Consumer rights

Thousands of people across the globe celebrated the Consumer Rights Day on March 15. The Declaration of Consumer Rights was promulgated by former US president John F Kennedy on March 15, 1962. In Pakistan the rights of consumers are being compromised every day. From cellular networks to oil marketing giants, big corporations and the government are busy in ripping off the consumer, often without any explanation. Deceptive marketing is being used as a major tool to lure the consumer in complete violation of the right to information and education. A case in point is the deduction of Rs18 for every scratch-card worth Rs100 of all cellular networks. Nowhere else in the world is such a ridiculously high price charged from consumers. The government is silent, probably because it is one of the beneficiaries! The second issue being faced by the consumer pertains to the quality of products and services offered by different companies. Lack of consistency in product quality has emerged as a major issue. Many a time sub-standard ingredients and packaging have also been observed and reported across the country. The third issue is related to the limited choices available with the consumer in Pakistan. In the absence of local-production capacity, Pakistan imports a lot of products, which are out of the reach of ordinary people and serve a niche market. The poor have no other option but to use sub-standard products. The government of Pakistan should start working on enhancing local manufacturing capacity which will enable low-income consumers to get access to better quality products. Noor Muhammad Islamabad The NEWS (March 16, 2012)