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Ball
in consumers' court forum Rural
chicaneries Not many
alternatives NGOs
Right
to complain The
million-dollar question
Editorial For too long did public
interest litigation mean for us a colourful news item usually Back home was, of course, another world. The company or the state could not be sued, no matter what. The best, or the worst, of consumer activism we usually read about was again in the national dailies. Residents of a locality, deprived of electricity or water or gas for hours or even days, came out and protested in the streets and sometimes burnt the concerned offices. Isolated incidents... Very rare too. Meanwhile, the service delivery remained poor, rather became worse. The products or goods were shoddy, expired or damaging for health. The prices rose without a solid reason. Yet we remained silent as consumers. We remained ignorant of the reality next door where consumer rights were being recognised and actions taken duly. At a time when the debate about consumer rights appears to have just begun in this country, India boasts of about 2000 consumer courts providing relief to 0.5 million consumers annually and disposing off cases in a month's time. We too now have functioning consumer courts in eleven districts (out of 35) of one province i.e. Punjab. These courts started functioning exactly six months back, in February this year. As a matter of fact Punjab was the last of the three provinces to have adopted legislation on protection of consumer rights -- NWFP did so as early as 1996, Balochistan in 2003 and Punjab in 2005. Sindh is yet to table the legislation in the assembly. Some go to the extent of saying that it's the corporate sector that is preventing that from happening in Sindh. This, we thought, was an apt time to recollect where we stand as consumers. The courts in Punjab have entertained about 150 applications so far. The consumers do not even know these courts exist. The mandate of these courts is likely to expand as they continue to function. Set up as part of ADB funded Access to Justice Programme, this is only as much as these courts can do. And that's not a bad start either. But there are so many issues the consumers may have to resolve themselves. Such as price hike. The consumers would need to get together and organise themselves as pressure groups to prevent that. The ball is now in consumer's court. After missing several deadlines, consumer courts have started working, though in selected districts of Punjab province only By Shahzada Irfan Ahmed 'Buyer is the king' is the
first lesson that marketing professionals are taught in the leading Unfortunately, in Pakistan, the situation is otherwise. Since the very birth of the country, manufacturers of various products, service providers and state-owned utility organisations are exploiting the people to the maximum. Despite repeated claims to control the situation, the government has failed to improve the quality of life of its people. On the other hand, manufacturers of sub-standard products and inferior quality services have seen their bank accounts swell to new volumes every day. In these grim circumstances, the establishment of 11 consumer courts at district level in Punjab province is not less than a blessing for the hapless consumers. Envisaged under the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-funded Access to Justice Programme (AJP), these consumer courts as well as provincial and district consumer protection councils should have been established all over the country long ago. The said courts were established in February 2007 under the provisions of Punjab Consumer Protection Act 2005 with the mandate to provide instant relief to aggrieved consumers. The cases at consumer courts are supposed to be heard by Additional or District Session judges. Any consumer with a complaint can approach a consumer court free of cost and demand unlimited damages. The court is bound under the law to hold summary proceedings and decide cases within six months. Shahid Chaudhry Advocate, a Lahore-based lawyer, tells TNS that as per the Act a consumer is a person or entity who buys or obtains on lease any product for a consideration and includes any user of such product but does not include a person who obtains any product for resale or for any commercial purpose. Consumer, he says, is also a person who hires any services for a consideration and includes any beneficiary of such services. Defining 'services', he says, under the Act this term includes provision of any kind of facilities or advice or assistance such as provision of medical, legal or engineering services. The rendering of any service under a contract of personal service, non-professional services like astrology or palmistry or a service "the essence of which is to deliver judgment by a court