Awareness of Consumer Protection Act in India: A Theoretical Perspective

Abstract

Consumer is considered as the king of market and every product or service provider makes an effort to grab their attention and attract them to use their products and services. Consumers are usually disorganized, ignorant and possess very weak bargaining power and are not professional buyers. Mostly they are not competent enough to protect their interest and on other hand sellers are highly professionals and tend to portray their respective products or services as the best in market, irrespective of default. Consumers fail to understand all these unethical practices and are often befooled by them. So, to safeguard consumer interests and resolve grievances between consumer and seller, the “Consumer Protection Act” was enacted by the Government of India to provide a simpler and quicker access to redressal of consumer grievances. This act provides information regarding consumers rights and responsibilities, actions to be taken in case of any disputes with sellers, both online as well as offline sellers included in it, strict action can be taken against defaulted party, etc. But this act could only be successful if consumers are aware of this act and other laws made by the government for their benefits. This study considered the theoretical perspective and analyzed the “Awareness of Consumer Protection Act in India”. It was observed that mostly consumers are not aware of act and does not report any complaint against the seller.