Creating safeguards to protect consumers' rights
Syed Fattahul Alim | Wednesday, 25 February 2009
The much talked about consumers' rights protection law is going to be enacted in the ongoing session of the ninth Jatiya Sangsad (JS) or national parliament. It is expected that the draft law in existence will be passed in parliament to pave the way for the general consumers to protect themselves against the tyranny of the errant market operators in the country.
The helplessness of the consumers at the marketplace has been due to the absence of any law to punish the gross violators of the consumer's rights either by charging irrationally high prices for the goods on sale through creating artificial crisis in the supply chain or cheating them in a hundred and one ways.
So far, in absence of an appropriate law for the purpose, a dishonest section of traders has been carrying on with their evil practice of cheating the buyers with impunity everywhere in the country. And it is not only in the arena of consumer or essential commodities in the market, the service providing sectors, too, took advantage of the vulnerability of the consumers. The transport, operators, for example, increase the price of their service at the slightest opportunity. This is why every year before every Eid festivals the transport operators increase the prices of their travel tickets just to fleece the helpless homebound travellers without mercy.
Against this backdrop, the consumers' rights protection law to be passed with the stricter provisions to punish the violators of the law, will hopefully discourage the providers of goods and services to consider the consumers as an easy prey, while reassure the public that that they are no more at the mercy of the former.
However, just to have law is not sufficient guarantee that the consumers will be automatically protected by it. In reality, it is the application of the law in its correct spirit that makes the difference. If truth be told, we have no dearth of laws to look after our rights and other interests of the common people. Oddly enough, all these laws notwithstanding, the common people of the country are the worst victims of all kinds of encroachments on their rights and interests by every conceivable quarters since the latter are organised and have some power, whether legal or illegal. It is the same power of the organised group at the marketplace that is at work against the disparate consumers, who in most cases, are not even aware that they, too, have some rights and that the law is on their side. But even awareness about the rights is not the sufficient condition that the person in question will take the trouble of exercising it at every instance. The problem is that in many cases the city dwellers are too busy to spend a moment to protest, much les take up the issue to the court. This emboldens the force that distorts the market further.
The common public of this country have, as it were, become used to all kinds of injustices and irregularities. And it is also not just about their consumer rights. Even the common criminals like the snatchers and muggers get away with their criminal activities in broad day light before the eyes of indifferent onlookers. Is it that the public who often avoid getting involved in the act of protesting against illegal or criminal activities taking place in front of them do so only because they are not aware about their rights or that they are too afraid to protest it? Not in the least. It is the growing sense of alienation in society that is behind the public's apathy towards the flagrant infringements of their rights occurring day in, day out. Understandably, to touch on just one of an entire ensemble of the issues is but to touch the tip of the iceberg.
As noted earlier, the advantage that the irrational market operators enjoy over the consumer public is also due to their organised power. And the buyer of a particular commodity or a service at the marketplace is merely a single individual or at best a handful of them buying or seeking the goods or services in question. But the sellers of those services make a common cause with their fellow traders and can create a kind of organised syndicate to fix prices of their goods or services on offer at their sweet will. To go to the law-enforcers to put their foot down in the matter may not very effective in every case. Or drawing legal proceeding against the violators of the consumer's right is often a time-consuming and cumbersome process. So, the existence of the consumer protection law alone is not enough condition that the consumers' right would be protected at every instance of its breach by any quarter.
The consumers, too, will have to be organised through their various representative forums. That would provide them with organised strength to match the syndicates or coteries formed by the market operators. And the existence of such consumers' representative bodies near the marketplaces will help the general consumers to take their problems immediately to the nearby office of the consumers' right protection forum for their prompt addressing. Taking legal actions against the errant and defiant market operators will also become easier in that case.
The organised consumers' forums may also play their roles through raising public awareness about their rights further using various campaign techniques. And it is not only the consumers' who need the awareness to fight for their rights. The market operators, too, have to be duly aware of the consumers' rights and the laws in existence to protect those.
It is not to say that all the market operators in the shopping malls, at kitchen markets, and in the service providing organisations are united in their singular purposed of cheating the consumers. And it is also not the case that the consumers are always the victims. What is important to keep in mind here that our markets themselves are not well-organised or to put it differently, they are mostly unstructured. As a result, the behaviour of the operators is not like those of the more developed countries. Small wonder, an element of chaos permeates the place forever. And in all likelihood, the element of chaos or uncertainty may remain there indefinitely.
The political parties of the country are always busy about the democratic rights of the people. But few were ever heard to wage any street agitation to establish the rights of the consumers. But are not consumer's rights also democratic ones? And in the final analysis, everyone is a consumer at the end of the day. For even the operators of the different kinds of markets are also consumers including other sections of society.
