There is a famous Latin term 'Caveat venditor' which means 'let the seller beware'. This phrase is in stark contrast with the widely known and used contractual phrase 'Caveat emptor' that solely puts the burden of quality and suitability of the goods before purchasing on the buyer. The principle of Caveat Venditor was first introduced in the case of 'MacPherson v. Buick Motor Company' (1916) where New York's Court of Appeals established a doctrine that was later adopted in the United States and Great Britain. The doctrine confirmed the existence of an implied warranty of safety between a manufacturer and a private purchaser, irrespective of intermediate ownership of the product by a retail dealer. This principle further makes the seller responsible for any problem to the buyer in the service or product. Considering it's been more than 70 years since the existence of Pakistan, consumer rights are still an unripe concept. Even though there is legislation available on the provincial level but lack of awareness is a major hindrance for effective implementation of this law.
The first consumer law was promulgated in Islamabad via the Islamabad Consumer Protection Act 1995 which was followed by the KPK Consumer Protection Act 1997 and in past 15 years all other provinces have promulgated the consumer protection law in their respective provinces, the most recent one being the Sindh Consumer Protection Act 2014. These consumer protection acts being similar in nature have established special consumer courts in the provinces where special judges have been appointed. Interestingly, the judge of a consumer court is equivalent to the District and Sessions Judge, thus, reflecting on the distinctiveness and power of the Consumer Courts in Pakistan.
Apart from the consumer courts, the Deputy Commissioner of the respective district is also empowered to hear complaints and make appropriate orders such as rectification or replacement of the product. According to the consumer laws, the district authorities can fine the violator up to fifty thousand rupees. Furthermore, the consumer laws in Pakistan have also established consumer protection council in districts, which have an adequate representation of consumers and association of trade, industry and services. Their role is to collect information and implement certain standard quality as the acceptable standard and can also file the complaint on behalf of the consumer before the district authority or the court. In addition to this, they are also empowered to remove the dangerous product, faulty and defective services from trade and commerce. Thus this helps to ensure quality and standard across the market.
It is a common belief that the consumer is the king in the marketplace. The consumer in Pakistan can make a claim remedy on the liability or mere violation of his rights arising out from the defective products, for example, defects due to poor construction, design and faulty services. For instance, if you give your TV for a repair and instead of repairing, the electrician damages it more or causes complete loss then, in this situation, one can approach the consumer courts because the electrician failed to provide any disclaimer before repairing nor was able to maintain reasonably the required standard of his service. Moreover, consumer laws make it mandatory for manufacturers to sustain a certain quality or standard in their products and services by taking the following steps:
a) Prices to be legibly exhibited,
b) Receipts to be issued & returned to the consumers,
c) Lastly, the refund policy should be clearly mentioned to the consumers.
Hence, it clearly prohibits false, deceptive, misleading representations and bait advertisements.
The consumer claim procedure is quite simple and does not need in-depth research or expertise as compared to other technical legalities in Pakistan. The consumer can simply make his claim before the Consumer Court or before the Deputy Commissioner, who are also as stated above are empowered to hear matters related to the consumer protection. Also, the consumer plaints are simple and do not necessarily need any involvement of a lawyer as the aggrieved consumer is permitted to appear before the consumer courts by himself. The staff at the consumer court is there to assist such an individual. Basic steps that the aggrieved consumer should take include: serving the notice within fifteen days to the manufacturer to correct the fault or to remove any defect. If no action is taken after the notice is served, the consumer can approach the court within a timeframe of thirty days. It is important to note that the Consumer Courts encourage settlement at the pretrial stage and if that's not possible, then proper trial commences which is procedurally similar to the civil cases. The consumer claims are to be strictly decided within the timeframe of six months.
The basic remedies, which one can claim, include: replacement of the product and/or returning the price/amount paid for the defective product to the consumer. The courts can also order reasonable compensation, award damages, litigation fees and recall the product from the market. Where the manufacturer fails to perform, the Consumer Court can punish the manufacturer with the imprisonment for up to two years and fine extendable to a hundred thousand rupees. The decision of the consumer court is appealed at the High Court. However, in order to keep the system effective for the public, any false or vexatious consumer claims are promptly dismissed along with fine and litigation fees on the claimant.
Arguably, consumer laws are available on the provincial level but reservations have been raised in recent times on their applicability. Punjab potentially is doing better in terms of keeping the consumer courts operative compared to Sindh, which so far has failed to establish consumer courts in proper manner despite repetitive calls. Whereas, consumer litigation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) and Baluchistan have not reached the desired level.
Currently, Pakistan also has an independent, nonpolitical leading body known as Consumer Rights Commission of Pakistan (CRCP) that researches on consumer concerns and monitors all the consumer legislation in the country. Their main objective is to promote the cause of consumer protection in conjunction with civil rights at all socio-economic levels of society. The pervasive culture of apathy and benightedness towards consumer rights being an integral part of civil rights is very alarming, thus CRCP continues to influence government on different categories of consumers especially the marginalized and vulnerable groups. Moreover, it should play a more instrumental role in designing a uniform regulatory framework in accordance with international standards set by United Nations Guidelines on Consumer Protection.
To conclude, it wouldn't be wrong to suggest that Pakistan needs to pay attention to the implementation and improvisation of consumer laws before this special privilege evanesces. There should be a federal framework that amalgamates and oversees all provincial consumer laws similar to that of India which has a comprehensive federal system for the protection of consumer rights. The federal government in Pakistan along with consumer protection council should take the initiative to guard and supervise consumer courts in each and every provincial district. This will improve the disturbing state of consumer concerns and will create general awareness amongst citizens about their basic consumer rights and legal remedies that would not only ensure their protection but will also help industries in Pakistan to act responsibly and maintain the desired level of quality standard in the market.
(The writer did his LLB (Hons) from City, University of London and is a practicing lawyer based in Lahore, and can be reached at [email protected])
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