Before the mid-twentieth century, consumers were without rights with regard to their

interaction with products and commercial producers. Consumers had little ground on
which to defend themselves against faulty or defective products, or against misleading or
deceptive advertising method
By the 1950s, a movement called consumerism began to gather a following, pushing for
increased rights and legal protection against malicious business practices. By the end of
the decade, legal product liability had been established in which an aggrieved party need
only prove injury by use of a product, rather than bearing the burden of proof of
corporate negligence.
In 1962, President John F. Kennedy presented a speech to the United States Congress in
which he extolled four basic consumer rights, later called The Consumer Bill of Rights.
[1]

Contents
[hide]

1 The Four Basic Rights

o

1.1 The Right to Safety

1.2 The Right to Be Informed

1.3 The Right to Choose

1.4 The Right to Be Heard

2 Expansion to eight rights

o

2.1 The right to satisfaction of basic needs

2.2 The right to redress

2.3 The right to consumer education

2.4 The right to a healthy environment

3 References

4 Sources

[edit]The Four Basic Rights

[edit]The Right to Safety
The assertion of this right is aimed at the defense of consumers against injuries caused
by products other than automobile vehicles, and implies that products should cause no
harm to their users if such use is executed as prescribed. The Right was established in
1972 by the US federal government, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC)
has jurisdiction over thousands of commercial products, and powers that allow it to
establish performance standards, require product testing and warning labels, demand
immediate notification of defective products, and, when necessary, to force product
recall.

[1] [2 [3]
[edit]The Right to Be Informed
This right states that businesses should always provide consumers with enough
appropriate information to make intelligent and informed product choices. Product
information provided by a business should always be complete and truthful. Aiming to
achieve protection against misleading information in the areas of financing, advertising,
labeling, and packaging, the right to be informed is protected by several pieces of
legislation passed between 1960 and 1980.
[edit]The Right to Choose
The right to free choice among product offerings states that consumers should have a
variety of options provided by different companies from which to choose. The federal
government has taken many steps to ensure the availability of a healthy environment
open to competition through legislation including limits on concept ownership
through Patent Law, prevention of monopolistic business practices through Anti-Trust
Legislation, and the outlaw of price cutting and gouging.
[edit]The Right to Be Heard
This right asserts the ability of consumers to voice complaints and concerns about a
product in order to have the issue handled efficiently and responsively. While no federal
agency is tasked with the specific duty of providing a forum for this interaction between
consumer and producer, certain outlets exist to aid consumers if difficulty occurs in
communication with an aggrieving party. State and federal Attorney Generals are
equipped to aid their constituents in dealing with parties who have provided a product or
service in a manner unsatisfactory to the consumer in violation of an applicable law. Also,
the Better Business Bureau is a national non-governmental organization whose sole
agenda is to provide political lobbies and action on behalf of aggrieved consumers.
[edit]Expansion to eight rights
In 1985, the concept of consumer rights was endorsed by the United Nations through
the United Nations Guidelines for Consumer Protection, which expands them to
included eightbasic rights. These have also been restated as a charter of rights by the
international NGO Consumers International,[2] recognising the following additional rights:
[edit]The right to satisfaction of basic needs
To have access to basic, essential goods and services: adequate food, clothing, shelter,
health care, education, public utilities, water and sanitation.
[edit]The right to redress
To receive a fair settlement of just claims, including compensation for misrepresentation,
shoddy goods or unsatisfactory services.
[edit]The right to consumer education
To acquire knowledge and skills needed to make informed, confident choices about goods
and services, while being aware of basic consumer rights and responsibilities and how to
act on them.
[edit]The right to a healthy environment

To live and work in an environment which is non-threatening to the well-being of present

and future generations.
However, consumer protection can only truly exist in first world, industrialized, or
developed nations due to the fiscal resources necessary to properly execute legal
protection of consumer interests.[citation needed]
Consumer protection consists of laws and organizations designed to ensure the rights
of consumers as well as fair trade competition and the free flow of truthful information in
the marketplace. The laws are designed to prevent businesses that engage in fraud or
specified unfair practices from gaining an advantage over competitors and may provide
additional protection for the weak and those unable to take care of themselves.
Consumer protection laws are a form of government regulation which aim to protect the
rights of consumers. For example, a government may require businesses to disclose
detailed information about productsparticularly in areas where safety or public health is
an issue, such as food. Consumer protection is linked to the idea of "consumer rights"
(that consumers have various rights as consumers), and to the formation of consumer
organizations, which help consumers make better choices in the marketplace and get
help with consumer complaints.
Other organizations that promote consumer protection include government organizations
and self-regulating business organizations such as consumer protection agencies and
organizations, the Federal Trade Commission, ombudsmen, Better Business Bureaus, etc.
A consumer is defined as someone who acquires goods or services for direct use or
ownership rather than for resale or use in production and manufacturing. [1]
Consumer interests can also be protected by promoting competition in the markets which
directly and indirectly serve consumers, consistent with economic efficiency, but this
topic is treated in competition law.
Consumer protection can also be asserted via non-government organizations and
individuals as consumer activism.
Contents
[hide]

