When a consumer in the market place is forced to buy a product or sold for higher price or not returned if defective or sold defective product, he is supposed to be exploited. Consumer can be exploited in the following ways:
(i) Deceptive Advertising: In some cases, the advertiser speak very highly of their product by giving exaggerated statements. Taking these advertisements to be true, the consumer is tempted to buy these goods. But on actual use, we find that he has been deceived. For example, An advertisement of washing powder claims that a spoonful of powder can wash a full bucket of clothes. On actual use, it was found that it could wash only one or two clothes; this advertisement was quite deceptive.
(ii) Unreasonable Prices: Sometimes sellers charge a price higher than the maximum retail price (MRP). Traders create artificial scarcity of essential goods by hoarding them. Later, these goods are sold at higher prices, thus leading to consumer exploitation.
(iii) Adulteration: Adulteration of goods are sometimes dangerous to life or hazardous to health. For example, mixing animal *** with ghee.
(iv) Poor quality Products: There are large number of deaths and injuries on account of sub-standard and unsafe domestic products like pressure cookers, electrical gadgets, etc.
(v) Deceptive Packing: Sometimes manufacturers use almost similar brand name with minor changes in the spelling of a reputed brand, but the appearance of the wrapper is kept almost the same as to give the impression that the product is of reputed brand.
(vi) Underweighted Supplier: Some manufacturers sell certain products in packings where actual quantity is less than the quantity written on these packages. For example, each LPG cylinder must contain 14.2kg of gas but sometimes underweighed cylinders are supplied to the consumers.
(vii) Deficiency in Service: Due to this, consumers suffer a lot. For example, (i) undue delay by the courier service, (ii) wrong billing by electricity and telephone department, (iii) Undue delay in settling insurance accident claims.
(viii) Negligence in Service: In newspapers, some cases of negligence in service are reported. For example, (i) By an oversight, the wrong leg of a patient was amputated by a surgeon. (ii) About 2 dozen persons were operated in a hospital and they lost their eye sight as a result of infection that spread in the operation theatre.
