the Consumer Product Safety

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Commission (CPSC) for all other consumer products, just to name a few. This right
requires each product that could potentially endanger our lives to be marketed only
after sufficient and complete independent verification and validation. With respect to
empowering this right completely and adequately, India is about 50 years away.
2.0.7 Right to Information
This consumer right is defined as the ‘the right to be informed about the quality,
quantity, potency, purity, standard and price of goods or services, as the case may be
so as to protect the consumer against unfair trade practices’ in the Consumer
Protection Act of 1986. In the Indian market place, consumers get consumer
information through two popular, yet unreliable means, namely advertising and word
of mouth. Due to this, the consumers in India seldom have accurate and complete
information to assess the true value, suitability, safety or reliability of any product.
Mostly we find out hidden costs, lack of suitability, safety hazards and quality
problems only after we have purchased the product. Another right again trumpeted by
our government on paper, this right should ideally ensure that all consumable
products are labelled in a standard manner which contains the cost, the ingredients,
quantity, and instructions on how to safely consume the product. Unfortunately, even
the medicines in India do not follow a standard labelling convention. Unit price
publishing standards need to be established for consumer market places where costs
are shown in standard units such as per kilogram, or per litre. We, as consumers,
should be informed in a precise yet accurate manner of the costs involved when
availing a loan. For benefit to the society from this right, advertisers should be held
against the product standards in the advertisements, pharmaceuticals need to disclose
potential side effects about their drugs, and manufacturers should be required to
publish reports from independent product testing laboratories regarding the
comparison of the quality of their products with competitive products, just to name a
few. Consumer daddy is a website meant to empower the consumers with the right to
information. We do not seek or expect any support from the government of India in
this mission; yet, we ethically, systematically and fearlessly dissipate consumer
satisfaction information to the general public in India. Without websites like
Consumerdaddy.com we believe Indian citizens are about 25 years away from being
fully empowered by this right.

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2.0.8 Right to Choose
Consumer Protection Act 1986 defines this right as ‘the right to be assured,
wherever possible, to have access to a variety of goods and services at competitive
prices’. Competition, invariably, is the best regulator of a market place. Existence of
oligopolies, cartels and monopolies are counterproductive to consumerism. How often
have you noticed a conglomerate of companies that lobby the government to
compromise consumer rights? Our natural resources, telecommunications, liquor
industry, airlines have all been controlled by a mafia at some point. Coming from a
socialistic background, tolerance of monopolistic market forces are ingrained in the
blood of Indian Consumers. It is not very often we can say we are going to switch the
power company, when we have a blackout at home! Interestingly, even micro markets
such as the fish vendors in particular cities have known to collude to drain the
bargaining power of the consumers. In any size, any form, or any span, collusion of
companies selling a similar type of product is unethical, less illegal. We estimate that
India has about 20 years more of stride to empower our citizens fully in this right.
2.0.9 Right to be heard
According to the Consumer Protection Act 1986, ‘the right to be heard and to
be assured that consumer's interests will receive due consideration at appropriate
forums’ is referred to as the right to be heard. This right is supposed to empower
Indian consumers to fearlessly voice their complaints and concerns against products
and companies to ensure their issues are handled efficiently and expeditiously.
However, to date the Government of India has not created a single outlet for the
consumers to be heard or their opinions to be voiced. There are several websites that
strive to do this, and the underlying mission of Consumer daddy is to ensure that the
voices of the consumers are heard by the corporate world. At the
Consumerdaddy.com website, consumers can upload criticisms and file complaints.
Each criticism filed will slightly lower the overall score of the product being
criticized, and each complaint will be independently evaluated by an investigator from
the Consumerdaddy.com website. Consumerdaddy.com gives the consumers the
benefit of doubt always, in that their voice is heard over that of the company. We, at
Consumerdaddy.com, strongly believe that a consumer is always right, and that
customer is king. If a consumer makes an allegation about a product, the onus is on
the dealer, manufacturer or supplying company to disprove that the allegation is false.

