In this article, we will mention why consumer protection is imperative these days.
It was almost impossible to perform unfair trade in the early days because of the existing lifestyle. As a result, there was no need for consumer protection since the communities were smaller. However, individuals started indulging in malpractices due to the industrial revolution and the shifting of the population to urban areas from villages.
At present, diverse practices followed by traders and manufacturers can be quite unfair to consumers in the long run. This is because the bargaining power of the purchasers is extremely weak.
What do you mean by the term consumer?
The term consumer refers to an individual purchasing items for a consideration that has been promised or paid or partly promised and partly paid. The term also includes other users of these products when such use is made with the buyer’s approval.
Nevertheless, the expression “consumer” doesn’t include any individual obtaining such products for any commercial purpose or resale. Individual hiring or availing of any service for consideration that has been promised or paid or partly promised and partly paid is also a consumer. It also includes the beneficiaries of these types of services.
Why is consumer protection needed?
There is a need for consumer protection due to the subsequent reasons:
1. Consumers like to be safeguarded against unfair and deceptive market practices and trade.
2. The consumer needs to be physically protected, for instance, against items that happen to be dangerous or unsafe to his overall health and welfare.
3. The protection of consumers will be required against every sort of pollution such that it will be feasible for them to appreciate a healthy environment where there is no air, water, or food contamination.
4. There is also a need for consumer protection against the misuse of restrictive and monopolistic trade practices. It is vital for the protection not to be delayed by any means.
It is a fact that traders and businessmen in most parts of the planet happen to be intelligent, well-informed, organized as well as competent sellers. On the contrary, consumers tend to be illiterate, unorganized, poor, backward, and ignorant. On top of this, they are traditional in their attitude and outlook while suffering in silence as well. For this reason, it is possible for shrewd businessmen to take advantage of the consumers to a great extent.
We like to conclude this post by asserting that while the consumers happen to be amateurs in the contemporary era, the sellers are quite professional out there. Mass advertising as well as other sorts of promotional devices is responsible for influencing the choice of the consumers to a great extent that might lure them to purchase stuff that they don’t really want or they will not be able to afford.
The New Act talk about consumer concerns come up from the digitization of the trade environment… The Consumer Protection Act, 2019 (hereinafter known as “New Act”) was passed by the Parliament on 06.08.2019 and obtained the assent of the President on 09.08.2019.
The Act, inter alia, provides for the safety of the pursuits of consumers, the establishment of a central shopper safety authority, a mechanism to settle shopper disputes and specifically regulates product legal responsibility and deceptive ads.Read More...
Listed along with seven other rules to be notified under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, the draft rule also wants to prevent the players from giving fake reviews and present counterfeit goods in their platforms.
“An e-commerce entity shall not
Directly or indirectly influence the price of the goods or services and shall maintain a level playing field.
Adopt any trade practice which for the purpose of promoting the sale, use or supply of any goods or for the provision of any service, or composite supply, adopts any unfair methods or unfair or deceptive practice that may influence transactional decisions of consumers in relation to products and services.
Falsely represent themselves as consumers or post reviews about goods and services in their name; or misrepresents or exaggerates the quality or the features of goods and services,” reads the draft rule.
The draft rule demands e-commerce players to be transparent on return, refund, exchange, warranty, guarantee, delivery, shipment, mode of payments, grievance redressal mechanism and display the terms of contract with sellers.
Lion Air - Bursa efek Indonesia (BEI) revealed PT Lion Mentari aka Lion Air, has delivered documents for the initial public offering of shares of aliases initial public offering (IPO).
"We see, hopefully they've been able to convey the information so that we can process quickly," said the Director of the Ratings Company IDX I Gede Nyoman Yetna when met at the stock exchange Building, Jakarta on Wednesday (9/10).
Lion Air plans to conduct an IPO using financial report for fiscal year June 30, 2019, so the airline is expected to be listed as an issuer on the exchange this year.
If the official exchange floor, Lion Air will be incorporated in the infrastructure sector, utilities, and transportation.
"When it comes to value, I don't want to say it," said Nyoman added.
(Read: Data Penumpang Lion Air Leak, the BILL of Data Protection is Increasingly Urgent)
