Daily Times

Adam Smith, the father of economics, once observed that “Consumption is the sole end and purpose of all production; and the interest of the producer ought to be attended to, only so far as it may be necessary for promoting that of the consumer.” He couldn’t be more right.

Consumption of products and services is an inevitable element of our daily lives. We cannot survive without it as we are all consumers in one capacity or the other. Despite this much significance of the status of being a consumer, consumer rights and consumer protection laws are the most neglected and least highlighted areas of law amongst the public at large.

Although some government and private forums like Pakistan Consumer Bureau (PCB), Directorate of Consumer Protection Council (DCPC) and Consumer Rights Commission of Pakistan (CRCP) exist to sensitise the consumers and inculcate a sense of responsibility among them to reform the dynamics of markets, the area captures very little attention.

The concept of consumer rights, fair marketing practices and regulations for market competition are widely discussed under Islamic injunctions. Moreover, multiple legislations have been formulated in our country to safeguard the rights of the consumers and ensure fair competition and just profiting instead of profiteering.

In Pakistan, consumer rights derive their roots from the fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution of Pakistan, 1973. Numerous other statutes exist on the subject of consumer rights which carve out the constitution of special consumer courts to address the grievances of consumers with least legal complexities and quick remedial procedures in favour of consumers. Each of the four provinces of Pakistan has their own Consumer Protection Acts/Ordinances. The Islamabad Capital territory also has Islamabad Consumer Protection Act 1995 to cover the consumer rights and safeguard the interests of consumers.

The relief ratio in consumer courts is also very high, and there is a huge tendency that the payment of the damages claimed is ensured by the court in genuine cases

All these acts/ordinances are very potent and consumer-friendly laws, which aim high to protect the ordinary consumer from being misled, mistreated and illegally charged. Besides these, we have various rules and policies to safeguard the interests of consumers. Furthermore, there are several subject-wise legislations which protect the consumer rights — for instance: food laws, regulations for the hotel industry, travel companies, automobile industry, construction companies and the list goes on.

The scope of these laws extends not only to the products that we buy but to the services that we avail as well. Each of these laws empowers the consumers to question the vendor if the products or services provided by such vendor are not up to the mark and do not justify the hefty amount charged. Many times we see that the restaurants we visit charge inapplicable taxes, or add certain products which were never ordered. But who notices? We are all tuned up in a manner that we feel strangely embarrassed to even ask as to why are we being charged such and such amounts.

People generally claim that the laws are weak and do not benefit the general public, or where there are laws, they are not implemented in their true sense and spirit thus the problem persists. However, contrarily, in the case of consumer laws, the available legislations are extremely beneficial and consumer friendly. The functioning of consumer courts is very simple and expeditious; simple to the extent that an application written on a plain piece of paper and submitted in the consumer court would work perfectly. No need to pay heavy amounts to a lawyer (subject to complex cases) and wait for decades to see your case decided. Only two to three hearings and the matters are usually resolved. The relief ratio in consumer courts is also very high, and there is a huge tendency that the payment of the damages claimed is ensured by the court in genuine cases.

So, the basic point that I am trying to make through my writing is that the law exists and is implemented well. But do we really resort to the law? Do we really invoke the law which favours us as consumers? Or we have become prone to this system so much that we do not realise our rights?

Unfortunately, the consumers in Pakistan are being looted by the mafias who have developed their hegemony by their malpractices and negative competition, but nobody really agitates these issues due to multiple reasons. We are indolent to hold accountable the owner of a restaurant if we catch food poisoning after dining in at his place. We are misled by the fake guarantees and warranties of various appliances which do not function properly even a single time, but we don’t claim for our money, rather we prefer to put the product in the trash bin and consider it hard luck. We shop online and get something entirely unexpected in terms of quality but what to do? Only because of our lack of awareness pertaining to consumer laws and their strength in our country!

No government organisations, private bodies, laws or special courts can be effective until the nucleus of the phenomenon of consumption, the ‘Consumer’, is motivated to stand against exploitation and unfair marketing practices. We have to raise our voice and value our hard earned money to form a culture of accountability and honesty.

Here the words of Herbert Hoover seem very relevant: “The idea of consumer activism holds a pivotal role in the improvement of market standards and healthy competition because the competition is not only the basis of protection to the consumer but is the incentive to progress”.

The writer is a lawyer, social activist and researcher

Published in Daily Times, May 28^th 2018.