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In other words, the consumer is heard, and the burden of proof rests with the
company. Feeble attempts have been made by the government to empower our
citizens with this right, and we believe we have 10-15 years more to go on this route.
2.0.10 Right to Redressal
The right to seek redressal against unfair trade practices or restrictive trade
practices or unscrupulous exploitation of consumers’ is defined as the right to
redressal in the Consumer Protection Act 1986. The Indian Government has been
slightly more successful with respect to this right. Consumer courts such as District
Consumer Disputes Redressal Forums at the district level, State Consumer Disputes
Redressal Commissions and National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commissions
have been established through the consumer protection act. Each of these consumer
grievance redressal agencies has fiduciary and geographical jurisdictions to address
consumer cases between consumers and businesses. Consumer cases less than 20
lakhs are heard in the district consumer forum, between 20 lakhs and one crore are
heard in the state consumer court and cases more than one crore are heard in the
national consumer court. On paper these sound nice; but hold on before you rejoice.
Once started as the guardians of consumer protection and consumer rights in India,
these courts have today been rendered ineffective due to bureaucratic sabotages,
callousness of the government, clogged cases and decadent infrastructure. Very few
of the district forums have officials appointed in a timely manner, and most of them
are non-operational due to lack of funding and infrastructure. Estimates put the open
legal cases in India at 20-30 million, which will approximately take 320 years to
close. With the legal system in this manner compromised, consumer cases that form
mere civil litigations will be pushed down the bottom of the priority list. We estimate
that India is 10 years behind in effectively ensuring this right to every Indian
consumer.
2.0.11 Right to Consumer Education
The right of each Indian citizen to be educated on matters related to consumer
protection and about his/her rights is the last right given by the Consumer Protection
Act 1986. This right simply ensures that the consumers in India have access to
informational programs and materials that would enable them to make better
purchasing decisions. Consumer education may mean both formal education through

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school and college curriculums and also consumer awareness campaigns run by both
governmental and non-governmental agencies (NGO). Consumer NGOs, with little
support from the Indian government, primarily undertake the ardent task of ensuring
this consumer right around the country. India is 20 years away from ensuring this
right empowers the common citizen consumer.
2.0.12 Important Features of the Consumer Protection Act
This may be summed up as under:
 The Act applies to all goods and services unless specifically exempted by the
Central Government.
 It covers all the sectors – private, public and cooperative.
 The provisions of the Act are compensatory in nature.
 It provides adjudicatory authorities, which are simple, speedy and less
expensive.
 It also provides for Consumer Protection Councils at the National, State and
District levels.
The provisions of this Act are in addition to and not in derogation of the provisions of
any other law for the time being in force.
2.0.13 Consumer Rights under the Act
The Act enshrines the following rights:
 The right to be protected against the marketing of goods which are hazardous
to life and property;
 The 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;

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 The right to be assured, wherever possible access to variety of goods at
competitive prices;
 The right to be heard;
 The right to seek redressal against unfair trade practices or unscrupulous
exploitation of consumer; and
 The right to consumer education.
The Act provides for the establishment of the Consumer Protection Councils at
the National, State and District levels. The objectives of these councils are to help the
respective governments in adopting and reviewing policies for promoting and
protecting the rights of the consumers. The composition of these consumer councils is
broad based. The citizens and organisations representing different interest groups
having implications for consumer’s rights protection are members of these councils.
One may like to add, that the Consumer Councils are required to be constituted on
public private partnership basis for better feedback and thereby review of the policy in
the area of consumer’s rights protection. The main objective of these councils is to
promote and protect rights and interests of consumers in the society.
The National Commission, State Commissions and District Forums are required
to decide complaint, as far as possible, within period of three months from the date of
notice received by the opposite party where complaint does not requires analysis or
testing of commodities and within five months if it requires analysis or testing of
commodities. The Appeals are allowed within 30 days against the order of the District
Forum to the State Commission and against the order of the State Commission, to the
National Commission. Appeal can also be preferred to the Supreme Court against the
order of the National Commission within a period of 30days. No appeal by a person
who is required to pay any amount in terms of an order of the National Commission
shall be entertained by the Supreme Court unless that person has deposited in the
prescribed manner fifty per cent of that amount or rupees fifty thousand, whichever is
less. Similarly there is a requirement for depositing Rs. 35000/- and Rs. 25000/- in
case of appeals to National Commission and State Commission.

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From the various reports and feedback received by the Central Government, it
is evident that many of the consumer forums have-not been provided with adequate
accommodation, infrastructure facilities and staff. In many State Commissions and
District Forums, vacancies of Presidents/Members have not been filled up which
adversely affects the disposal of cases. It should be remembered that the confidence of
the consumer ultimately depends upon the successful functioning of the Consumer
Commissions/Forums. It is, therefore, a matter of utmost importance that these
agencies must function effectively, efficiently and without any interruption. For this
to happen state governments are having definite role to perform.
2.0.14 Protectionof Consumer Rights
Consumer protection means safeguarding the rights and interests of
consumers. It includes all the measures aimed at protecting the rights and interests of
consumers.
Consumers need protection due to the following reasons:
 Illiteracy and Ignorance: Consumers in India are mostly illiterate and
ignorant. They do not understand their rights. A system is required to protect
them from unscrupulous businessmen.
 Unorganised Consumers: In India consumers are widely dispersed and are
not united. They are at the mercy of businessmen. On the other hand,
producers and traders are organized and powerful.
 Spurious Goods: There is increasing supply of duplicate products. It is very
difficult for an ordinary consumer to distinguish between a genuine product
and its imitation. It is necessary to protect consumers from such exploitation
by ensuring compliance with prescribed norms of quality and safety.
 Deceptive Advertising: Some businessmen give misleading information
about quality, safety and utility of products. Consumers are misled by false
advertisement and do not know the real quality of advertised goods. A
mechanism is needed to prevent misleading advertisements.

