Latest update June 9th, 2024 12:59 AM
Feb 02, 2011 Editorial
In 1962, the 35th president of the United States, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, defined consumers as, “The largest economic group in the economy, affecting and affected by almost every public and private economic decision. But they are the only important group whose views are often not heard.”
On August 26, 1928, in a small Scottish town of Paisley just south of Glasgow, little did Ms Donoghue, a shop assistant by profession, know that the bottle of beer a friend had bought for her in a café would play a defining role in creating the most significant legal precedent in the history of civil law. Lawyers around the world would come to know it as the ‘Donoghue vs. Stevenson’ case.
The facts of this case are unfortunately still commonplace: a consumer comes across a sub-standard defective product, which in this case was a decomposing snail in the bottle.
However, what is more pivotal is the fact that the affected consumer decided to assert her right to consume a safe and quality product. The judgement in this case went on to become a watershed for the strengthening of consumer rights all over the world.
For an average Guyanese consumer, the concept of exercising his/her civil rights is alien. There is the perennial indifference in the mindsets of the consumers of commercial goods and services, which only harms their own interests. We never bother about protesting or lodging a complaint against substandard, expired, adulterated and counterfeit products/services that we so often come across in our daily lives.
The few who do take up the issue suffer from humiliation and inappropriate treatment at the hands of the offensive parties.
Each one of us will certainly have our own personalised gory encounter with a questionable product which he/she were about to devour only to be repulsed by the sight of a human hair, the unpleasant presence of a small stone or glass or for those who have been truly unlucky, the sudden discovery of a rotting ant in a pack of biscuits or crisps.
So what is it that prevents the consumers from enjoying satisfactory goods or service? What is the underlying reason behind the ineptness of the complaint redressal procedure?
Is it procrastination on the part of the government or are the consumers equally to be blamed for never trying to assert their rights in a concerted manner?
These are the questions that need to be addressed by looking at the current consumer protection laws prevalent in the country. We have laws on the books, but consumers are unaware of them, and the abuse of consumers continues unabated.
Guyana is a signatory to the UN Guidelines on Consumer Protection 1985, which initially recognised four basic consumer rights -–– satisfaction of basic needs; safety; to be informed and to choose. Later, the consumer movement gained recognition for four further consumer rights — to be heard; to redress; consumer education; a healthy environment.
It is in these latter four rights that our consumers have been hit most. The present consumer associations need bolstering.
There is also a lack of an effective redressal system which, if in place, can go a long way in changing the attitude of the commercial sector towards its consumers. We have plunged into the market economy with gusto, but have not safeguarded the interests of consumers. The political parties all approved the introduction of market mechanisms to “liberalise” the economy, but they have largely ignored the impact on the people.
People are generally unaware of their legal rights, particularly the possible legal remedies available to them in case of harm or damage.
The need of the hour is to unite all stakeholders, ensuring that the government, private sector and civil society join hands. On an organised platform, consumers and lawyers can play a very effective role in this regard.
HELP ME, HELP ME PLEASE!!!
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