of law or arbitrator" do not fall under the purview of services, he adds. Shahid says that ordinary consumers never before have had access to such an effective forum. But this does not mean that the genuine interests of manufacturers and service providers will not be watched. The same Act says, "Where the consumer has not suffered any damage from the product except the loss of utility, the manufacturer shall not be liable for any damages except a return of the consideration or a part thereof and the costs." He says there is also a provision in the Act to punish those consumers who frame frivolous charges against defendants. Here he cites section 35 of the Act which says: "Where a claim is found to be frivolous or vexatious, the Consumer Court shall dismiss the claim and impose fine on the claimant up to an amount not exceeding ten thousand rupees for having willfully instituted a false claim and shall award appropriate compensation to the defendant from the amount of fine so realised." As per Punjab government's claims, the consumer courts will be established in remaining districts of the province shortly. While Punjab has taken a lead in this respect, the situation in the other three provinces is not satisfactory. Despite having consumer protection laws in place, Balochistan and NWFP provinces have failed in setting up consumer courts for various reasons. Sindh, on the other hand, has yet to table draft law on consumer protection in the assembly. The Punjab Consumer Protection Act 2005 also frames a code of conduct for manufacturers of products. Defining obligations of manufactures, the Act says that they (the manufacturers) are supposed to exhibit prices at business places or make available a price catalogue to the customers. Besides, every manufacturer or trader who sells any goods shall issue to the purchaser a receipt showing the date of sale, description of goods sold, the quantity and price of the goods, and the name and address of the seller. Return and refund policy of a seller shall also be disclosed to the buyer clearly before the transaction is completed by means of a sign at the point of purchase. Asif Nazir, Registrar Consumer Court, Lahore, tells TNS that the Section 28 of the Act gives parties a chance to reach a settlement before hearing of the case begins. He says that an aggrieved consumer has to serve a 15-day notice to manufacturer or provider of services that a product or service is defective or faulty. If a remedy is provided, the case can be withdrawn, and vice versa, he adds He further says that a complaint, accompanied by a copy of the national ID card of the complainant, can be sent directly to the consumer court or through the District Coordination Officer (DCO) of the district concerned. The DCO or some other official notified by the government heads the district consumer council. Such official can himself hear consumers' complaints and impose fine up to Rs 50,000 on violators of consumers' rights if they are found guilty. Where a defendant or the claimant fails or omits to comply with any order made by the consumer court, such defendant or claimant shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term not less than one month which may extend to three years, or with fine not less than Rs 5,000 which may extend to Rs 20,000 or with both. About the type of cases entertained in Lahore so far he says the highest number of cases were registered against manufacturers of electrical appliances followed by those against CNG rickshaws being given under Punjab government's self-employment scheme. The complainants grievance is that these rickshaws are highly sub-standard, he adds. He says the court has made manufacturers in some cases compensate the buyers of electrical appliances and issued notices to Motor Vehicle Examiner, Punjab Small Industries Department, and others in CNG rickshaws. There are cases even against a tyre manufacturer, a dentist, banks imposing hidden charges on consumers, paint manufacturers, and so on. Many providers of educational, transportation, and mobile phone services are likely to be proceeded against soon, he says. Nadeem Irshad Kayani, Director Punjab Consumer Protection Council, tells TNS that as of July 31, 2007, 107 cases had been registered with the consumer court of which 46 had been decided. He says according to a safe though unconfirmed estimate, the number of registered cases rose to 126 by the end of August 2007, of which 50 had been decided. Kayani says though these courts have been there for the last six months, very few people are aware of their existence. He says there is dire need to increase awareness about them among the masses. The council plans to hold an orientation session for the media personnel soon so that they can convey it to the consumers that they have a very potent forum for redressal of their problems.