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 Malpractices of Businessmen: Fraudulent, unethical and monopolistic trade
practices on the part of businessmen lead to exploitation of consumers.
Consumers often get defective, inferior and substandard goods and poor
service. Certain measures are required to protect the consumers against such
malpractices.
 Freedom of Enterprise: Businessmen must ensure satisfaction of consumers.
In the long run, survival and growth of business is not possible without the
support and goodwill of consumers. If business does not protect consumers'
interests, Government intervention and regulatory measures will grow to curb
unfair trade practices.
 Legitimacy for Existence: Business exists to satisfy the needs and desires of
consumers. Goods are produced with the purpose of selling them. Goodwill, in
the long run, sells only when they meet the needs of consumers.
 Trusteeship: Businessmen are trustees of the society's wealth. Therefore, they
should use this wealth for the benefit of people.
2.0.15 Methods of Consumer Protection
There are four main methods of protecting the interests of consumers:
o Business Self-regulation: The business community itself can help in
achieving consumer protection and satisfaction through self -discipline.
Businessmen can regulate their own behaviour and actions by adopting higher
ethical standards. Trade associations and chambers of commerce can check
unfair trade practices used by some businessmen.
o Consumer Self-help: Every consumer must be alert as self-help is the best
help. He should educate himself and know his rights. He should not allow
unscrupulous businessmen to cheat him.

22
o Consumers' Associations: Consumers should form voluntary associations.
These associations can educate and awaken consumers. They can take
organized action and put pressure on businessmen to adopt fair trade practices.
o Government Regulations: The State can ensure consumer protection through
legislative, executive and judicial actions. The laws enacted by the
Government must be strictly enforced by the executive.
2.0.16 Important aspects of Consumer ProtectionAct
Who is a Complainant?
Complainant means
 A Consumer;
 Any Voluntary Consumer Association;
 The Central Government;
 The State Governments or Union Territory Administration;
 One or more consumers, where there are numerous consumers having same
interest
 In case of death of a consumer, his legal heir or representative.
What Constitutes a Complaint?
 An allegation in writing made by the complainant that
 Any unfair trade practice or restrictive trade practice has-been adopted by any
trader.
 The goods bought or agreed to be bought suffer from one or more defects.
 Services hired /availed or agreed to be hired /availed suffer from deficiencies
in any respect.
 That a trader has charged for the goods or services mentioned in the
complaint, a price in excess of the stipulated price.
(i) Fixed by or under any law for the time being in force; or
(ii) Displayed on goods; or

23
(iii) Displayed on any package containing such goods
 That goods or services which are hazardous to life and safety of the public are
being offered to the public.
Who can file a Complaint?
A complaint can be filed by
 A consumer to whom goods are sold or delivered or agreed to be sold or
delivered or such services provided or agreed to be provided.
 Voluntary Consumer Organisation
 The Central Government;
 The State Governments or Union Territory Administration;
 One or more consumers, where there are numerous consumers having the
interest.
The definition of consumer is wide but only a consumer to whom goods are
sold or delivered or agreed to be sold or delivered or such services provided or agreed
to be provided can file complaint. The definition as provided under Sec. 2(1) (b) is
different from list of persons who can file complaint. The legal heirs or
representatives of the deceased have been included in definition of ‘complainant’ by
2002amendment but have not been specified in Sec. 12(1) as person who can file
complaint, which, creates a doubt that he cannot file and can only continue as a
complainant after the death of the complainant.
A Complaint should contain the following information:
i. The name, description and address of the complainant;
ii. The name, description and address of the opposite party or parties;
iii. The facts relating the complaint and when and where it arose;
iv. Documents ‘if any’ in support of allegations and
v. The relief which the complainant is seeking.
The complaint should be signed by the Complainant or his/ her authorised agent.

