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Provision of services to customers/consumers includes;
- Financial institutions
- Airlines and travel agencies
- Banks
- Builders
- Education
- Public distribution services etc
The consumers/customers have faced problems while dealing with these services; the same have been discussed here.
- Financial Institutions
All financial institutions including banks render financial services to the consumers. The main problem relating to the financial services relate to lack of cordiality towards the customer. The staff manning these services is found to be rule minded, unhelpful and non-cooperative. These organizations do not keep records of the customers properly. Wrong entries miss-spelt named and even absence of entries of deposits etc are common.
- Air Lines And Travel Agencies
These agencies are expected to provide good services to customers and make their journey easy and comfortable. However these agencies are found to be indifferent to the concerns of the customers even though they charge huge sums as service charges. Tickets are sold without proper reservation arrangements or confirmation sometimes only partial reservation are made through they take full payment reservations are made in different compartments for the same family members or groups causing inconvenience to the members travelling together. Air lines sometimes cancel the tickets or delay or reschedule the fights without prior intimation to the customers.
- Banks: Customers of the banks face different kind of problems while dealing with bank officials.
- Insistence on large amount of deposits for providing safe deposits lockers.
- Lack of courtesy with account holders.
- Delays in enchasing cheque.
- Absence of teller system
Bankers are always in a better position to explain the reasons for the legislative discrepancies in their operation, when the customer is to file a complaint. The customers therefore humbly comply with what they are asked to do, because they do not know, their own rights or the rules concerning the services.
- Education
- Schools and colleges have been insisting on payment of huge amount money for admission of students.
- They demand money on different pretexts like “building funds” etc.
- Students face problems like shortage of space in class room, staff shortage lack of hygiene, lack of proper toilet and wash room facilities, poor canteen services, lack of laboratories and equipments, students are afraid to complain about these for fear of harassment/rustication.
The problem of providing technical education to children in some state of the country is a really serious one. The system of “capitation fee” in engineering and medical colleges has frustrated many parents and students. Besides such fee running into lakhs of rupees, the basic infrastructural facilities are not provided.
- Builders:
A deficiency in the definition of the word “service” in the consumer protection Act, 1986 has been exploited to the fullest by building companies and individual builders. They have challenged the jurisdiction of consumer courts on entertaining complaints pertaining to housing, and getting an interim stay in the implementation of consumer court orders on the subject.
- Public Distribution Services: These services include,
- Cooking gas
- Communications
- Water and electricity supply
- Medical and hospital services
- Municipal services
All these services are partly or wholly government owned and efficiency varies widely leading to problems for consumers. These problems are discussed briefly here.
- Cooking Gas
The supply of cooking gas is erratic and inefficient. Long waiting lists are very common. The dealers indulge in delivering half used cylinder and supply non-standard leaky equipments. Servicing of the gas dealers is found poor.
- Communications
- Post and telegraph:
People face shortage of postage stamps, post cards; covers etc. Delays in money orders reaching the payee are common creating lot of inconveniences. Customers find it difficult to locate counters for speed posts, couriers’ etc.
Telegram system has changed to phonogram, telexes and fax systems for sending messages but these services are available at certain post offices only.
- . Telephone:
Telephone services also pose grave problems for customers. The most common problems relating to telephone services are
- Excessive phone bills
- Cross connections
- Non listing of names in the telephone directories or wrong address and wrong telephone numbers
- Deadlines and frequent repairs when urgent Calls are to be made
- Lack of prompt actions after receiving complaints.
- Water And Electricity
The problems faced by consumers relate to frequent disruption in supply of electricity and water without prior notice to consumers.
- Non receipt of water and electricity bills in time
- Over charges on supplies of water and electricity incorporating the previous bill amount even after the payments are made.
- Medical And Hospital Services
The following problems of consumers are indicated
- Negligence of medical and paramedical staff causing death of patients in the hospitals.
- Inadequate facilities and nursing staff in government and private hospitals.
- Excess charges by private hospitals.
- Non qualified quacks are found practicing in the medical profession causing serious problems to patients.
- Delay in admitting emergency cases in government and private hospitals.
- Municipal services
Problems in these services related to
- Inefficiency of the staff like garbage collection and disposal, maintaining cleanliness and safety of parts, roads, public vest rooms and toilets etc.
- Increased rates on these services.
All these problems have become rampant and common in cities and towns. The consumers have been experiencing such problems despite complaints by individuals and by social organization.
Therefore consumers themselves alone can alleviate these by becoming aware of the services and aids available to them and use that knowledge to solve their problems.
The only hope for consumers is to educate themselves as much as possible about the quality characteristics, prices, utility, latest technology and research related to products and services, which use, and try to make consider choices, self help is the only way to relatively problem free life, in an environment flooded with products, pollution, conflicting views through advertisements, technology etc.
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Participants