Jun 19, 2001 02:49 PM
2866 Views
I have read the reviews/advises on consumer rights. ALL excellent.. However it makes me think, are Home appliances, Telephones, Consumer goods, Electricity, etc. the only areas of fighting for, or standing up to our consumer rights?
What about Road Conditions… Motorists, two wheelers, Cabbies, all pay taxes. Should it not mean that we have a right to better roads and better driving conditions? One fine morning RTO, in the guise of recovering unpaid taxes, checking cars randomly, rounded up several cars, “confiscating” them. If RTO has the right to “confiscate” vehicles valuing far more than the unpaid tax amount(that too without any prior reminders, notices, warnings), should the motorists not be given a similar privilege should the case reverse? In developed countries, suits are filed against counties or municipal corporations(as the case may be, depending from country to country), for bad conditions of roads, and compensations are awarded to the litigant. Do we not have such laws?…we do.but, leave aside being awarded compensation, such litigations NEVER even reach any conclusion.
When introduced, the very idea of “Income Tax”was contested in a court, not only in India but in US too. The whole idea of Income tax was to collect a contribution for betterment of the country’s defense, economy, infrastructure etc. Of course IT was only an addition to all the other taxes collected. All taxes are levied for the same purpose of better living conditions, health etc. for the country’s citizens, or if levied for a particular ‘article’, providing better infrastructure to the trade, for it to flourish. Today however, in our country, there are many ‘taxes‘ or ‘levies’, such as ‘octroi’, which totally defeat the very purpose of ‘taxes’ or ‘levies’. A very very large percentage of funds collected from such ‘taxes’ or ‘levies’ go in paying salaries for the department itself, leaving very little for the purpose for which the ‘tax’ or ‘levy’ was introduced. Today, except our Prime Minister, we hear several ministers are abroad for some treatment or the other. Are we paying our taxes to pay for such unnecessary expenses? There are several ministers and ex-ministers moving around with z-security merely for satisfying their egos. Should we, the tax-payers not have the right to ask and control how our hard-earned money is being spent? Should this not come under the purview of Consumer Rights? Do we have laws to challenge such unnecessary expenditure of tax-payers money?.YES……we do.but, such litigations NEVER even reach any conclusion.
Bottom Line As long as our courts continue to work at slower-than-snail’s speed. As long as litigations take …not ‘years’…but ‘generations’ to conclude, we may never be able to TRULY fight for our consumer rights.
Sure, we must stand up to our rights when buying any Home appliances, Telephones, Consumer goods. The way I do this is : Whenever I plan to buy any item that costs more than Rs.5000, I try and buy ‘branded’ product manufactured by a reputed company. Before buying the article, I personally speak with a representative(of managerial level) of the company, and tell him in clear words, that I shall require nothing less than 100% excellent after-sales-service. And that he should not sell the article to me…unless he can make certain of prompt and efficient after-sales-service. In most cases this helps. If ever the item I bought that requires any attention, and I don’t get proper service through regular channels, I never hesitate to call on the representative and remind him of his commitment. So far this has helped me in most items, be an Electrolux Refrigerator, or a Siemens washing machine, or a Eureka Forbes water purifier.
