Que : 235. Write four points about consumer exploitation.
Answer:
The consumers are exploited in the following ways:
1. High prices : Generally,
the shopkeepers take more price than the fixed retail price according to their
own wish. You might also have experienced that we buy a costly commodity from a
shop and the same goods is in less price in another shop. If we show him the
printed price then he gives us some excuse such as-local tax etc.
2. Inferior quality : Some
times the purchased goods are of lower quality for example medicine sold after
its expiry date, sometimes electronic devices either burn itself or burn the
consumers through electric current. In this way the consumer is cheated and
exploited.
3. Adulteration and impurity : Adulteration
mean mixing of some cheaper material in a quality commodity. This cause harm to
health of consumers. White stone chips mixed with rice, colour in spices,
khesari in tur pulse, mixing of harmful substance in other costly items as ghee,
oil etc. So as to earn more profit. Sometimes people develop disability of hands
and legs due to consumption of adulterated food.
4. False or incomplete information : Many
times producers and sellers provide wrong and incomplete information to the
customers. Due to this, customers are trapped by purchasing wrong items and
their money gets wasted. The correct and complete information about the goods is
not given to the consumers regarding the price, quality, expiry date, impact on
environment, concitions of purchasing the goods.
5. Artificial scarcity, black marketing and hoarding : Sometimes
at the time of festivals etc., the traders in order to earn undue profit create
an artificial scarcity of goods through hoarding and then by black marketing,
they charge higher prices. Kerosene oil, sugar, etc. are such goods for which
the sellers show scarcity and take high prices.
6. Wrong measurement: The
sellers do so many mischievous in weighing and measuring goods for example to
make the bottom of weight hollow, use of stone instead magnet under the pans of
balance etc.
7. After sales service : The
customers are attracted in many ways and several attractive post sale services
are offered to them until he buys the product, but after the sale of goods the
post sale services are not provided in proper time the problems of the consumers
are not heard. As a result the consumer becomes harassed.