So, it is in everyone's interest that there should be adequate legal as well as social safeguards against the infringement of consumers' rights in society. The law to be enacted with this end in view will be just one positive step in this direction.
The helplessness of the consumers at the marketplace has been due to the absence of any law to punish the gross violators of the consumer's rights either by charging irrationally high prices for the goods on sale through creating artificial crisis in the supply chain or cheating them in a hundred and one ways.
So far, in absence of an appropriate law for the purpose, a dishonest section of traders has been carrying on with their evil practice of cheating the buyers with impunity everywhere in the country. And it is not only in the arena of consumer or essential commodities in the market, the service providing sectors, too, took advantage of the vulnerability of the consumers. The transport, operators, for example, increase the price of their service at the slightest opportunity. This is why every year before every Eid festivals the transport operators increase the prices of their travel tickets just to fleece the helpless homebound travellers without mercy.
Against this backdrop, the consumers' rights protection law to be passed with the stricter provisions to punish the violators of the law, will hopefully discourage the providers of goods and services to consider the consumers as an easy prey, while reassure the public that that they are no more at the mercy of the former.
However, just to have law is not sufficient guarantee that the consumers will be automatically protected by it. In reality, it is the application of the law in its correct spirit that makes the difference. If truth be told, we have no dearth of laws to look after our rights and other interests of the common people. Oddly enough, all these laws notwithstanding, the common people of the country are the worst victims of all kinds of encroachments on their rights and interests by every conceivable quarters since the latter are organised and have some power, whether legal or illegal. It is the same power of the organised group at the marketplace that is at work against the disparate consumers, who in most cases, are not even aware that they, too, have some rights and that the law is on their side. But even awareness about the rights is not the sufficient condition that the person in question will take the trouble of exercising it at every instance. The problem is that in many cases the city dwellers are too busy to spend a moment to protest, much les take up the issue to the court. This emboldens the force that distorts the market further.
The common public of this country have, as it were, become used to all kinds of injustices and irregularities. And it is also not just about their consumer rights. Even the common criminals like the snatchers and muggers get away with their criminal activities in broad day light before the eyes of indifferent onlookers. Is it that the public who often avoid getting involved in the act of protesting against illegal or criminal activities taking place in front of them do so only because they are not aware about their rights or that they are too afraid to protest it? Not in the least. It is the growing sense of alienation in society that is behind the public's apathy towards the flagrant infringements of their rights occurring day in, day out. Understandably, to touch on just one of an entire ensemble of the issues is but to touch the tip of the iceberg.
As noted earlier, the advantage that the irrational market operators enjoy over the consumer public is also due to their organised power. And the buyer of a particular commodity or a service at the marketplace is merely a single individual or at best a handful of them buying or seeking the goods or services in question. But the sellers of those services make a common cause with their fellow traders and can create a kind of organised syndicate to fix prices of their goods or services on offer at their sweet will. To go to the law-enforcers to put their foot down in the matter may not very effective in every case. Or drawing legal proceeding against the violators of the consumer's right is often a time-consuming and cumbersome process. So, the existence of the consumer protection law alone is not enough condition that the consumers' right would be protected at every instance of its breach by any quarter.
The consumers, too, will have to be organised through their various representative forums. That would provide them with organised strength to match the syndicates or coteries formed by the market operators. And the existence of such consumers' representative bodies near the marketplaces will help the general consumers to take their problems immediately to the nearby office of the consumers' right protection forum for their prompt addressing. Taking legal actions against the errant and defiant market operators will also become easier in that case.
The organised consumers' forums may also play their roles through raising public awareness about their rights further using various campaign techniques. And it is not only the consumers' who need the awareness to fight for their rights. The market operators, too, have to be duly aware of the consumers' rights and the laws in existence to protect those.
It is not to say that all the market operators in the shopping malls, at kitchen markets, and in the service providing organisations are united in their singular purposed of cheating the consumers. And it is also not the case that the consumers are always the victims. What is important to keep in mind here that our markets themselves are not well-organised or to put it differently, they are mostly unstructured. As a result, the behaviour of the operators is not like those of the more developed countries. Small wonder, an element of chaos permeates the place forever. And in all likelihood, the element of chaos or uncertainty may remain there indefinitely.
The political parties of the country are always busy about the democratic rights of the people. But few were ever heard to wage any street agitation to establish the rights of the consumers. But are not consumer's rights also democratic ones? And in the final analysis, everyone is a consumer at the end of the day. For even the operators of the different kinds of markets are also consumers including other sections of society.
So, it is in everyone's interest that there should be adequate legal as well as social safeguards against the infringement of consumers' rights in society. The law to be enacted with this end in view will be just one positive step in this direction.