What Is Consumer Protection?
Consumer protection is a method of making sure that consumer enjoy maximum satisfaction from the goods and services that they purchase and that, they are not cheated or exploited by the producers and middlemen.
Consumers must be protected as those who make their goods and services available want to make profit through fair or foul means all the time at the expense of the consumers. Such fair or foul means could be:
i. Offer false credit facilities.
ii. Low quantity and harmful goods.
iii. Deceptive weights and measures.
In exercising their rights, Consumers must fully take cognisance of the latin expression “Caveat Emptor” which means “Buyers Beware”. The protection of consumers is more enhanced in Advance countries Under Europe, Asia and America than in under developed countries like West Africa etc.
The Need For Consumer Protection
1. To ensure that the consumer enjoys to the maximum the goods and services they have purchased with their hard earned money.
2. To ensure that they are protected from buying sub-standard and low quantity of goods.
3. There is need to reduce price caused by artificial scarcity.
4. High quality goods and services are made available to the consumers.
5. To ensure there is constant supply of essential goods and services to the consumer.
6. Consumers are protected from dangerous goods which are harmful or fake and have dates of expiration.
7. Manufacturers do not use deceptive weights and measure in selling some commodities to consumers.
8. The consumer is protected from false advertisement claims, false credit facilities, sale of artificial goods, false claims on functions of goods, false claims on promotion of foods and services etc.
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