The Consumer Protection Act, 1986 provides six rights of consumers. The Consumer Protection Councils set up under the Act are intended to promote and protect the various rights of consumers.
(i) Right to Safety: The consumer has a right to be protected against goods and services which are manufactured with substandard products or do not conform to the safety norms might cause serious injury. Thus, consumers are educated that they should use electrical appliances which are ISI marked as this would be an assurance of such products meeting quality specifications.
(ii) Right To be Informed (RTI): The consumer has a right to have complete information about the product he intends to buy including its ingredients, date of manufacture, price, quantity, direction for use, etc. It is because of this reason that the legal framework in India requires the manufacturers to provide such information on the package and label of the product.
(iii) Right to Choose: The consumer has the freedom to choose from a variety of products at competitive prices. This implies that the marketers should offer a wide variety of products in terms of quality, brand, price, size, etc. and allow the consumer to make a choice from amongst these.
(iv) Right to Seek Redressal: The consumer has a right to get relief in case the product or service falls short of his expectations. The Consumer Protection Act provides a number of reliefs to the consumers including replacement of the product, removal of defect in the product, compensation paid for any loss or injury suffered by the consumer.
(v) Right to be Heard: The consumer has a right to file a complaint and to be heard in case of dissatisfaction with a good or a service. It is because of this reason that many enlightened business firms have set up their own consumer service and grievance cells.
(vi) Right to Consumer Education: The consumer has a right to acquire knowledge and to be well-informed throughout his life. They should be aware about his rights and the reliefs available to him in case of a product or service falling short of his expectations.