24
MODEL FORMS OF COMPLAINT
BEFORE THE HON'BLE NATIONAL / STATE / DISTRICT CONSUMER
DISPUTES REDRESSAL COMMISSION/FORUM AT (CITY).
COMPLAINT UNDER CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT, 1986.
IN THE MATTER OF: (Name and address of complainant)
.................... COMPLAINANT
VERSUS
(Name and address of the accused)
.................... OPPOSITE PARTY
INTRODUCTION:
A brief paragraph about the complainant explaining the name, residence address and
occupation of the complainant. A brief paragraph about name, address and occupation
of the opposite party.
RESPECTFULLY SHOWETH:
1. Description of the deal and services promised by the opposite parties for the value
paid by the complainant.
2. Description of the advertisements given by the opposite parties which attracted the
complainant to purchase the commodity and services.
TRANSACTION:
Details of the price of goods and services.
Details of the bill/invoice (bill number and date, item and amount)
Details of payments made by complainant (cheque number/cash, etc.)
NATURE OF COMPLAINT:
(Select from list or write as required)
1. Misleading advertisements and false representation.
2. Cheating by giving false promises.
3. Deficiency in after sales service or not abiding by warranty clause.

25
4. Harassment by the opposite party.
5. Not delivering the goods and services for which payment is made.
6. Charging excess amount.
7. Any other factors that affected the consumer.
OTHER EVIDENCES OF SUPPORT OF COMPLAINT:
Copy of advertisement and catalogue that promised the concerned goods and services.
Copy of bill as evidence of purchase.
Other documents such as agreement copies, bounced cheques, opposite parties' letters.
Copy of letters sent to the opposite party to request for rectification of fault and
settlement of the grievance.
JURISDICTION:
(Select one)
As the total amount involved is more than Rupees 1 crore, the complaint is being filed
with the Hon'ble National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission.
OR
As the total amount involved is more than Rupees 20 lakhs and less than 1 crore, the
complaint is being filed with the Hon'ble State Consumer Disputes Redressal
Commission.
OR
As the total amount involved is less than Rupees 20 lakhs, the complaint is being filed
with the Hon'ble District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum.
PRAYER:
The complainant therefore prays:-
i) Reliefs granted to the complainant as demanded herein.
ii) That such orders be passed as the Hon'ble Consumer Forum may deem fit in the
circumstances of the case.
iii) That the accused should be punished severely so that culprits of similar kind
would be afraid to indulge in such criminal activities.
PLACE: Signature
DATED: NAME OF THE COMPLAINANT

26
VERIFICATION
I (name of complainant), resident of (residential address) do solemnly declare and
state that the particulars stated above are true to the best of my knowledge and belief
and no part thereof is false and nothing material has been concealed there from. The
annexure are exact copies/translation of their originals. I undertake to pay any sum
required for the conducting of test in the laboratory as per the provisions of Sec.
13(1)(d) of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986.
Verified at ___________ this ___________ day of __________ two thousand and
_________
Enclosure (Mark enclosures as Annexure I, II, III etc.) DEPONENT
1. _________________________________
2. _________________________________
3. _________________________________

27
CHAPTER - 3
GOVERNMENT MEASURES IN CONSUMER
PROTECTION

28
In India, the Government has taken a number of measures to protect consumer
interests.
The various Government measures may be classified into
(i) Statutory regulation of private business, and
(ii) Development of the public sector.
3.0.1 Statutory Regulation:
The government has enacted nearly 50 laws which can be interpreted in favour
of the consumer. Government of India has armed itself with a number of statutory
weapons to control the production, supply, distribution, price and quality of a large
number of goods and services. It is empowered to regulate the terms and conditions of
sale, the nature of trade and commerce, etc. Some of such acts have been as follows.
 Indian Contract Act, 1872
 Sale of Goods Act, 1930
 Agricultural Produce (Grading and Marketing) Act, 1937
 Industries (Development and Regulation) Act, 1951
 Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954
 Essential Commodities Act, 1955
 Essential Service Maintenance Act, 1968
3.0.2 Growthof Public Sector:
There had been a significant growth and expansion of the public sector in India.
One of the most important objectives of the public sector was the enhancement of
consumer welfare by increasing production, improving efficiency in production,
improving efficiency in production and supply, making available goods and services

29
at fair prices, curbing private monopolies and reducing market imperfections,
improving the distribution system, and so on. The public sector, in fact, is expected to
implement the societal marketing concept. There is, however, a general feeling that
the public sector in India has still a long way to go to realize these objectives. It has
established monopolies or near-monopolies in public utilities, whose performance is
far from satisfactory.
3.0.3 The Strategic Plan for 2011-15
The strategic Plan for 2011-15 devised by Department of Consumer Affairs,
Government of India with the long time perspective outlook aims to achieve the
targets fixed as per the vision of the this Department within the specified time frame.
Government of India is undertaking Performance Monitoring and Evaluation
System (PMES) for all Government Departments. Under PMES, each Department is
required to prepare a Results-Framework Document (RFD). RFD is the instrument to
implement strategy and convert Departmental vision into reality. The Strategic Plan
exercise will identify clear priorities which will lead to time-bound action plans
(based on projected capacities, capabilities and resources) with anticipated results and
processes for monitoring the progress and conducting evaluation.
Accordingly, the Department of Consumer Affairs have made the exercise for
devising Strategic Plan for 2010-15 in consonance with the targets / success indicators
fixed in the Result-framework Document for successful implementation for achieving
the targets fixed.
3.0.4 VISION, MISSION AND FUNCTIONS
VISION
The vision is to protect the rights and interests of consumers, to spread
awareness about consumer rights, duties and responsibilities and to promote consumer
welfare by strengthening consumer movement in the country.