Lack of awareness coupled with low purchasing capacity has put the rural consumer in a very vulnerable situation By Hamid Waleed The rural consumer, as a matter of fact, is the worst hit by the prevailing situation. Lack of awareness coupled with low purchasing capacity has put the rural consumers in a very vulnerable situation. It is either quality, quantity, or timely delivery of the product, the rural consumer has no say in all these counts. He is simply left blaming karma for any untoward situation arising out of the denial of these rights. A conservative estimate suggests that a total of 110 million Pakistanis, about 80 per cent of the total population, live in villages, towns and rural areas. This huge segment of the country's population is utilising everything of daily use -- right from food, drinking water, medicines and education to agricultural inputs and machinery -- but they are the worst hit by the shortage of any of above-mentioned products and they have no option but to compromise with the situation. Experts on rural economy make the point that the rural population purchases about Rs100 billion fertilizers, Rs15 billion pesticides, Rs12 billion seeds, Rs30 billion tractors and Rs5 billion other agricultural implements annually. But no effective organ of the state is there to check the quantity and quality of products like fertilizers, pesticides and seed, and also the monopoly of a few groups in the case of tractors and other agricultural implements. "There is literally no check on quality, quantity, and timely delivery of these essential items of rural economy," says Ibrahim Mughal, Chairman Agri Forum Pakistan, talking to TNS. According to him, all this happens in a situation where the farming community produces food products worth Rs1230 billion annually and it includes wheat, rice, sugar, ghee, vegetables, and fruits. "The poor farmer commonly satisfies himself by blaming his fate whenever his crop is destroyed by the use of substandard fertilizer, pesticide or seed," he adds. In the recent past, another phenomenon -- that of the shortage of tractors -- also emerged on the rural scene, especially while the urban economy was faced with a shortage of the four-wheeler because of the price factor. For the first time in the history of Pakistan, the farmers were not only denied a timely delivery but the investors were also forced to pay on-price against their booking for the delivery of the tractors. "Farmers deposit Rs600,000 for a tractor and they are asked to wait for six months," Ibrahim continues, "The story does not end here. They inform that the buyer would have to pay another Rs40, 000 for delivery within six months otherwise they can go to the open market and purchase a tractor after paying the on-price that ranges between Rs80, 000 and Rs100, 000." There are unlimited cases of swindling the rural consumer. A simple retail shop in an ordinary village is the hub of all sorts of trade possible at a given time. For instance, a simple karyana shop will also be functioning as a medical store and even a petrol pump and a book store at a certain point of time, and the consumers are happy as long as they get what they are looking for. Quality of the product is not a concern here. In other words, one can find any substandard product at a village shop. Hosiery items, pulses, rice, sugar, ghee, cigarette, medicine, cosmetics, beverages, juices, stationary, plastic utensils, shoes -- you name it. Again, quality is never guaranteed and, surprisingly, it's not an issue either. "You should expect fake currency notes, substandard mobile oil, medicines and injections when going to a village shop," says Riasat Ali, a resident of Sharaqpur, a village adjacent to Lahore. "Even the liquor easily available to the rural youth is very bad for health, and reports of casualties appearing in local newspapers are a common phenomenon." Mohammed Karim, another villager, is quick to point out that any soft beverage bottle bought from a local shop is most likely to give you a sore throat. Therefore, the villagers prefer 'Tha Kola', which is processed by the local vendor 'in front of our eyes'." Since Bata -- a popular shoe brand -- has made inroads into the rural culture, the shopkeepers fleece the customers by selling them 'Bala' instead. Chilli powder adulterated with brick pieces and chlorine-mixed sugar are other products 'developed' locally that are openly available to the rural folk absolutely unchecked. The managers of entertainment events are also involved in a chicanery of another kind. Not only do they serve up 'Lucky Dear Circus', obviously cashing in on the famous 'Lucky Irani Circus', they also commonly make do with players who disguise themselves as animals, instead of getting the real animals themselves. It is thanks to the very common use of substandard and hazardous products that a majority of Villagers -- young and old alike -- is exposed to diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, and other ailments related to lungs and heart. Some analysts point out that the low buying capacity of the villagers is the root-cause of the whole problem, while others attribute this to a lack of general awareness and information among the gullible, illiterate locals. According to this latter group, the villagers ask for substandard products and they are not willing to pay a higher price for a quality product. "Good quality chili is available at Rs120 per kg, but the villagers would prefer substandard chili available at Rs60 per kg any day," declares Shahid Mehmood, a shopkeeper. A few circles also believe that the influential villagers, including waderas and jagirdars, are responsible for the situation. Most of these feudals are settled in big cities and visit their villages for business purposes only. "When a wadera is visiting his village, he makes sure that he has got a sufficient stock of cigarettes with him, because he knows that the local shops will be selling fake brands only," says Asif Khurshid, resident of a village close to Chichawatni. Social scientists and experts on rural economy are of the view that the government should set up special committees at the union council levels to check the menace of poor quality and fake products. Similarly, they add, the related government department should tighten its monitoring noose around officials dealing in fertilizers, pesticides and seed. Representatives from departments like quality assurance, insurance, banks, and agriculture inputs should be placed under one roof at the union council levels and given the task of monitoring products on sale in villages, as the absence of any such arrangement would expose the rural population to various diseases, including flu and cough (which are already very common). Consumer related organisations should also look into this most ignored segment of the society.
