BEYOND CAVEAT EMPTOR Project Guidelines

Consumer Protection Who is a Consumer? A person who buys any goods or services for a consideration which has been paid or promised or partly paid and partly promised or under any system of deferred payment is a Consumer. What is Consumer Protection? Consumer protection mainly comprises of laws enacted to serve and protect individuals from fraudulent business practices. It also includes all measures undertaken to ensure that the consumer does not have to deal with inferior products or services, unfair prices, unsafe products and is allowed to choose on an informed basis.

Consumer Protection in India How can we make a difference?

The Current Scenario In today’s globalised era the problems of a consumer are of crucial importance. In most of the developing countries the markets are imperfect. The implications of such situations is what we generally observe: the exploitation of the consumers. Numerous deceptive, disruptive and misleading practices are followed by the use of advertisements and other means to mould the needs of consumers. The issue of protecting the consumers calls for evolving a healthy Institutional back up system, awareness generation and a speedy grievances redressal system.

Doing the Right Thing! Have you ever been taken in by a misleading advertisement? Have you ever bought something only to regret it later since it didn’t even last for a short time? At some point of time or the other all of us have suffered at the hands of unscrupulous sellers but weren’t sure of whether we could complain or where we could go for help and advice.

Your Goal Well, now is the time to do something to help yourself and many others. You have Rights. Get to know your Rights! You will research information on consumer issues to identify what can be done to improve the current scenario. You will then use this knowledge to promote Consumer Awareness through various media to inform and empower members of your community.

Your Role You are ‘Agents’ assisting NCDRC in their efforts to promote Consumer Protection. You may be assigned any one of the following roles: Social Activist, Lawyer, Policy Maker, Reporter and Public Relations Manager

About the NCDRC The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) was constituted in the year 1988 t o provide inexpensive and speedy redressal of consumer disputes. It is headed by a sitting or retired Judge of the Supreme Court of India. In genuine cases where the complainant / appellant / petitioner before the National Commission is unable to engage the services of an advocate, legal aid is provided by the Commission free of charge.

About your Role Social Activist: Study the causes of consumer exploitation and develop suitable initiatives to reduce consumer exploitation. Lawyer: Study the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 and identify ways to impart knowledge of legal provisions to members of the society. Reporter: Study the Government redressal machinery and take suitable action to bridge the gap between community members and the government.

About your Role PR Manager: Study the ways and media available to make consumers more aware and identify what can be done by consumers to ensure that they act as well informed citizens. Policy Maker: Study the progress of Consumer Protection in the country and changes that have taken place over the years. Suggest ways to promote the implementation of provisions across the country.

Your Tasks Prepare a write-up on an essential aspect of Consumer Protection. The topic of research assigned will be in accordance with your role. Note down your topic from the following list: RoleTopic Social ActivistCauses of Consumer Exploitation ReporterGovernment Machinery for Consumer Protection LawyerLegal Provisions for Consumers Policy MakerConsumer Education and Protection: Past, Present, Future Public Relations ManagerPromoting Consumer Awareness

Your Tasks Use the information in your write-up to plan a Consumer Awareness Day in your school. As a part of the event do the following: Design a poster to generate awareness on Consumer Protection Create a multimedia presentation to show to community members. Design a brochure to be distributed to the community members who attend your presentation.

Your Support Sources Webliography: Justice for all List of Web sites to help you with research Checklists and Rubrics Tools to help you monitor your progress and evaluate your work Business Studies, Part 2, Business Finance and Marketing, NCERT. Consumer Protection Act, 1986 NCDRC Web site Dictionary of Business Terms Microsoft Encarta

All the Best