What are the measures that can be taken to increase consumer awareness???

Question

i want all the government, legislative, administrative and technical measures that can be taken to increase consumer awareness..........and even some consumer duties.............

Answer 1

Introductin:-

Consumer awareness is about making the consumer aware of his/her rights.It is a marketing term which means that consumers are aware of products or services.The consumers have to be aware not only of the commercial aspects of sale and purchase of goods, but also of the health and security aspects. Food safety has become an important element of consumer awareness these days. In case of food products, its quality depends not only on its nutritional value, but also on its safety for human consumption. Consumption of contaminated or adulterated food is a major cause of human illness and suffering.

Consumers:-

Consumers refers to individuals or households that use goods and services generated within the economy Or simply we can say that a consumer is a person who uses any product or service.

Rights of comsumer:-

1.Right to Safety

Means right to be protected against the marketing of goods and services, which are hazardous to life and property.

Before purchasing, consumers should preferably purchase quality marked products such as ISI,AGMARK, etc.

2.Right to Informed

Means 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.

Consumer should insist on getting all the information about the product or service before making a choice or a decision.

3.Right to Choose

Means right to be assured, wherever possible of access to variety of goods and services at competitive price.

4.Right to heard

Means right to be represented in various forums formed to consider the consumer's welfare.

5.Right to Seek redressal

Means right to seek redressal against unfair trade practices.

6.Right to Consumer Education

Means the right to acquire the knowledge and skill to be an informed consumer throughout life.People should know their rights and must exercise them. Only then real consumer protection can be achieved with success.

Problems faced by the consumers:-

There are many goods which are sold in the market without much information about their quality, quantity and purity. In case of goods meant for mass consumption like, food, milk products, edible oil etc. the ingredients are not known. Manufacturers or producers seldom follow the safety regulations in the products like, lamps, batteries, footwear, electrical equipments, wires, cement, LPG cylinders, stoves, switches, plugs, sockets etc. leading to many fatal accidents. Adulteration of food is another major problem. Milk can contain detergent, refined oil, caustic soda or urea. Mustard oil can be adulterated with argemone oil and arhar dal with yellow colour. Vegetables and fruits are artificially coloured. Indiscriminate use of pesticides by farmers and untreated effluents by industries, have led to the problem of food contamination by pesticide residues and toxic heavy metals.

Consumer Courts:-

Consumer Court is the name given to special purpose courts that deal with cases regarding consumer disputes. One can go to consumer court and can register his complaint regarding his product. To help an ordinary citizen, consumer courts have been set up at District, State and National level. Here, an Indian citizen can file a case in a very simple format. There is no need to hire a lawyer as you can fight your own case. No court-fee is required. Thus you can proceed with your case at minimum expenses.

Answer 2

THE PROCESS of development along with the expanding globalisation and liberalisation process has increased the number of consumer related issues. Consumer protection has earned an important place in the political, economic and social agendas of many nations. In India, the Government has taken many steps including legislative, to protect consumers.

Education is a life long process of constantly acquiring relevant information, knowledge and skills. Consumer education is an important part of this process and is a basic consumer right that must be introduced at the school level. Consumers by definition include all citizens who are, by and large the biggest group, who are affected by almost all government, public or private decisions. The most important step in consumer education is awareness of consumer rights. However, consumer education is incomplete without the responsibilities and duties of consumers, and this influences individual behaviour to a great extent.

Definition

Consumer awareness is making the consumer aware of His/Her rights.

Consumer awareness it a marketing term. It means that consumers note or are aware of products or services, its characteristics and the other marketing P's (place to buy, price, and promotion).

Usually commercials and ads increase consumer awareness, as well as "word of mouth" (a comment from someone you know about a product or service).

Need of Consumer Awareness

1) It has been observed that the people for,whom various schemes have been taken up by Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), in fact, do not get benefit as expected. This is mainly because they are not fully aware of these schemes and their benefits.

Also, only knowledgeable and alert consumers aware of their rights and responsiblities can protect themselves effectively. The need of the hour is, therefore, to educate the common consumers particularly those in rural areas who are more susceptible to exploitation. Once they are educated and made aware of the schemes that have been drawn up for their benefit and also the redressal forum that is available, the benefit of various schemes, in true sense, will reach the common consumers of the country.

It is, therefore, our bounden duty to play our part jointly and effectively in disseminating various schemes to the common consumers of the country. In this regard, the role of the voluntary consumer organizations, consumer activists, non-governmental organizations, educational institutions and media cannot be ignored.

2) Making existing and potential customers knowledgeable about products/services, consumer awareness programs create more informed buying decisions. Consumers cannot purchase products and services if they do not know they exist. A lack of consumer awareness in any industry can harm sales. If specific products and services are better known, those products and services will remain on the front line in sales. Therefore, it is important to implement consumer awareness programs that will introduce and make the target audience aware of the products and services a company offers. Consumer awareness programs can be initiated through the utilization of flyers, brochures, television, radio, guides, fact sheets, information posted to a Web site, school programs, and other sources depending upon the topic and the message delivered.

3) we need it so we will not be misled by producers,it explains if what we buy is worth to our money..and not harmful to us and to environment .

Many people are ignorant of their rights to get protected against the exploitation by so many others. So when there is a forum for such redress of grievances there seems to be no such exploitation by many; and becomes a rare one. So in order to get a clear picture of the level of exploitation of consumers, the awareness is required.

Various Forms Of Consumer Exploitation

1) Adulteration of foods (use of unpermitted colours)

2) Sales of medicines after expiry date.

3) Spurious drugs (Sub-standard drugs)

4) Supply of blood from a blood bank infected with AIDS or other diseases.

5)Advertisement with false claims

6) Shortage of weight and quality Excessive price.

7) Death of a person due to medical negligence of a doctor.

8) Consumer redressal.

9) Always insist on cash bill.

10) Send a complaint petition to the manufacturer. If they do not respond within a reasonable time, file your petition before the court.

11) Get help from consumer organisations working in your area.

Role of Producers in Protecting Consumer Rights

1) The role of producers is very significant with far reaching consequences.

The producers are under obligation to produce goods conforming to the prescribed standards, such as ISI, wherever such standards are prescribed.

Secondly, they must provide written literature giving details to reasonable extent about the products, their ingredients, their do and don'ts, warranty or guarantee, MRP, date of manufacture and expiry, operational instructions.............etc. as the case may be, with each unit of product.

Provision of the address of the manufacturer with other contact details is significant as the customer may ultimately have to fall back in case of need.

Packing of products to reach them safe at the end user point, quick response and remedial measures in case of any wrong happening...etc could be very helpful to save consumers from big hassles and losses.

Not going into very much details here, if the producer take all reasonable care, for which he has the facilities and abilities, a high volume of troubles gets eliminated by facilitating the consumer rights this way providing right quality products, each unit tested and certified.

2)

Role of producers

proper labeling, full information, health warnings, handling information, expiration date, etc. keep to requirements, norms, standards

labelproducts according requirements, providing true facts

They have to produce and deliver the goods/services of rght quality at right price at right time at right place at right quantity with right face

If they are providing a service they should carry it out with due skill and care. They must also make sure that any materials they provide as part of this service are fit for the purpose.

It is also illegal for a supplier to cut off, or threaten to cut off, supply to a reseller (wholesale or retail) because they have been discounting goods or advertising discounts below prices set by the supplier.