Advocate Dr Amit Dua

Each one of us is a consumer in one way or another. It is important for us to be an aware and informed consumer of goods and services available to us in the market. The above case is just one of the examples of the many problems that consumers face in the purchase, use and consumption of goods and services. But, very few consumers are aware of their rights given to them by the Consumer Protection Act 2019. The Consumer Protection Act 2019. 2019 has replaced the Act 1986 and seeks to widen its scope in addressing consumer concerns.

Have you ever thought what would be the plight of consumers if adequate protection is not provided to them? With growing competition and in an attempt to increase their sales and market share, manufacturers, sellers and serviceproviders may be tempted to engage in unscrupulous, exploitative and unfair trade practices like defective and unsafe products, adulteration, false and misleading advertising, hoarding, black-marketing, etc. This means that a consumer might be exposed to risks due to unsafe products, might suffer from bad health due to adulterated food products, might be cheated because of misleading advertisements or sale of spurious products, might have to pay a higher price when sellers engage in overpricing, hoarding or black-marketing, etc. As a result, consumer becomes unsafe, feels cheated and is exposed to many risks and health problems.