Consumer Rights: I Must Play My Part

Being a consumer is never easy, as things don’t always turned out the way it should.

Consumers faced an array of problems, ranging from the lack of information on a new

product or service to being cheated or fallen prey to unethical practices by sellers. In 2015,

Singapore experienced an increase of about 45.28% in filed in cases compared to the

previous year, in which consumer cases involving motorcars were the highest. In China, there were 42,768 consumer complains just on telecommunications products alone while there were 25,424 consumer complains on shopping services via televisions, internet, and

telemarketing, in 2012. Back at home, in Malaysia, the National Consumer Complaints

Centre (NCCC) recorded about 34,381 actionable complaints, in which 3,102 were against

the communications and multimedia industries. These numbers stated above are not small values and it has shown that many consumers do fall prey to the seller’s schemes and bad habits. However, according to NCCC’s dispute resolution and policy review senior manager M. Matheevani, consumer complaints in Malaysia could have been higher by at least 20 percent and this could be due to consumers being unaware of the basic rights provided to them by their country’s laws. In addition, some consumers do not take the next step in filing in their cases, as they felt that the complains given by them were unimportant. Under these trying times, going a little more further in these complains does help to save you a lot of money. Basic consumer rights law can be found in both federal and state level, and they are designed to protect consumers from sellers who take advantage of consumers lack of knowledge and bargaining power. However, it also the consumer’s responsibility to compliment to these laws as well. The basic protection laws for consumers will always be there, but if consumers do not take up their responsibility to respond to these laws, the unfair treatment and fraud by sellers may continue. Although we would all like to know our rights as consumers, there is hardly any urgency towards the responsibilities of a consumer. Hence, this article functions to disclose the basic responsibilities and principles for consumers.

Before knowing our responsibility as consumers, consumers must first understand our

role and the rights that we have. According to U. S. President John F. Kennedy in 1962,

consumers by definition includes ‘us all’ and that ‘they are the largest economic group,

affecting and affected by almost every public and private economic decision’. Consumers

International (CI) has also listed eight basic consumer rights, which inspired and defined

much of their work in recent years:

1. The right to satisfaction of basic needs – consumers are entitled to

basic needs such as adequate amount of food, clothing, shelter, health,

care, education, public utilities, water and sanitation.

2. The right to safety – consumers are protected against products or items

that may be hazardous to their health or life.

3. The right to be informed – consumers are entitled to be given enough

facts on items before purchase and to be protected against misleading or

false advertising.

4. The right to be heard – consumer interest represented in the making

and execution of government policy, and in development of products and

services.

5. The right to redress – consumers are entitled to fair settlements on

claims and compensations.

6. The right to choose – consumers are entitled to select a range of

products or services, offered at competitive prices with an assurance of

satisfactory quality.

7. The right to consumer education – consumers are entitled to

knowledge and skills to make informed, confident choices about goods

and services, and being aware of the rights and responsibilities they

have.

8. The right to a healthy environment – consumers are entitled to an

environment that is not threatening for the present and future

generations.

The desire to know the rights every consumer have, would eventually instill

responsibility as a consumer among us all. So as consumers, what can we do? Here are five simple steps that were listed by CI, that can be taken to fulfill our responsibilities as

consumers:

Critical awareness

As consumers, we must first be aware that it is alright to question. Questioning plays

a major role in knowing more about the provision of the goods and services. Simple

questions such as ‘What can this product do?’, ‘Is it safe?’, ‘Is it hazardous?’ ‘Would I get a

warranty or replacement if it is faulty?’, are one of those examples that can guide and assure consumers that they get the best value of what they are purchasing.

Besides questioning about the product, questioning ourselves such as ‘Do you really

need this product?’, ‘For how long would you like to use it?’, ‘Will it last long?’, is important

as it avoids unnecessary consumption.

