Consumer Complaints on Products and Services

Consumer, unarguably, is the prime deciding factor in today's economic growth. The business activities of any nation circle around the end customer. Consumers today are over-exposed to various forms of direct advertising, thus resulting in the increased need for protecting them. The recognition and addressal of this requirement can be phenomenal in the growth of any country's trading mechanism. Only a company which puts equal emphasis on the efficient and prompt handling of consumer complaints can successfully reap the benefits of brand loyalty. Consumer complaints are an imperative mode for the growth of any business. This gives them the opportunity of correcting their products/services and designing them as per the demands of the consumer.

The Department of Consumer Affairs set up a special body in February 2002, known as Consumer Grievance Redressal Cell (CGRC), wherein all types of consumer complaints are probed and addressed. For this the consumer should belong to one or more of the following categories:

(1) Defective goods/services sold, high prices charged
(2) Consumer complaints received from the Cabinet Secretary or PMO
(3) Consumer complaints appearing in newspaper columns

Consumer complaints can be addressed to various forums where the interest of the customer receives due consideration. There are many such forums and committees set up for hearing consumer complaints against unfair trade practices. These consumer forums or committees are headed by either government or non-government bodies, and provide a fair platform for the redressal of consumer complaints.

Despite the fact that the customer is the central entity of any business, unfair trade practices is not a rare happening. Most of us have faced situations of being cheated or misinformed while buying a product or service. The notion of consumer complaints has finally given us an innovative way to expose firms which are involved in unfair and monopolist trade activities. Consumer complaints also have the right to redressal against unscrupulous exploitation. These consumer complaint redressal forums are also useful in fair settlement of the losses borne by the customer in the process of buying or utilizing the said product or service. The firm or company thus involved would also be liable to face a penalty or appropriate sentencing, if proven guilty.

There are many such websites that offer the general public opportunities to lodge consumer complaints against products or services utilized. One such website of its kind is Consumerdaddy.com, which allows the consumer to file two types of complaints. One can be a quick consumer complaint, filed by anyone against any product. It can also be termed as criticism for the particular product. The more the number of complaints for a product, the lesser is the score. The second type of complaint is a detailed consumer complaint, wherein the complaint is further investigated by the website's appointed investigators. For filing this type of complaint, you need to be a registered user of this website.

The quick and efficient redressal of Consumer Complaints is not only a mode of decreasing the grievances of consumers, but if handled proficiently and swiftly can also act as milestone in the progress of a company.