Why must consumers always get the short end of the stick?

When the director-general of the Directorate of National Consumer Rights Protection (DNCRP) sat down at a meeting with green coconut traders in August 2023, a heated volley of words ensued. Videos of this exchange made rounds on the internet as consumers witnessed a rare instance of a government official standing up for their rights.

At that time, in the middle of the worst dengue outbreak in Bangladesh's history, a despicable level of price gouging of green coconuts had taken effect in Dhaka's markets. Coconut water is high on the list of every prescription doctors write for dengue patients. Looking at the rising number of such patients every day, traders took the opportunity to artificially elevate the price of green coconuts. The meeting between traders and the DNCRP DG brought into focus the dishonesty and bad faith with which many traders operate in Bangladesh, and the fragile state of consumer rights in this country.

It doesn't take a lot of searching to find more instances of consumers being trampled underfoot by what traders might call "market realities." It's a striking coincidence that this year, World Consumer Rights Day falls in the beginning of Ramadan, when prices of essentials, especially food, have shot up once more—just when the demand has gone up during this month of fasting. On the first day of Ramadan, this daily reported that the price of lemons had doubled compared to a week ago, while essentials like cucumber and eggplant saw significant rises too. This is on the back of periodically rising prices months ahead of Ramadan, putting lower- and middle-income people in a situation where they are unable to afford the same food this year that they were eating last year.

Stepping away from the sorry situation with food, utilities like gas and electricity have seen shortages for some time now, while prices keep rising at the same time. The economic situation and the IMF's insistence of rolling back fuel subsidies is shown as the cause of these woes. But the long-term mismanagement—namely in the inability to secure sustainable fuel sources while precious foreign currency is spent on building capacity that is now left unused—is not the consumers' fault. Yet, they are the ones footing the bill now that time has caught up.

With water, the struggle has been to secure a supply of clean water to millions of households, but it's a struggle that still persists. In Bangladesh, no one—not even Wasa's top bosses—will feel safe drinking the water that comes out of a tap. The additional cost of power and gas that goes behind boiling or purifying tap water is once again borne by the consumer.

A lot must change if consumers in Bangladesh hope to see better, safer days. Foremost among these changes have to be a shift in mindset, where economic forces can't be used as an acceptable excuse to infringe upon a consumer's right to be protected from price-gouging, to be able to avoid defective and adulterated goods, to be informed about the products that they are spending their hard-earned money on. Consumer rights, from its apparent lowly position on the list of priorities for decision-makers, has to scale the pyramid and become more prioritised.

It seems as though in every sector, the consumer is the last person whose cause is championed. From e-commerce scams to malpractices by food sellers and restaurant owners, the cat and mouse game played between regulators and businesses always hurts consumers. If regulators win, it often leads to a lack of service or reduced availability until businesses can find a way to get back their edge. Eventually, when businesses win, consumers suffer.

Then what is the role of bodies like the DNCRP, or the Consumers Rights Protection Act, 2009, through which the directorate was established? These are instruments that are meant to protect consumer rights, but the effectiveness of a shield depends on its construction and the material it's made of.

For instance, the 2009 legislation has provisions for specific violations such as not having a price list, selling goods at a higher price than stipulated, adulteration of food or medicine, weight deception, deception through advertisement or non-delivery of promised services, selling counterfeit items, etc. The punishments range from fines to imprisonment, and the directorate has the power to suspend commercial activities of an establishment if it deems such an action necessary.

But the directorate has to do all of this on a case-by-case basis, and is unable to address systemic underlying causes that lead to anti-consumer behaviour.

On top of this, the law in question does not allow complaints to be filed more than 30 days after an incident. Consumers can't file cases themselves either; complaints have to be sent to the DG's office, and from there a case will be filed if the office deems it necessary. This entire process has to be completed in 90 days.

All of this points to tremendous pressure for the directorate—one that they need massive manpower and resources to be able to handle. In the past, experts and even DNCRP officials have mentioned these legal and administrative limitations. Withstanding these difficulties, the directorate has managed to settle 71 percent of the complaints they received in 2021-22 and 73 percent in 2022-23, according to data published in their annual reports. While these numbers aren't perfect, it hints that more can be done if better resources are allocated. Since its inception, the directorate has been receiving a growing number of complaints every year, indicating the vital need for more manpower. 

However, consumer rights is still a nascent idea in Bangladesh, and the difficulties faced by the DNCRP are largely caused by the fact that many consumers are unaware of their rights. As a result, consumer rights remain low on the list of priorities. In a country where controlling the price of essentials and ensuring safety standards for food and medicine is a daily battle that hogs headlines and government attention, the consumer rights body was supposed to be a key cog in the machine. But consumers themselves are not fully aware of the fact that if they think they have been scammed or duped, there is some recourse.

A lot must change if consumers in Bangladesh hope to see better, safer days. Foremost among these changes have to be a shift in mindset, where economic forces can't be used as an acceptable excuse to infringe upon a consumer's right to be protected from price-gouging, to be able to avoid defective and adulterated goods, to be informed about the products that they are spending their hard-earned money on. Consumer rights, from its apparent lowly position on the list of priorities for decision-makers, has to scale the pyramid and become more prioritised.

The need to protect consumer rights must shape economic policy more than anything, because if consumers are getting the short end of the stick while the country still develops, that is an uneven development. Consumers themselves need to be more aware of the injustices they face, because while the story of the past has been that of injustice, the future can be different.

Azmin Azran is a journalist at The Daily Star.

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