Don't go wrong about rights, says online consumer body founder

Bejon Misra is Founder of Consumer Online Foundation He has been involved in the consumer movement in India for 30 years starting from Jamshedpur in 1983 as founder of the Consumer Guidance Society of Jamshedpur At present he is founder trustee of Consumer Online Foundation in New Delhi He was chairman in 20032005 and the Founder Governing Council Member of the Consumer Coordination Council CCC a national coalition of 70 leading consumer organizations of India since 1993Take him on and help create a data base Consumer expert Bejon MisraHere on World Consumer Rights Day Misra clears the air about consumer complaints and whether the hope for justice is an illusion or worthwhile pursuitThe interviewWhich is the ruling body for consumer complaints in the cityEvery consumer complaint is guided by law and as per law there are designated regulators For example all telephone related complaints are guided under the TRAI Act and also the Indian Telegraphs Act apart from the Consumer Protection Act 1986 However it is the responsibility of every manufacturer and service provider to resolve any kind of complaint from the consumers Unfortunately the State Government Ministry of Consumer Affairs in Maharashtra which is the nodal Ministry is least active and the consumers are not complaining to them but rushing to seek legal redressal which is long drawn and expensiveWhat are the most common complaints that people have are they defective appliances Almost 25 per cent of the complaints are on defective or substandard products and services sold to consumers None of the manufacturers or service providers are prepared to refund the amount paid at the time of purchase or exchange the defective products for high quality products adhering to global best standardsTelecom comes second and it is as high as 18 per cent This is also because we have 900 million telecom consumers in India with extremely poor regulatory oversight Lately complaints on ecommerce have also increased which is around 7 per cent Other sectors include banking which is 5 per cent and insurance which is 3 per centIs it worth filing a complaint The common perception is that it is better to let the matter go than go through the hassle of filing complaintsWe started the JAGO GRAHAK JAGO MultiMedia Campaign in 2005 when I was the Chairman of the Consumer Coordination Council in order to encourage consumers to complain We initiated the National Consumer Helpline and the Consumer Online Resource Centre to make it easy and simple to complain However consumers are still reluctant to complain It is time we started the campaign JAGO SARKAR JAGOHow long does it take for a consumer to get justiceIn India we do not have a fixed timeline If the consumer is an influential individual then 24 hours however if he is an ordinary individual which we all are it could even take upto 15 years to resolve the problem We have several examples in insurance banking and healthcare sectors where the consumer had to fight for compensation for more than 15 yearsIs it possible that the consumer is lying and it is actually not the fault of the corporateIt is possible and that is why we amended the Consumer Protection Act 1986 to punish consumers for false or frivolous claims Under Section 26 of the Act for dismissal of frivolous or vexatious complaints the provision is as follows Where a complaint instituted before the District Forum the State Commission or as the case may be the National Commission is found to be frivolous or vexatious it shall for reasons to be recorded in writing dismiss the complaint and make an order that the complainant shall pay to the opposite party such cost not exceeding Rs 10000 as may be specified in the order So the consumer is liable to pay up to Rs 10000 if the consumer complaint is found false or with vested interestWhen an individual takes on a corporate or company it is usually an unequal battle one person against a huge organization Are the scales not tilted on the companys sideYes you are right The scales are tilted towards the manufacturers and the service providers including services provided by public sector organizations at a price An ordinary consumer has to fight against an eminently resourceful person or organization thus it is important to organize ourselves and fight for the poor voiceless consumer in a unified manner We need to compel the Government to take action against all such unscrupulous and unethical organizations in the public as well as private sector This is our key objective to start an office in Mumbai Today we find only 13 per cent consumers from Maharashtra are complaining while Delhi alone is 23 per cent and Uttar Pradesh is 15 per cent I am sure that consumers in Maharashtra especially those from Mumbai are fairly aware and empowered about their rights but may not be aware about the simple way to complain and where to complainSupposing one has a grievance about something that cost you Rs 10000 Is it worthwhile to spend much more in terms of energy resources and time to get somebody to address itIt is not at all wise for individuals to fight for their rights by spending their own money but they must ensure as consumers that their grievances are brought to light and the data is created so that organizations like ours or other consumer organizations can claim compensation on behalf of several consumers This will be done under a class action litigation or a Public Interest Litigation PIL to seek justice for the consumer who is helpless and economically unable to pursue the justified claimWe all have to move forward in the right manner by creating data on such cases and facilitate the Government to bring a robust policy on refund and exchange of defective or substandard products or services This can be done through deterrent penalties for intentional delays in providing resolutions or adopting unfair trade practice