30
MISSION
We will fulfil our mission through progressive consumer related legislations
and effective implementation of various consumer welfare schemes. Active
participation of State Governments, academic and research institutions, schools and
voluntary organizations will be sought to create a vibrant consumer movement in the
country. Strict parameters regarding consumer products will be developed and
enforced along with regular monitoring of prices to ensure the sovereignty of
consumers.
FUNCTIONS
a) CONSUMER PROTECTION
The Department of Consumer Affairs endeavours to protect and promote the
rights of consumers through strict implementation of Consumer Protection Act, 1986
Protection of rights and rendering justice to Consumers through National Consumer
Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) / District/State level Forums.
 Testing and quality evaluation of products through National Test House
(NTH).
 Implementation of the Standards of Weights and Measures Act, 1976.
 Regulation of Packaged Commodities and implementation of new Act
namely The Legal Metrology Act, 2009.
b) CONSUMER AWARENESS
 Jago Grahak Jago Multimedia Campaign.
 Effective and continuous Publicity awareness campaigns
c) SETTING STANDARDS
 Implementation of Bureau of Indian Standards Act, 1986.

31
 Quality management and Standards formulation and certification.
d) REGULATION OF ESSENTIAL COMMODITIES
 Implementation of Essential Commodities Act, 1955.
 Implementation of Prevention of Black Marketing & Maintenance of supply of
Essential Commodities Act, 1980.
e) CONSUMER COOPERATIVES
 National Consumer Cooperatives Federation (NCCF).
 Super Bazaar.
f) COMMODITY EXCHANGES
 Regulation of Commodities futures through Forward Market Commission.
 Implementation of Forward Contract (Regulation) Act, 1952.
g) MONITORING OF PRICES OF ESSENTIAL COMMODITIES
 Monitoring of prices and availability of essential commodities.
 Availability of Pulses.
3.0.5 ASSESSMENT OF THE SITUATION
Awareness of consumer rights is very poor especially among the population in
rural and far-flung areas of the country. It also varies in different regions in the
country. Compared to the developed countries, the levels of consumer awareness in
such a vast country with a large population like India is much lower. This is rooted in
economic inequality, low levels of literacy and ignorance. Because of this, consumers
are not able to assert their rights and on many occasions are exploited by the trade and

32
industry and service providers. Protecting and promoting the welfare of consumers
has thus become one of the major concern
Educating more than 110 crore people of various categories of population
particularly those in rural areas where consumers are more susceptible to exploitation,
on various subject matters on consumer interests which are being dealt by different
Ministries/ Department, is a gigantic task that can only be undertaken as a sustained
national programme with adequate funds made available for the purpose.
Globalisation and liberalisation of trade and business has resulted in many
products and services being available to the consumers. Growth in economy has
resulted in increase in the purchasing power of the middle class section, which is the
largest segment of the population. This has necessitated giving high priority for the
protection of the consumers and promotion of responsible consumer movement in the
country.
Consumer grievances redressal mechanism, and be responsive to consumers,
and the various Consumer organisations and academic institutions and research
organisations who can supplement the efforts of the Government and could be
vehicles for effective launch of a massive consumer movement in the country. Lastly
we require the help of State governments in efficiently implementing various
programmes at grassroots level.
Learning Agenda
Need to understand and find out the basic deficiencies in the enforcement of CP
Act 1986 especially in the functioning of Consumer Fora and the councils at Sate and
Dist. Level Enforcement of BIS standards and bringing more products and services
under mandatory regime Uniform implementation of weights and measures and
upgrading of Regional labs to National accreditation status Understand best practices
in other countries in providing consumer protection, product safety, ADR procedures.

