Consumer protection proving a myth

There is no end to the tales of woe I hear about the harassment suffered by consumers at the hands of suppliers of goods and services and the fast deterioration in customer service provided even by brand companies.

Here are two typical examples: A well-known bank (HDFC) came out some years ago with a mediclaim-linked credit card, luring the customers with cash-free medical treatment and other facilities. A couple of years ago, it abruptly terminated the mediclaim part of the credit card. Customers came to know of it only when the hospitals to which they had taken the supposed beneficiaries for treatment sprung an ugly surprise by telling them that their assumed entitlement had been discontinued. The bank authorities have stubbornly refused to explain the rationale for this sudden volte face and the lack of transparency and disruption of service, putting many of the customers to inordinate expense in prolonged proceedings before Consumer Forums.

Another customer found that the clutch plate of a high-end car he had purchased gave way within a few thousand kilometres of the use of the car. Despite the occurrence of the mishap within the warranty period, the company which sold the car refused to attend to the complaint. Even without undertaking a spot inspection by sending one of its technicians and getting his report, the company had the temerity to put the blame straightaway on the purchaser for not driving the car properly! And, this cavalier treatment it meted out to one of the nation's prominent public figures.

GLITTER, FLORID PHRASES

He took the matter before the Consumers Forum some time in 2008 and since then to this day, the company has been dragging on the case by taking repeated adjournments on one plea or another. This is, in fact, the technique adopted by most companies so that customers are deterred from lodging complaints. Their Web sites do not live up to their florid sales pitch. They do not even reply to email messages.

They are able to get away with their callous disregard of the sufferings of customers because they enjoy protection from being exposed for their misbehaviour by the policy adopted by the media of holding back their names when customers write to them.

The same media have no hesitation at all in taking cudgels against the departments of governments and the public sector enterprises by naming them and their functionaries for their failures.

As regards the working of the Consumer Forums set up under the Consumer Protection Act, on paper, the provisions of the Act leave very little to be desired. It covers most aspects of consumer protection, including speedy trial. But in practice, the Forums have not been of benefit to the consumers to the extent expected.

NO AGGRESSIVENESS

State Governments do not attach to them the same importance as they do to the regular judiciary, with the result the vacancies remain unfilled for an unconscionably long time. The working conditions in most of the district and State Consumer Forums beggar description: For want of adequate back-up staff, decent accommodation, and necessary furniture, on the one hand, and the absence of any inspection and supervision by higher levels, on the other, the Forums inspire no confidence among those approaching them.

Naturally, the nature and quality of the relief provided by them is also uneven. Some Forums, such as those of Maharashtra, are sharp and sensitive; for instance, in a similar case of clutch plate malfunctioning, the Mumbai Forum ordered the car to be replaced by a new one.

Finally, the consumer organisations. There are relatively few which show the required aggressiveness and drive. Most of them are content to throw the ball back into the consumers' court. For one thing, they too do not have the necessary legal and professional infrastructures. For another, the organisers of these so-called action groups seem to look upon them for building up their own public standing and also rake in some funds on the side through seminars, workshops and the like. Result: Demise of consumer protection.

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