Ordinary consumer in Pakistan has always had an option to file complaints against the sale of substandard products to them, the provision of unsatisfactory services and any other excesses at the hands of businesses they deal with. They can approach in-house complaint handling departments set up by various organisations, plead their cases in front of regulators, go to the Ombudsman's office or file suits at civil courts. Though all these fora promise instant relief to the aggrieved parties, the common experience tells a different tale altogether. Consumers are of the view that in-house complaint handling departments always look after the interest of their department whereas the regulatory bodies lack the power and the will to bring violators of consumers' right to book. Quite interestingly, a Cabinet Committee on Regulatory Bodies (CCRB) was formed in 2005 to review the performance of regulatory bodies on a regular basis but it could not deliver. Raza Karim, a Lahore-based lawyer says that regulatory bodies such as Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA), National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) and Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) have hardly given any landmark decision. Their track record shows that these bodies are hardly effective and powerful enough to enforce their writ, he says. Can anybody deny the fact that NEPRA and OGRA have always vindicated the stance of the government and approved the rise in prices of electricity and gas, Raza adds. Talking about PTA, he says that the body imposed a fine on just one cellular phone company (Mobilink) and never dared to repeat the act. "In fact, the problem is that regulators have no option but to protect foreign investors at the cost of local consumers," Raza complains. Similarly, the in-house complaint handling systems have hardly succeeded in accommodating dissatisfied consumers. Though there are organisations and outlets that believe what the consumers say, most of them see the complaints with suspicion. Even if you take a receipt with the defective product to the seller, he would make it a point to prove that the said product was purchased from somewhere else. Atif Khan, a Karachi-based consumer, says that it is foolish to approach these in-house departments especially if they belong to the utility service provider. He tells TNS that when he filed a complaint regarding over-billing with Karachi Electric Supply Corporation (KESC), he was asked to pay the full amount instantly and then appear before the relevant authority. In case he couldn't, the electricity supply at his house would be severed. What type of consumer facilitation is this, he asks, adding that he knows a lot of poor people who had to live without electricity for months because of this strange logic. Intezar Mehdi, a Lahore-based advocate tells TNS that the offices of federal, provincial, and banking ombudsman and civil courts are fora in which people have great confidence. But, the problem is that the mandate of ombudsman's office is quite exhaustive whereas legal battles in civil courts cost complainants hefty amounts of money and time. The case load at both these institutions is too high. On the other hand, the consumer courts exclusively entertain complaints of consumers free of cost and decide cases within six months. A disgruntled consumer can ask for unlimited damages without paying any extra court fee, though it is the court that has to make the final decision. Nadeem Irshad Kayani, Director Punjab Consumer Protection Council, tells TNS it's true that there are grey areas that have to be seen. "In the presence of the alternative fora, one must see which cases have to be filed with consumer courts and which ones with some other forum. I think if someone has a complaint with a metre reader guilty of recording wrong readings, his superior officials should be approached first. If the problem persists, he has all the right in the world to approach the consumer court for redressal of his problem as well as recovery of damages, Kayani adds. --
Shahzada Irfan Ahmed
Despite some good work by a few organisations, Pakistan lags behind other developing countries By Mustafa Nazir Ahmad Protection of consumer
