Why Is Consumer Protection Incredibly Important?
Consumer protection is a critical issue every business needs to take seriously. Customers are expected to know their rights to avoid being taken for granted. Indeed, it is a fierce market space with business owners battling for recognition. Unfortunately, some companies fall through the cracks and end up with consumer complaints against them. In 2020 alone, there were a total of 4.72 million consumer complaints that companies had to deal with. So, if you wonder why it’s important, here are some reasons.
1. To prevent unethical business practices
The global business environment is fiercely competitive. This makes it fertile ground for a mix of unethical business practices to exist. In the bid to cut corners and make more profit, some companies end up outwitting customers. For years, some of these businesses have succeeded in outsmarting hundreds of thousands of unsuspecting consumers. Unfortunately, because they were not caught, their activities become the order of the day until there is a whistleblower.
Indeed, these are practices that could negatively impact the health and safety of consumers. Thankfully, legal outfits like Manfred Sternberg & Associates are in operation to help you maneuver the stormy waters that consumer complaints can present. There is no reason to know about unethical business practices and continue to condone their existence.
2. To halt exploitation
The act of treating someone unfairly for personal gain is what exploitation is all about. In business, this is critical and sensitive when it happens. The likelihood of tarnishing your company’s reputation and image is high, with effects lasting for years. In an ideal world, consumers should be protected from business exploitation. Unfortunately, this doesn’t happen as often as you would like. For this reason, consumer protection exists to provide some respite for the masses.
Examples of such exploitation include indiscriminate pricing, faulty goods or products, etc. In other words, these businesses are always in the know of exploitation, but for purposes of maximizing profit, they keep at it until the law catches up with them. Fortunately, there are agencies under the Trades department whose main role is to act as gatekeepers. However, sometimes, things fall through the cracks, explaining the need to have active consumer protection laws.
3. To fight against the poor quality of goods
In fairness, no company worth its salt would deliberately produce or manufacture poor-quality goods. Unfortunately, sometimes, things may go amiss during the manufacturing process, resulting in sub-standard quality. On the flip side, certain companies invest in low-quality raw materials for production. Instead of clearing these products from the market, some businesses sell them. The use of poor-quality products can cause harm to the consumer. According to the professionals at wattelandyork.com, in such scenarios, product liability laws can protect consumers. In instances like this, the faulting company is acutely aware of the mishap but refuses to make losses. Unless an insider provides substantial information to prevent sales, the unsuspecting market will go ahead to patronize these goods. You can start with a consumer protection complaint to fight these market anomalies.
Consumer protection is for the overall public good. However, it can only work effectively when people are willing to provide relevant information to active agencies.