• PAGE ONE
• INDEX
• HOME

Waiting in vain for the gift

R. Desikan

In the past few months, I have been receiving complaints from people about a magazine published from New Delhi. The publication, with a few other magazines to its credit, had been promoting itself with attractive gifts to entice subscribers. One of the m agazines, related to advertising and marketing, was offered at a very attractive subscription rate, including gifts for subscribers.

But, several subscribers did not get the gifts. When they approached the publishers in this regard, there was either no response or if one was forthcoming it was not convincing or satisfactory. The publishers invariably asked for proof of payment. When t he subscribers got back with documentary proof of payment, the publishers did not respond promptly.

What are the responsibilities and rights of subscribers to a magazine?

The responsibilities of subscribers are:

* Informing the publishers, in writing or e-mail or fax, the fact that they have not got the copies, have only old copies or they have not received the promised gifts.

* Keeping a copy of the letter written to the publishers in a file.

* Writing reminders if the publishers do not reply or fulfil their obligation.

* The reminders can be in the form of a warning to the publisher that the matter would be taken up to the consumer court.

* Filing a petition in the consumer court with copies of all the correspondence (not the original) and asking for refund of the subscription money with 24 per cent interest, plus all expenses incurred by the subscriber, such as telephone calls, STD calls , cost of writing a letter, etc. It costs about Rs 30 to write a letter, considering the cost of the time of the person who types, cost of paper, cost of envelopes, carbon paper, cost of the subscriber's time and any other cost incurred by him/her. In ad dition, the subscriber can add a small amount as exemplary charges for the mental agony and tension.

Subscriber's rights:

* The right to demand the quantity that was promised. For example, if you buy a product which says it weighs 100 gm net (which does not include weight of packaging material, labels, bottles, sachets, tubes etc), you are entitled to that quantity.

* The right to get the quality assured by the seller.

* The right to be compensated if the seller fails to meet his promises.

* The right to return a product if the consumer does not like it or if it is found to be bad, old or dangerous during use. Please note that in India today no seller can say or print on the bill, ``Goods once sold will not taken back''. The Government of India has issued a circular protecting consumers from this obnoxious and consumer-unfriendly clause.

* The right to go to consumer court directly or through an organisation and demand justice.

Consumers are not fully aware of the protection offered by the Government. Many even find it shameful to ask for a refund or replacement of a product. Such an attitude will only encourage manufacturers to exploit consumers.

The author is former chairman, Federation of Consumer Organisations, Tamil Nadu. He can be reached at rdesikan@vsnl.com