rights is a relatively new concept in Pakistan, even though the Compared with this, the situation in the rest of the world -- particularly developed countries -- is very different. Not only are hundreds of NGOs and civil society groups working very actively, but governments, the judiciary, and the media also encourage and support their activities by introducing and/or promoting strict consumer protection laws. Even in the neighbouring India, consumer protection is considered to be a serious business and related laws were implemented way back in 1986 -- currently, more than 5,000 consumer protection organisations are operating throughout the country. Also, there are more than 2,000 consumer courts in India that deal with approximately 0.5 million complaints annually and provide speedy justice within 30 days. TNS conducted interviews with representatives of three consumer protection organisations in order to solicit their views on recent efforts by the government to provide fora to consumers for redress of their complaints. An attempt was also made to explore the possible hindrances in the way of protecting consumer rights in Pakistan. "The biggest hindrance is the political will, lack of consumer activism, and the demand from consumers for quality and standards," remarked A Hamid Maker, chairman of the Karachi-based Helpline Trust. He believed that "the worst enemy of consumers in Pakistan are the consumers themselves, as they are neither aware of their rights nor do they demand quality products and services." Aptly, two of the most widely used slogans of the Helpline Trust are 'Jago Sarif Jago!' (Wake up consumers!) and 'Jago Shehri Jago' (Wake up citizens!). Maker said that due to the lack of proper consumer protection laws, and lax enforcement of the existing food and drug laws, Pakistan has become a dumping ground for substandard, counterfeit and look-alike products. "As there is no accountability mechanism or legal checks, the gullible citizens are being misled by glossy and misleading advertisements," he regretted. The Helpline Trust chairman came down hard on provincial legislators for not ratifying the Sindh Consumer Protection Ordinance 2007, which had been prepared by a committee of experts after examining and studying consumer laws in South Asia, despite being signed by Sindh Governor Ishratul Ibad. As the ordinance was not presented in the Sindh Assembly for enactment as a law, it has already lapsed thrice. He also stressed that the consumers who complain about sub-standard, spurious and adulterated products and services need to play their due role: "The situation can be changed only by consumers themselves, but for this they would have to understand their rights and responsibilities and shake off their apathy." Abrar Hafeez, secretary-general of the Islamabad-based CRCP, lamented that the people of Pakistan were not aware of the pertinent legislation and statutes on consumer protection, whereby they could have recourse to redress mechanisms in case of complaints. "Traditionally, the consumer in Pakistan has been very weak -- a vulnerable entity exposed to manipulation of powerful market forces and service providers. There is no end when one comes to count the problems facing consumers. Arbitrary price hikes, unchecked supply of spurious and hazardous products, poor quality of services, contaminated and unsafe food items, defective products, and unavailability of desired information are some of the problems a Pakistani consumer is faced with. On top of it, getting redress of a grievance is almost next to impossible despite the presence of a number of consumer protection laws," he said. Commenting on the setting up of consumer protection courts in 11 districts of Punjab, Hafeez stated: "This development has raised the hope that an effective grievance-redress mechanism will be in place, but the problem is that very few people know about the very existence of these courts. Similarly, the level of awareness about consumer protection laws is very low. This requires attention of the government at two levels: first, the rules of business should be notified without further delay; and second, a mass awareness campaign should be launched to impart awareness to consumers about these laws." The CRCP secretary-general also criticised the setting up of consumer courts in only 11 out of 35 districts of Punjab, as "this selected implementation of already delayed legislation will be tantamount to denying consumer rights to nearly half of the province's population." He further said the claimant was required to deposit fee for payment to laboratory to carry out the necessary tests. "The paid fee shall be payable by the defendant to the claimant only after the tests support the version of the claimant. This is an extra burden on consumers and will always discourage the filing of claims by them. No fee of any kind should be charged for the disposal of consumer complaints," Hafeez suggested. He also believed that the time period -- six months -- set for the consumer courts to decide cases was too long. Dr Talib Lashari, executive coordinator of the Network for Consumer Protection, said that consumers could be affected by goods, services and policies, both in the private and the public sector. He believed that there was a need to trigger a debate on the issue of consumer rights, in line with the UN guidelines in this regard. Dr Lashari viewed that lax implementation of existing laws was the major hindrance in the way of ensuring consumer rights in Pakistan. He informed that problems of urban consumers mostly related to electronic appliances, while those of rural consumers to expired items and spurious products.
