Know your consumer rights

a consumer needs legal protection against exploitative and unfair trade practices, and provisions for it are contained in the consumer protection act (cpa), 1986. the cpa is designed to provide quick redressal to consumers without paying any court fees or engaging a lawyer for any loss due to deficiency in goods or negligence in services. under the cpa 1986, a consumer is the person who buys or uses any goods or hires any service, for personal consumption.‘service’ includes the provisions of facilities with banking, financing, insurance, transport, construction and entertainment but does not include rendering of any service free of charge, or under a contract of personal service. it needs mention that the supreme court judgment of 1985 has brought medical services within the ambit of cpa 1986 except when the doctor renders service free of charge. a complaint can be made on any one of the following grounds, where: the good brought or agreed to be brought by any consumer suffers from any defect; the services hired or availed of suffer from any deficiency; the price charged for the product is in excess of the price fixed by the government, or the price displayed on product or its packing; any trader has adopted an unfair trade practice; and any hazardous product is being offered for sale, without displaying the information. under the three-tier consumer redressal system, a complaint is made to the district forum if the value of goods or service, and the compensation claimed is up to rs 5 lakh. the state commission is approached when the compensation claimed exceeds rs 5 lakh, but not above rs 20 lakh. a complaint involving a higher pecuniary value can be made to the national commission, delhi. the consumer court can issue directions to the traders/supplier to: remove defect, replace product, refund the price, pay compensation, discontinue the unfair/restrictive trade practice and withdraw the hazardous goods from sale. non-compliance of order is punishable with imprisonment or fine or both.