The agenda of consumer protection is extensive. The task is not only to make consumers aware of their rights and responsibilities but also to ensure that their genuine grievances are properly redressed. Merely protecting consumers legally by implementing various laws cannot fulfill the task of consumer protection. Consumers also have to be organized, protecting their interests and promoting consumer protection
Consumer protection forums have to be established at various levels to provide Business units are also getting involved in the task of customer protection realizing its importance. Business units are also seen making sincere efforts to maximize customer satisfaction and protect customers against fraud.
(A) Importance of Consumer Protection from the View Point of Business:
(1) Use of society’s resources: When any business uses society’s resources for its establishment and development, the business has an obligation to provide products or services to society that are useful to society and increase the well-being of society’s resources. Become a doer.
(2) Social Responsibility : It has been proved that business has social responsibility towards various groups having interest in the business. Income in business is generated through sales; And sales are made to customers. Thus customers are also an important stakeholder group in business. As with other interest groups, responsibilities to customers must also be faithfully fulfilled by the business unit.
(3) A part of society : Any business is a part of society. Every trader becomes a customer of another trader in another economic transaction. If consumer exploitation is inevitable then everyone is destined to be exploited. Therefore, every business should adopt a policy of increasing customer confidence in its business and avoid customer exploitation.
(4) Impact on society: Business has an impact on society. Advertising has an effect on the habits, habits, housing, ideology, food and drink matters, ways of wearing clothes etc. of the people of the society. It is for this reason that the moral responsibility of keeping the business policy right in the interests of the society is justified.
(5) Business Interest in Protection of Consumers: Business units have come to consider protection of consumer interests as essential for realizing their own business interests. A basic condition of a competitive market is that the business reaches out to customers, knowing their wants or needs. If a manufacturer does not accept this, consumers will buy from their competitors. Thus, it is in the interest of the business to protect the consumer and proceed in business according to what the manufacturer perceives to be his wish or demand. A satisfied customer not only repurchases but also informs various social groups associated with him of his satisfaction with the product or service which attracts more new customers to Pampa.
(6) Principle of Trusteeship and Consumer Protection: According to the principle of guardianship (Trusteeship) of Gandhiji, the wealth given to him by the society should be used for the individuals of the society. Gandhi says for customers. That “the customer is the most important person in a business. It does not depend on us (entrepreneurs), but we depend on them. It does not interfere with our work but it is the purpose of our work. He is not an outsider of our business but a part of it. We don’t do him a favor by giving him what he wants, but he does us a favor by giving us the opportunity to do so.”
B) Importance of Consumer Protection from the View Point of Consumer:
(1) Widespread Exploitation of Consumers : Business units are seen trying to gain more profits by exploiting consumers through unethical and exploitative policies like unsafe products, adulteration, false and misleading advertisements, black market, hoarding. It becomes imperative to protect consumers against such wrong and unreasonable policies of business entities.
(2) Lack of information to consumers : Consumers are not aware of their rights and reliefs available under the law or know but hesitate to take such steps because they are not well informed or misinformed about the legal process in this regard. It is very important to make consumers aware of their rights and at the same time to reach them correct information about the reliefs available under the law and the legal process required for the same.
(3) Unorganized Consumers : The consumer as an individual may be weakly protected but many consumers can organize themselves and protect their interests very well through their own consumer protection unit. Even in India such consumer protection organizations are functioning but till these consumer protection organizations are very strong it is very necessary to protect the consumers by law.