33
3.0.6 OUTLINE OF THE STRATEGY
Potential Strategies
Amending the important Acts administered by the Department and thereby
bringing in provisions in tune with the time and necessitated by changes in economy,
trade and business and consumer expectations is the basic strategy the Department.
It is also proposed to come up with National Consumer policy which will enable this
Department to effectively coordinate and intervene in the functions of those
Departments which have a consumer inter-phase.
Streamlining the functioning of State departments, and other line organisations and
agencies is another area which is being looked into.
Effective communication being the means for wider impact, novel methods of
awareness campaign is an area where is lot of innovation possible.
Utilisation of IT tools in furthering improvement of the redressal system making it
more efficient and transparent is being acted upon.
Engaging Stakeholders
Meetings of the Central Consumer protections Council, periodical workshops
with various stakeholders like consumer organisations, academic and law institutions,
training & research institutions and representatives of State governments and
conference of State commission Presidents and Members provide ample opportunity
to interact and understand the issues/ problems and take measures to mitigate them.
Similarly media committee meets periodically to discuss new ideas and assess the
impact of publicity measures undertaken.
Building knowledge and capabilities
Bringing consumer interest in focus in all government and private sector
decisions need to be the main focus of the Department. To that end the best practices

34
being followed by other countries could be successfully implemented here after
tailoring them to fit to our situation. Appropriate amendments to the Acts bringing
them in tune with the time and plugging loopholes are also a priority concern. The
impact of various activities undertaken on consumer satisfaction need to assessed
periodically to learn from them and undertake mid course corrections/ modifications
if necessary. Associating State governments in a major way in implementing the
programmes is of utmost importance.
Priorities
On the basis of our experience and appraisal and feedback mechanism, we have
formulated our Strategic Plan prioritising the targets as under:-
 Promote a socio economic movement which seeks to protect the consumer
tights.
 Create an administrative and legal mechanism including ADR which would be
would be fast and efficient and within the reach of Consumers.
 Engage media, civil society, organisations and business houses in enhancing
awareness
 Use of information technology tools for improved performance.
 Streamlining the legal provisions through appropriate changes in the CP Act.
 Setting up/ upgrading industrial testing labs.
 Regulate Future Commodity markets.
 Building a climate for quality culture and consciousness and greater
participation of Consumers in formulation and implementation of National
Standards

35
 Setting up of State Consumer Helplines in all States/UTs and networking
across the country as a major Grievances Redressal Mechanism
 Continuous Price Monitoring and regulate essential commodities.
3.0.7 IMPLEMENTATION PLAN
Consumer Grievance Redressal
Consumers need an inexpensive and quick grievance redressal mechanism to
ensure that manufacturers and service providers are accountable for the price and
quality that the consumers are entitled to. Accordingly, it is necessary to provide
several methods of grievance redressal including those which are available in
accordance with the provisions of the Consumer Protection Act. Thus, mediation or
in-house grievance redressal should be tried, but without giving up the right of the
consumer to obtain legal redress. With this focus, the Department of Consumer
Affairs seeks to implement the strategic plan through -
 Amendment of Consumer Protection Act to make it more effective and tuned
to reducing the backlog of cases.
 Computerisation and Networking of consumer for across the country so that
consumers can file complaints and access their case status online.
 Setting up mediation mechanism at pre-litigation stage and so as to reduce the
burden of consumer courts and resolve disputes through out of court
settlements.
 Provision of adequate infrastructure to Consumer fora so as to make them
function effectively.

36
 Consultation with different stakeholders such as State govts., VCOs, Apex
industry associations, media etc.
 Make the entire district fora and state commissions computerised and
operational.
 Rs 32 cr. provided for 2011-12 to continue the activities initiated in 11th Plan.
Consumer Awareness
In a world of information asymmetry the government has the responsibility to
redress this imbalance. In the Government of India, the Department of Consumer
Affairs is the focal point for difference Departments and organizations to make the
consumers aware of market realities as well as the rights of the consumers and the
manner in which they can educate themselves and also enforce their rights.
Accordingly, the Jago Grahak Jago campaign has become immensely popular and is
now being used by several Departments to communicate with consumers. From the
response received through the Consumer Help lines as well as the evaluation of the
progress, it is now clear that there has been a huge impact on account of this
programme. Accordingly, the programme will continue to be a major activity of the
Department. New themes and communications strategies would be incorporated in
the actual campaigns that are run under the programme. Thus, the following would be
the elements of the strategic plan in this area of activity:-
o Continuation of Multi Media Publicity Campaign under the tag line ‘Jago
Grahak Jago’.
o A Focussed Campaign addressing the emerging areas such as education,
telecom, travel services, banking, insurance, medicines etc.
o Activation of the Multi Media campaign active coordination and liaisoning
with other Government Departments that have consumers as a major inter face
as part of their functional area.

37
o Continuous and coordinated execution of the multimedia publicity campaign
with the implementing mechanism i.e. DAVP, DD, AIR and the other
Government.
o Constant monitoring and review the publicity campaign through a high
powered Empowered Committee under the chairmanship of Secretary,
Department of Consumer Affairs and a Multi Media Committee under the
chairmanship of Joint Secretary with representation for DAVP, DD, and AIR.

