Today is World Consumer Day:

'Our money, our rights'

Sarath WIJESINGHE

Ambassador of Sri Lanka to United Arab Emirates, former chairman of the Consumer Affairs Authority

World Consumer Day is an annual occasion on March 15 every year for celebration and solidarity among the consumers and consumer organizations worldwide. Consumer Day originated in 1983 and subsequently the consumer rights were elevated to a position of international recognition and legitimacy for adopting guidelines by the United Nations.

John Kennedy said on February15, 1962 that consumer by definition includes as the largest economic group affecting and affected by almost every private and public economic decision.

Power of the consumer

Yet they are the only important group whose views are often not heard.

Today things have changed as the consumer and the organizations are organized and powerful.

Customer trying to get value for money

World Consumer Day is one of those events showing strength and power of the consumer. Seminars, workshops and show of activism give a sense of power and strength to the consumer. Every year a theme is chosen by the organizers for propagation among the world community. One of those is junk food generation which has an adverse effect on the health of the human beings especially children. The other topic has been unethical drug promotion, GM food, Consumer and Water, Control of food chain and similar topics.

The theme this year is very timely and appropriate. It deals with day-to day life in managing your money without which living is impossible in the fast developed modern world. The theme is our money, our rights.

Around the world the consumers generally do not get a good deal from financial services though they have given their entire wealth by cash for some outsider to manage for themselves. Mostly the consumers have problems understanding different financial products whether due to lack of information or the product themselves are too complex.

On the other hand changing a different provider is also complex and difficult. They have made switching process difficult. Banks and other service providers do not have a strong incentive to offer more choice and improved services and consumers are trapped in bad deals. This is true for all sort of financial services. For Bank accounts and loans to go global money transfers.

This applies to small and large money transactions. Apparently banks and financial institutions have the monopoly and the protection of the legislature and the governments at the expense of the consumer who are considered to be powerful. Therefore it is time that the consumer finds a solution to assert their rights in managing their money by themselves by pressurizing organizing the banking and financial institutions to be accountable to the consumers.

This could be done only by way of organizing themselves. The World Consumer Day has given a great opportunity for the consumers to organize themselves, so that the providers will be cautious and take measures to deliver their services in just and a professional manner.

The United Nations has recognized consumer rights as one of the rights that should be protected, enhanced and fostered as it involves every citizen theoretically and practically every citizen in any country is a consumer or a potential consumer. They are compelled to be a consumer by purchasing consumer items for services which is essential for the day-today life.

Protection of the consumer

In Sri Lanka protection of the consumer has been legally structured by the Consumer Affairs Authority Act No.9 of 2003 which has replaced Consumer Protection Act No.1 of 1979, Fair Trading Commission Act No.1 of 1987 and the control of prices Chapter 173 which has transformed the entire policy from consumer protection by legislature to consumer protection by activism.

Before the open economy was introduced there was the concept of price control where almost all the consumer items were price controlled. There were price controlled officers to implement the legislature by Consumer Affairs Act the concept has been changed to monitoring and regulating. According to the new Act the trade is being monitored and regulated indirectly. Only few items are price controlled. Those price controlled items are items that declare as essential items under the Act. Currently there are only few such declared items.

The rest are to be sold at the discretion of the traders. Trader is bound to provide goods of good quality to the customers.

They are required to exhibit prices in every consumer items. If the prices are not exhibited it is an offence punishable by the Act.

It is not only consumer items that are monitored. Services too come within the ambit of the Act by broad basing the area.

This interesting and important feature is embodied in the Act in Section 75 by defining consumer as any actual or potential user of any goods or services made available for consideration by any trader or manufacturer. In this section services use a very broad meaning. It includes banking, financing, insurance, shipping and entertainment amongst other areas. In that context regulating the financial institutions including banks come under regulatory powers of the Consumer Affairs Authority Act.

Under regulatory powers the CAA can undertake studies, give directions to Institutions compel the parties to price mark, determine standards, inquire into complaints, enter into agreements and investigation into references made and take steps to register institutions and take all appropriate steps for the efficiency, competency of the institutions including financial institutions.

To be continued