Exploitation of Consumers in India
Some of the malpractices /problems faced by consumers faced in India are:
1. Adulteration
Means adding something inferior to the product being sold generally followed in the case of cereals, spices, tea leaves, edible oil, petrol, etc. Sometimes, the inferior material used with the product may be injurious to health.
2. Sale of spurious products
Means selling something of no/less value instead of the real product e.g. in the case of medicines and drugs or health care products.
3. Use of false weights and measures
Some traders make use of false weights and measures while selling the goods like in case of vegetables, cereals, sugar, etc. and textile fabrics, suit pieces, are sometimes found to be less than the actual weight or length. False weights and false markings are used for the purpose.
4. Sale of duplicates
Goods like washing soap, detergent powders, tube lights, jams, edible oil, even medicines, carry well known brand names although these are made by others.
5. Hoarding and black-marketing
When stocks of some essential commodities are intentionally held back to create an artificial scarcity, to push up the prices and selling those goods, secretly at a higher price.
6. Tie-in-Sales:
Sometimes buyers are required to buy some other goods as a per-condition to sale e.g. with new gas connections, the sale of gas stoves.
7. Offering gifts having no additional value
Generally gifts are offered after the price of the product on sale has been increased.
8. Misleading advertisement
Sometimes false advertisements claim the product or service to be of superior quality, than actually it is. Many face whitening creams have the same slogan of making the skin white, but actually they don’t.