Involvement or action

As consumers, we must be proactive and act out to ensure that we get a reasonable

deal. Often, consumers belittle the effect that their actions can bring forth. As consumers, we need to realize that even the smallest complaints we make, official or on the merchant’s social media page as is the norm nowadays, might cause a ripple effect that can potentially benefit fellow consumers like us and raise the issue to a higher level. What we might think as an ‘unimportant’, ‘tedious’ and even ‘mafan’ can spark a series of action beyond our comprehension. We must be responsible in our own involvement to voice out and ask for any clarification about the product or service we are about to spend our hard earn money on. It is not merely a privilege; it is a right.

It is not the service provider or the government’s duty to provide a detailed

information but it is the role of the consumer to make an effort to inform himself or herself of the product or service. An example taken from Consumer Voice states that, if a consumer were to purchased a health product, it will be good if the consumer finds out about the possible side-effects of consumption, caution in regards to his or her eating habits, diet and physical exercise, would help consumers take full advantage of the product.

Social responsibility

Certain decisions consumers make will have an impact on other citizens and also to

the economic and social realities around us. We are social creatures, whether we like it or not,and word by mouth is the most effective way a reputation spreads. As of late, we are long past the days where companies could get away with shady and unscrupulous practices. Thanks to technology and social media, consumers are given back their voice to spread the word about merchants they find good and bad. Dissatisfied consumers who feel they are stiffed by large companies about their unsavoury experiences now have a platform to express their discontent, and many would argue that social pressure, via social media might prove to an equal or more threatening force than pressures applied through legal action. Dishonest companies are force to recognized the power each individual consumer holds, especially when each consumer fulfills their social responsibility and raise concerns when the quality of service or product is not up to par.

However beneficial the power of social pressure may be for us consumers, merchants

and suppliers can benefit from this platform too. Honest and responsible companies that carry out ethical practices can find themselves suddenly thrown into the spotlight as an extremely impressed customer find the need to share the wonderful experiences to others. New customers will be drawn to good companies likes bees to flowers as word spreads where everyone would recommend the best to our loved ones. When supporting a company or brand, consumers would be more than willing to extend their support by both mentary means and by recognition. This effect brought on by everyone fulfilling their social responsibilities as consumers, enables merchants and companies to be filtered by the quality of their services, and the beliefs they embody. After all, everyone has different beliefs and principles they feel strongly for, such as against animal cruelty and eco-friendly beliefs. Social awareness allows us to support what we believe in. It is our duty and responsibility to ourselves and to each other.

Ecological responsibility

Besides impact to the social and economic realities around us, consumer decisions

play a vital role towards our physical environment. Being consumers, we should understand the environmental consequences of our consumptions and to protect Earth for the future generations. Conservation of the environment is something that can’t be forced on consumers but a consumer can choose to decide whether to reduce consumption, choose environment-friendly alternatives and conserve energy.

One of the biggest problems related to environment nowadays, is the amount of waste

generated from non-biodegradable products such as plastic, paper, disposable batteries,

nappies, cans etc.. Hence, consumers need to be accountable for their consumption usage and practice good environmental management such as the 4R (Reduce, Recycle, Refuse and Reuse).

Another way to promote conservation of the environment, is to purchase items that

are eco-friendly. Eco-friendly products are products that abide to the environmental standards and the amount of damage it can cause towards the environment are minimal compared to non-biodegradable products.

Solidarity

Efforts to instill consumer responsibility can be most effective through cooperative

efforts with the establishment of Connect Groups. In these small groups, citizens are able to combine their strength and influence one another to give attention to consumer

responsibilities. Consumers would find it comfortable over time to share their problems with one another and this opens up to opportunities for others to influence one another to take the next step.

For example, Connect Groups may be important for cases that involves predatory

lending. Debt collectors can make life difficult by making frequent calls to the consumer and his or her working place, or to his or her family. This will eventually demoralize the

consumer and cause him or her to be out of soughts in this situation. In Connect Groups,

fellow consumers can lean in to encourage and support their fellow consumer to take the right step to handle this abusive matter as abusive acts shown by debt collectors are considered violation of consumer rights in various countries.

Consumer rights and responsibilities are linked to one another. Without showing

responsibilities, consumers would not be able to enjoy the rights that are set to protect them.