By Aziz Omar Come one, come all. Fantastic onetime offer! Free free free. Don't miss it! These seem to be the most oft-used catchphrases to lure consumers everywhere into availing the services of this or that company. Eager to partake of the untold riches that await them, the spending folk reach for their phones, fish out their wallets, and attempt to acquire their promised blessings at the very first opportunity. Little do they suspect that the bait that they have so enthusiastically taken conceals the bitter taste of despair. A prominent multinational bank has been actively promoting its co-brand MasterCard in collaboration with a popular budget airline. It captivates the end-user's attention by promising them an opportunity to holiday in Manchester. All they have to do to materialise this is to rack up certain miles (or points) that will be awarded against every Rs 50 that they spend through their designated Credit Card. Other goodies in the bag come in the form of exclusive treatment at airports, preferential treatment in baggage handling, and flight check-in. However, upon contacting an odd representative of the bank in question, it was learnt that one will have to spend a small fortune amount of about Rs2.3 million to bag 46,000 special miles that can be converted into an economy class return ticket to the UK destination. The reward of even a domestic return ticket demands a spending bill of Rs 6 lac that awards 12,000 of the magic miles. So, with regards to the afore-mentioned scheme, a consumer who posses the specific Credit Card to begin with may assume that if he or she spends around, say, Rs 15,000 every month, they will finally be able to get the domestic return ticket in 40 months. Now, according to another representative of the partner airline, another hope-smashing catch surfaces. After all the eager spending and mile-piling, the bubble of anticipation will burst after three years. All the special redeemable points will expire after 36 months, so one may either have to up their spending to around Rs 17,000 or settle for a one-way domestic ticket. Ali, who is a student of Warrick University and is interning in a local NGO shares a similar experience of the Frequent Flyer package of the national flag carrier airlines. "Those Frequent Flyer miles that one is expectantly gathering all go down the drain after three years." With regards to other instances of concealed conditions or hidden hassles, he recalls the scheme of some local five-star hotels that promise a free night's stay upon spending from a special discount card. "There are only certain rooms that you can stay in and also if they are available." Another frequent complaint of inadvertently ending up paying more is in supermarket purchases. The support staff often lags behind in altering the price tags on the designated racks when they restock them and so the price mentioned might not be applicable at all. "I have often picked up an item such as a can of deodorant or a tube of toothpaste based on the apparent reasonable price mentioned. But, it has so turned out that upon reviewing the receipt, I detected that the actual price was more than what I had been led to believe," recounts Adeel. Many people never bother to check the receipts and so inadvertently compromise their budget consciousness. Cellular companies have been incessantly harping about free airtime, lowest call rates, unlimited calls between certain hours and the usual perk of the chance of winning a ticket to an exotic destination. Now all of these facilities typically entail expiry of a day, week or a month, or designated numbers of 'friends and family' or the ones of the same network. Most of the low call rates of 40 paisa or a rupee are exclusive of a fifteen percent GST besides being valid when the aforementioned conditions are met.