38
CHAPTER – 4
ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF
SURVEY RESULTS

39
4.0.1 Introduction
The present study focuses its attention on the problems faced by common
consumers and if any of them have exercised their right to complaint and redressal
regarding any type of malpractice. The study was conducted in Thiruvananthapuram
District. To analyse the problems faced by consumers, the study took a sample of 30
randomly selected participants.
A) Profile of Respondents
Respondents by Sex Total Respondents % of Respondents
Male 20 67%
Female 10 33%
Total 30 100%
Table 4.1
INTERPRETATION
It was observed that, 67% of the respondents were Males and 33% of females,
respectfully.

40
B) Respondents by Age
Respondents by Age Total Respondents % of Respondents
Below18 3 10 %
18-25 14 47 %
25-40 8 27 %
40-50 4 13 %
Above 50 1 3 %
Total 30 100%
Table 4.2
Diagram 4.2
INTERPRETATION
From the above diagram, we can understand that, most of the respondents belong to
the age group of 18-25, followed by 25-40, again shortly followed by 40-50 and
Below 18.
10%
47%
27%
13%
3%
Respondentsby Age
Below 18
18 - 25
25 - 40
40 - 50
Above 50

41
Total Number of Consumer Complaints Filed/Disposed since inception under
Consumer Protection Law
Sl No. Name of
Agency
Cases filed
since
inception
Cases
disposed of
since
inception
Cases
Pending
% of total
disposal
1 National
Commission
79473 68812 10661 86.59%
2 State
Commission
594939 501353 93586 84.27%
3 District
Forums
3226961 2979114 247847 92.32%
Total 3901373 3549279 352094 90.98%
Table 4.3
C) Awareness of Consumer Rights
Particulars Total Respondents Percentage of Respondents
Yes 22 73 %
No 8 27 %
Total 30 100 %
Table 4.4

42
Diagram 4.4
INTERPRETATION
It was observed that over 73% of the respondents were aware of their Consumer
Rights and 27% were unaware of the same.
D) Complaints for Adulteration in products availed
Complained to No of Respondents Percentage
Shopkeeper 12 40 %
Main Supplier 6 20 %
Elsewhere 2 7 %
Didn’t Complain 10 33 %
Total 30 100 %
Table 4.5
73%
27%
Awarenessof ConsumerRights
Yes
No

43
Diagram 4.5
INTERPRETATION
It was understood that most of the respondents complained to the respected
shopkeepers when they found an irregularity in the product and another majority of
respondents didn’t bother to complaint about it at all.
E) Do you check manufacturing date or MRP while purchasing a product?
Yes 18 87 %
No 12 13 %
Total 30 100 %
Table 4.6
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
Shopkeeper Main Supplier Elsewhere Didn't Complain
No.ofRespondents
Complaints Forwarded

44
Diagram 4.6
INTERPRETATION
From the above column chart, we can understand that, over 60% of the respondents
check the manufacturing dates and the MRP before availing a particular product and
another group of respondents (40%) does not check the same before purchasing a
product.
F) Enquiry about ISO and other standards by Government
Yes 25 83 %
No 5 17 %
Total 30 100 %
Table 4.7
60
40
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Yes No
Checking of MRP and Manufacturing
Dates

45
Diagram 4.7
INTERPRETATION
It was understood that most of the respondents (83%) knew about the basic standards
like ISO, which were implemented by the Government to guarantee the quality of
products and 27% was unaware of the same.
G) Awareness about Consumer Courts
Yes 13 57 %
No 17 43 %
Total 30 100 %
Table 4.8
Enquiry about Government Standards
provided
Yes
No

46
Diagram 4.8
INTERPRETATION
From the response received from the survey, most of the respondents (57%) knew
about Consumer Courts and its Redrassal Cell to protect the consumer’s interest and
almost 43% was unaware about these.
H) Exercising of rights
Yes 8 27 %
No 22 73 %
Total 30 100 %
Table 4.9
57%
43%
Awarenessabout Consumer Courts
Yes No

47
Diagram 4.9
INTERPRETATION
It was understood that, majority of the respondents (73%) didn’t exercise their rights
against malpractice/fraud they’ve faced, while 27% respondents have exercised them.
I) Sources of consumer awareness
Television 9 30 %
News paper
Internet
Other
5
14
2
17 %
46 %
7 %
Total 30 100 %
Table 4.10
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
Yes No
Exercising of rights

48
Diagram 4.10
INTERPRETATION
It was found that the major source about the information of Consumer
Protection/Awareness was from the Internet (46%), which is shortly followed by
Television (30%) , and then by Newspapers (17%) and the rest from other sources.
J) Have you ever been mislead by advertisements?
Yes 7 23 %
No 23 77 %
Total 30 100 %
Table 4.11
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
50%
Television Newspaper Internet Others
Sources of Consumer Awareness

