Question

The rights of consumers have been violated on numerous occasions by many businesses, both in Jamaica and in the wider global space.

The Consumer Affairs Commission is one of several government agencies established to protect consumers and educate them about their rights.

Required:

Provide a robust discussion on the basic rights of a consumers and state how it can assist this group in making better decisions.                   

Answer 1

A consumer is someone who acquires goods and services for personal use, rather than for resale or use in production and manufacturing. Before the 1950s consumers had little protection against faulty goods, defective products and misleading advertising. Later a movement came into being which was called as consumerism and it began to push for rights and legal protection of consumers. Following are some of the rights consumers are assigned.

Right to Safety

Consumers are protected against injuries caused by a product other than automobiles, if they are used as prescribed. Businesses now have to adhere to certain standards, require testing and must include warning labels. In case of defective products, they are compelled to recall those at the earliest.

Right to Be Informed

Businesses need to provide consumers with the appropriate information in order to help the consumers make an informed decision regarding purchase. The information provided must be complete and true and must encompass areas like finance, advertising, packaging and labeling.

Right to Choose

The establishments have created a marketplace where a number of competitors can offer a similar kind of product or service. This helps consumers with the ability to chose and buy a variant of their choice and price point.

Right to Be Heard

Consumers can voice their complaints and concerns about a product by reporting the concerned business to authorities. Businesses can face fines, penalties or in some cases be asked to compensate the consumers in case of any violations.

Right to Satisfaction of Basic Needs

The right to have access to basic and essential goods and services like food, clothing, shelter, healthcare, education, public utilities, sanitation and water.

The Right to Redress

In the event of a consumer receiving a faulty product or service, he has the right to claim compensation from the business owner.

Right to Consumer Education

In order to make an informed decision pertaining to the purchase of goods and services, the consumer has the right to acquire the right knowledge.

Right to a Healthy Environment

The business owners have are responsible to safeguard the consumers' right to safety by providing them with an environment which is safe, secure and non-threatening in their place of business.

Ethical Consumerism

With the rise in corporate social responsibility (CSR), the notion of ethical consumerism is gaining pace. As globalization brings a multitude of people from different parts of the world together, the pressure to develop standards to protect resources, which constitute a lot of products and services is on the rise. Similarly, consumers are becoming increasingly aware about the effect of their consumption habits on the environment. This increased consciousness from both the consumers and the producers has divulged into the concept of ethical consumerism.