The problems of consumers have aggravated, thanks to a weak regulatory structure and a poor implementation of social laws By Aoun Sahi It is a well recognised
fact that there is a lack of awareness among consumers about their The problems for consumers have only aggravated, thanks to a weak regulatory structure in the country and a poor implementation of social laws. Last week, Iqbal Haider, 25, was spotted exchanging hot words with the owner of a medical store in Garri Shahu, Lahore. Apparently, Iqbal had purchased some medicines from the shop but later found that they were outdated. The shop owner was constantly denying any such probability, and demanding the receipt. The poor customer seemed to have lost the receipt. Later, Iqbal spoke to TNS about his state of helplessness. "It's right that the store owner gave me a receipt which I lost, but even if I had produced it in front of him, it wouldn't have helped matters because it was on a plain paper that didn't carry the name of the store." Iqbal said that the only reason why he had gone there was because it was a convenience store. A private firm employee, Iqbal didn't seem to know if there existed any forums for consumers where they could register their complaints. Though, he asked, "It wouldn't make much difference, would it?" According to Iqbal, he is forced to feed his family with the available milk which is 'not pure'; but he has no other option. The situation is no different in the transportation sector. "The consumer is offered the worst possible service, and yet if you raise your voice, you are told to shut up because 'nobody sent you the invitation to use our service!'" It is taken for granted that the consumers generally do not lodge their complaints, accepting the violation of their rights as well as whatever losses they incur. Worse still, even if they do follow up, their complaints aren't met with a favourable response. Shahid Ali, a lay man queued at a counter in the SNGPL customer service centre, told TNS that most consumers had been billed incorrectly due basically to metre readers. "As a general practice, these people (the metre readers) do not bother to read metres for a good few months and later send cumulative bills to the consumers. "It's not just SNGPL, but all other utility service providers are also bent upon imposing the highest possible bills on their consumers." The poor consumer is at the receiving end of all exploitation, because the company has a monopoly over providing natural gas and knows that the consumer has no alternative service available to him. Shahid went on to add, "We've never heard of a government department taking action against any official who created problems for the consumers." For his part, the consumer, too, is not aware of the existence of any such platform as Consumer Courts. According to Shahid, "I didn't know about these courts, but even if I did, I don't think I'd want to go there for help, because it would be a futile exercise." The situation in smaller cities is equally bad, if not worse. Amjad Hussain, a resident of Mandranwal, a village in Sialkot district, told TNS that his telephone line had been out of order for well over two months, "I must have registered at least fifty complaints to the relevant (PTCL) authority, but nothing has been done about the issue so far, while I continue to receive bills." Amjad is clueless about who to complain to, next. There is a common feeling among consumers that they do not have access to any platform that could address their issues. Even today when the government has set up exclusive courts, the common consumer is loath to approach them. At present, there are consumer courts in 11 districts but they cover the whole province, for example consumer court in Lahore also covers Kasur and Shaikhupura districts. It may be mentioned here that the consumers can also put up their complaint against a product or service to a relevant DCO. Nadeem Irshad Kayani, Director Punjab Consumer Protection Council, laments the fact that the consumers are not united in their stance on the matter, "It is the consumer organisations that act as pressure groups in most countries of the world. We also need such organisations that can take care of the consumers' problems on their own." Talking to TNS, Kayani said that the job of his department is to collect data about products that are injurious to heath or services that are not up to the mark. "We collect it on the basis of complaints and also on our own. Our job is also to create awareness among the general public and to coordinate with district consumer councils in the province." According to Kayani, many of the producers are not interested in the health of their consumers, "Recently, we received complaints from consumers of diet jam by a famous company that it contained 70 per cent sugar whereas its routine jam had 72 per cent of it. They also sent us an examination report taken by a well reputed laboratory in town. We have now sent this report to another laboratory and plan to pursue the case." Kayani said that by adopting a few simple rules of shopping, the consumers could avoid a number of problems, "They (consumers) should make sure they grab a receipt with complete information of product(s) they have purchased. Besides, the receipt must also carry the complete address and contact numbers of the shop. "The consumer should check the date of expiry before purchasing a product. These little, little things will not only help them ensure a safe service, but also act as evidence against the company if they deem it necessary to lodge a complaint in a consumer court." Kayani also spoke of an awareness raising campaign that his department had planned to launch through media, "We are in contact with some prominent higher education institutions of the country and asking them to conduct research and survey on consumer issues for us. We've devised one such programme in collaboration with South Asia Partnership (SAP), an NGO that has a solid base in rural areas." The main focus of these campaigns, in Kayani's words, is going to be 'women who do most of the shopping, and the children who are the consumers of the future.'