1 Consumer law
o

1.1 Germany

1.2 Republic of China (Taiwan)

1.3 United Kingdom

1.4 Other Commonwealth countries

1.5 United States

2 Consumer advocacy groups

3 Laws

3.1 United Kingdom

3.2 United States3.3 Australia

4 See also
o

4.1 Consumer issues

4.2 People

5 References

6 External links

[edit]Consumer law
Consumer protection law or consumer law is considered an area of law that
regulates private law relationships between individual consumers and the businesses
that sell those goods and services. Consumer protection covers a wide range of topics,
including but not necessarily limited to product liability, privacy rights, unfair business
practices, fraud,misrepresentation, and other consumer/business interactions.
Consumer protection laws deal with a wide range of issues including credit repair, debt
repair, product safety, service and sales contracts, bill collector regulation, pricing, utility
turnoffs, consolidation, personal loans that may lead to bankruptcy.

Apakah Hak-Hak Pengguna?

Hak untuk mendapat keperluan asas

Pengguna berhak untuk mendapat keperluan asas bagi meneruskan kehidupan yang memuaskan seperti makanan,
pakaian, tempat kediaman, kesihatan, pendidikan, kemudahan awam, air dan sanitasi.

Hak untuk mendapat barangan dan perkhidmatan yang selamat

Pengguna berhak untuk dilindungi daripada barangan, proses pengeluaran dan perkhidmatan yang boleh
membahayakan kesihatan atau kehidupan.

Hak untuk mendapatkan maklumat

Pengguna berhak untuk diberitahu fakta-fakta yang diperlukan bagi membolehkan mereka membuat pilihan yang tepat
dan dilindungi daripada pengiklanan serta pelabelan yang tidak jujur atau mengelirukan.

Hak untuk membuat pilihan

Pengguna berhak untuk memilih daripada pelbagai barangan dan perkhidmatan yang ditawarkan pada harga yang
kompetitif dan jaminan kualiti yang memuaskan.

Hak untuk menyuarakan pendapat

Pengguna berhak untuk bersuara bagi memastikan kepentingan pengguna mendapat pertimbangan sewajarnya dalam
penggubalan dan pelaksanaan dasar kerajaan, serta dalam pembangunan barangan dan perkhidmatan oleh pengeluar.

Hak untuk mendapat ganti rugi

Pengguna berhak untuk mendapat penyelesaian yang adil termasuk pampasan bagi pembelian barangan yang
mempunyai perihal dagangan yang mengelirukan, kurang bermutu atau perkhidmatan yang tidak memuaskan.

Hak untuk mendapat pendidikan pengguna

Pengguna berhak untuk mendapat pendidikan dan kemahiran yang diperlukan bagi membolehkan mereka membuat
pilihan yang bijak dalam pembelian barangan dan perkhidmatan, serta mengamalkan hak dan tanggungjawab mereka
sebagai pengguna.

Hak untuk hidup dalam alam sekitar yang sihat dan selamat
Pengguna berhak untuk hidup dan bekerja dalam alam sekitar yang bersih, sihat dan tidak berbahaya kepada generasi
masa kini serta generasi akan datang.

Apakah Perkara Yang Perlu Diteliti Oleh Seseorang Pengguna Semasa membeli
Sesuatu Barang?

Tempat asal barangan/produk, termasuk nama dan alamat pengilang, pengimport,

penjual borong, ejen atau pengedar, kumpulan barangan, nombor model/stok
dan tanda perniagaan.

Tarikh produk dikilangkan dan tarikh luput

Berat minimum, kuantiti, amaun atau muatan barang-barang.

Penerangan umum tentang produk termasuk kandungan, kapasiti, panduan

penggunaan dan batasannya

Penerangan khusus tentang kandungan produk seperti senarai, nisbah dan

khasiat bahan-bahan.

Kualiti atau keupayaan produk misalnya tanda kelulusan, gred dan sebagainya.
(contoh: SIRIM, Suruhanjaya Tenaga).

Terma-terma khusus mengenai jualan termasuk harga cadangan, diskaun dan

tawaran istimewa.

Maklumat khusus seperti amaran, peraturan-peraturan kecemasan untuk

golongan pengguna tertentu (contoh: kanak-kanak).