In 1986, the Consumer Protection Act was enacted to defend consumers' fundamental rights. The act was later updated in 2002 in order to make it more efficient in today's world.
The major goal of enacting the consumer protection law is to defend the consumer's fundamental rights and to build a robust legal authority to handle all consumer issues.
A simple explanation of the consumer protection law and how to use it to seek remedy for any unfair business practises or to educate consumers about their basic rights.
Before we can learn about a consumer's basic rights, we must first understand who a consumer is under the law.
According to the legislation, a consumer is defined as a person who purchases goods or services for personal use rather than resale, or who uses the products or services with the buyer's approval. The statute applies to all commodities and services from a variety of industries, including ecommerce, electricity, telecommunications, etc.
Consumers have a number of basic rights under the act, including:
• An individual can file a complaint against a trader who engages in unfair trading practises.
• If the items or services you purchased have flaws.
• If the service you hired falls short of your expectations.
• If the price of the goods or services is higher than the amount charged by the trader.
• If the dealer is supplying goods or services without first clearing the safety measures, the consumer may be at risk.
A consumer has the right to file a complaint in a consumer forum if the trader engages in fraudulent activity with the intent of deceiving the consumer or endangering the consumer's safety.
The steps for filing a complaint in a consumer forum are as follows:
If you are a victim of a trader's malicious action, you can file a written complaint with the fee in the district forum. The district forum takes 21 days to consider a complaint after it is filed. Within this time frame, they can accept or reject your complaint.
A copy of the complaint is also sent to the opposite party for approval, which they must do within 45 days. After the opposite side receives the receipt of notice, the case will be tried to be resolved within three months.
You must attend all of the procedures because if you miss or avoid them, your case may be dismissed or a judgement rendered on the merits.