Question

In today’s marketplace, consumer rights areimportant as it ensures fair treatment. These rights empower consumers to make informed decisions and seek redressal if they face any issues.

Given that consumers are empowered to make decisions. State and explain how consumers are stillexploited.

Answer 1

Despite being empowered to make decisions, consumers are still exploited in the marketplace due to the following key reasons:

1. Information Asymmetry: Large companies use misleading advertisements and hide critical phrases in complex fine print to fool customers into purchasing defective products.
2. Imbalance of Power: Individual consumers buy in small, distributed quantities, making it difficult for them to compete with large, wealthy firms or monopolistic markets.
3. Low Awareness: Many buyers remain unaware of their legal rights, the significance of quality certification markings, or the appropriate procedures for seeking legal redress.
4. Modern Digital Deception: E-commerce platforms employ dark patterns and deceptive user interfaces to impose hidden fees, unwanted memberships, or impulse purchases.