Consumer Awareness, Consumer Protection and Rights
This domain tests the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 - who is a consumer, the six rights, the redressal commissions, product liability and the bodies enforcing consumer law.
Who is a consumer
A person who buys goods or hires services for consideration for personal use, offline or online, and includes a user of goods with the buyer's approval. A person buying for resale or commercial purpose is not a consumer.
Six consumer rights
- Safety - protection from hazardous goods and services.
- Information - about quality, quantity, price and purity.
- Choice - access to a variety of goods at competitive prices.
- Be heard - the right to have complaints considered.
- Seek redressal - compensation for unfair trade practice, defect or deficiency.
- Consumer education - awareness of rights and remedies.
Redressal machinery
District Commission up to ₹50 lakh, State Commission ₹50 lakh to ₹2 crore, National Commission above ₹2 crore (2021 revision). A complaint must be filed within two years of the cause of action. The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA), set up in 2020, acts against misleading advertisements and unfair contracts, and the E-Commerce Rules, 2020 apply to online sellers. National Consumer Day: 24 December.
Worked example
A ₹30,000 mobile bought online is defective and the seller refuses to replace it. Because the value is below ₹50 lakh, the complaint goes to the District Commission within two years, supported by the bill and warranty; reliefs sought are replacement or refund plus compensation.
Traps
Treating a reseller as a consumer; listing six rights but explaining only five; filing before the wrong commission; forgetting the two-year limit; confusing consumer commissions with criminal courts.