49
Diagram 4.11
INTERPRETATION
It was observed that over Advertisements didn’t mislead the Consumers in
purchasing/availing the services from a producer. A small portion of 23%
respondents, however reported against Advertisements.
K) Should Consumer Protection Act be made a compulsory part of the school
syllabus?
Yes 26 87 %
No 4 13 %
Total 30 100 %
Table 4.12
Yes
23%
No
77%
Misleading fromAdvertisements

50
Diagram 4.12
INTERPRETATION
From the above diagram, we can understand that majority of the respondents (87%)
wanted the Consumer Protection Act as a compulsory part in a national school
syllabus and a limited amount of respondents (13%) was against the same.
87 %
13 %
CPA as a school syllabus
Yes No

51
CHAPTER - 5
FINDINGS, SUGGESTIONS & CONCLUSION

52
5.0.1 FINDINGS OF THE STUDY
In this study an attempt was made to know more about Consumer Protection
and how the consumers are using it for the same to safeguard their interests in various
situations. Data were collected from 30 random participants around the city. The
analysis of the data leads to the following findings:
The following are the important findings of the study:
 It was observed that most of the respondents were from the age group 18 – 25.
 Most of the complaints registered under Consumer Protection Law are
registered at the District Forums of each state.
 About 73% of the respondents were aware of the Consumer Rights and
awareness available to them.
 Most of the respondents complained to the shopkeeper itself when they’re
dissatisfied with the product they purchased from the store.
 Only 17% of the respondents didn’t know about the basic standards like ISO
provided by the Government.
 The knowledge levels about Consumer Courts among the respondents were
57% and 43% respectively.
 It was evident from the survey that, most of the respondents (80%) have faced
adulteration in the products they’ve purchased.
 From the survey, it was understood that, most of the respondents didn’t get an
adequate solution for the complaints they’ve lodged in time.
 It was understood that majority of the respondents haven’t approached the
Consumer Court for any kind of malpractice/misleading they’ve faced.

53
 In case of sources about Consumer Protection, majority of the respondents
chose ‘Internet’, followed by ‘Television’ again shortly followed by
‘Newspaper’ and ‘Others’.
 Survey indicated that most of the respondents were not mislead by
advertisements in purchasing a product.
 It was found out that most of the respondents wanted ‘Consumer Protection
Act’ be made a compulsory part of the national high school syllabus.
5.0.2 RECOMMENDATIONS
 To empower consumers by making them aware about their rights and
responsibilities.
 To provide effective, inexpensive and speedy redressal system to Consumers.
 To strengthen the infrastructure on Consumer Councils through
computerization and computer networking across the country.
 To formulate Standards & Strengthen Conformity Assessment of Products and
Services.
 To assist Consumers by giving advice and guidance in Consumer related
issues through National Consumer Helpline and State Consumer Help lines
functioning in States/UTs across the country.
 To implement various schemes and programmes under Consumer Welfare
Fund to create awareness on Consumerism, to protect and promote the
interests of Consumers.

54
 To educate and sensitize the Consumers to know about their rights and
responsibilities through continuous Publicity campaigns.
 To create avenues for Consumers for settlement of Consumer related cases
through Mediation process involving Voluntary Organisations and settlement
of Grievances.
 To dispose of all Grievances and Complaints through a well established
Grievances Redressal Mechanism.
5.0.3 CONCLUSION
The Government has been fruitful in providing protection to the consumers in
the real sense of the term and served the purpose of the Act. It’s hoped that further
improvement in the act would aim at even more efficiency and render the position of
the consumers much stronger in this era of globalization and privatization where the
sudden unchecked advent of Multi National Companies has to be balanced with the
protection of the rights of the consumers by the legislature and the judiciary.
Invariably, consumers are a vulnerable lot for exploitation, more so in a
developing country with the prevalence of mass poverty and illiteracy. India too is no
exception to it. Instances like overcharging, black marketing, adulteration,
profiteering, lack of proper services in trains, telecommunication, water supply,
airlines, etc are not uncommon here. From time to time, the government has attempted
to safeguard consumer's interests through legislations and the CPA 1986 is considered
as the most progressive statute for consumer protection. Procedural simplicity and
speedy and inexpensive redressal of consumer grievances as contained in the CPA are
really unique and have few parallels in the world. Implementation of the Act reveals
that interests of consumers are better protected than ever before. However, consumer
awareness through consumer education and actions by the government, consumer
activists, and associations are needed the most to make consumer protection
movement a success in the country.

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