The
million-dollar question 'Consumers' rights' is a relatively new term for most Pakistanis, and a number of goods-manufacturing and service-providing organisations setting up consumer complaint centres is an even newer phenomenon. TNS sounded out officials of different consumer service centres in the province on the utility of these centres in dealing with the kind of complaints they receive. The main purpose of the survey was to find whether or not the business concerns have any in-house arrangements to cater to the complaints of the consumers. According to Sharafat Ali, customer service officer at Haier Electronics, Lahore, the consumers are now very well aware of their rights and even if they find some problem with the product they have purchased they are not hesitant to report back. "Presently, we are receiving 30 to 40 complaint calls every day, from our customers in Lahore," he told TNS. Sharafat Ali said that the job of his department was to gather all necessary information about the product and note down the correct address of the complainant. He noted that during the warranty period, all charges for such problems were borne by the company itself. "All complaints are fixed in two days flat," he continued, "and complete data regarding the complaints about the product(s) is passed on to the concerned authorities who then have to make necessary amendments." Haider Zaman, a customer relations executive at a private bank, told TNS that his organisation had customer service executives from entry to middle and senior levels, supply chain managers, and customer relations managers, to attend the consumers' complaints. He denied charges of negligence against complaint handling departments, saying that the "calls made by customers are recorded in our Interactive Voice Recording (IVR) system along with the date and time at which they were made." According to him, the complaints may be about the imposition of excessive service charges, the application of interest rate being higher than what was decided upon at the time of signing the contract, the delay in receiving the approved product, or the imposition of late payment charges. Though there are people who double check their billed amounts, there are those who lack the ability to seek out discrepancies, if there are any. In case the decision on the complaint is not made within the stipulated time or the complaint is not forwarded to the relevant person, the IVR recording is produced before the high-ups. There have been cases, according to Haider, where people have been terminated from service for not entertaining customers' complaints properly. A mobile company's complaint handling official tells TNS that as soon as the complaints are received, he calls the customers to acknowledge and inform them that their issues will be looked into and that they will be updated on the matter. "After an issue is resolved, we contact the customer personally and send a letter acknowledging the temporary inconvenience, and also offer feedback on the complaint and the measures that were taken in this regard." There are those who beg to differ. Adnan Ahmed, a mobile phone subscriber, says that the complaint registration system is of no use if the cellular companies cannot overcome their connectivity issues and coverage problems. "You can get your billing fixed by launching a complaint and doing nothing else," he declares. -- Aoun Sahi
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appearing on the back page of our national dailies. This was the story of a
person who had won a fortune in a court battle after suing a company or state
for damages. The person claimed to have been wronged as a citizen or a
consumer. The dateline was invariably a capital of a developed country in the
West.
business schools of the world. It's because of the countless rights the
buyers, or consumers for that matter, of goods and services enjoy in many
countries that this adage seems perfect with all its connotations.
Network for Consumer Protection -- a non-governmental organisation (NGOs) --
started working in this area as early as the mid-1990s. However, the number
of consumer protection organisations has increased to only three since then,
with the addition of Consumer Rights Commission of Pakistan (CRCP) and
Consumer Protection Council (CPC) of the Helpline Trust.
legal and civic rights in Pakistan. Many factors are responsible for this
situation. In the first place, the state itself has never made any efforts to
address the issues of the common consumer. The state has, in most cases, not
protected the consumers' right to a healthy life, as guaranteed by the
Article 9 of the Constitution or even the various United Nations
declarations, including the one for Consumer Protection, 1985. Likewise, the
private sector has proved unresponsive towards complaints or to the concerns
of consumers, exploiting their lack of enough knowledge and awareness in this
regard.