Sellers must issue receipts for the purchases made at Diwali fairs
The online shops may have taken the shine off brick and mortar outlets, but it will be a long time before they can wean consumers away from ‘Diwali Melas’ that offer a unique, ethnic, shopping experience. In fact, some of these melas offer almost everything that you need for the festival of lights — the traditional earthenware diyas, modern aromatic candles, a variety of gift items, handicrafts, sarees, even jewellery and designer clothes. And the added attraction is the food court offering a wide range of delicious local cuisines. Some of them also provide music and dance performances as part of the mela experience.
However, even though these melas are extremely popular and have become a regular feature of the Diwali festivities, not much attention has been paid to protecting the rights of consumers who shop at these exhibitions and it’s time the Union ministry of consumer affairs came up with a set of guidelines in this regard. These guidelines should in fact become part of the licensing conditions for these melas, so that the responsibility of ensuring compliance with these guidelines will rest with the organisers.
First and foremost, the guidelines should call for every seller (or hirer of a stall) at the mela to issue receipts for the purchases made. And the receipt should contain the name, full address and the contact number of the seller. I have often come across cases of products, even sarees, bought at these places turning out to be defective and since cash bills are not issued at most of these melas, consumers do not have any proof of purchase. And they do not even have the contact name and address of the person from whom the goods have been purchased. So a receipt should become mandatory.
Second, the melas should publicise and display the name and contact details of the organisers, so that in case of a problem, the consumer should be able to contact the organiser. This is particularly important as many of the sellers at these melas may well be from outside the city.
Third, the guidelines should make it mandatory for organisers to have a well formulated consumer grievance redress policy and publicize it. The policy should ensure that consumers get a replacement or a refund for any product found to be defective and this should be ensured at no extra cost to the consumer. In other words, the seller should take the responsibility for sending a replacement or a refund (whichever the consumer wants) and picking up the defective product, at his or her cost.
Fourth, the organisers should ensure that consumers’ rights, particularly the right to safe and quality goods at reasonable prices, the right to be protected from unfair practices and the right to complaint redress, are respected by the sellers.
Fifth, the organisers should have a complaint box, where consumers can send in their complaints about any issue pertaining to the mela. If there are complaints against any seller for unfair trade practices or violation of consumers’ rights, then such a seller should not be allowed to have a stall the next year.
Meanwhile, consumers who go to the melas, should also insist on a cash receipt for the purchases made and make sure that the receipt has the name and contact details of the seller. It is also necessary to note down the name and the phone numbers of the organisers of the mela and keep these as well as the receipts safe. In case of a problem with the product, you need to contact them for redress and if they fail to respond positively, you will need these to file a complaint against them both before the consumer court.