Although Islam condemns hoarding and  profiteering and lays great emphasis of ethical business practices, the lust and greed of our businessmen and industrialists and their indulgence in consumer exploitation and other corrupt practices are lamentable and must be dealt with iron hands

Helpline Trust and Pakistan Certification Bodies Association organized the first Regional Conference on The Role of Accreditation & Standards in Protecting Consumers in Developing Countries on26th & 27th May which was attended by delegates form Iran, Bangladesh and Pakistan. Indian delegate Mukul Mittal, could not attend due to Visa 
problem but his paper was read by Hameed Maker chief of helpline trust. 

.The objectives of this First Regional Conference was to sensitize this neglected issue and draw the attention of governments, the judiciary, the print and electronic media and the consumers, to the urgent need to introduce Consumer Protection Laws and the enforcement of standards, so as to protect the consumers from these poisonous 
products.Miss Sohaila Soltani from Iran, Abdul Howk Chowdhury from Bangladesh and from Pakistan  A. Rasheed, DG, PNAC, Dr. Anwar-ul-Haq, Chairman PCSIR, Mr, Shahzad Manzoor, Zafar Chaudhry, Ramiz Allawala, Farooq Hasan, Barrister Zahid Jamil, Barrister Tariq Rangoonwal, Ahmed Farrukh, Shahid Zaki and few other 
speakers gave talks. 

Justice Majida Rizvi, Barrister Shahida Jamil, former Minister for Law, Javed Jabbar, former Minister for Information presided over some session and gave their views.

Arif M. Jatoi, Provincial Minister for Food and Agriculture inaugurated this Conference. He, Barrister Shaida Jamil and Justice Majida Rizvi spoke about problems in enforcement of laws and stressed upon creating awareness besides legal provisions.

Dr. Ishrat-ul-Ibad, Governor Sindh, had agreed to attend the closing session but due to his pressing engagments he deputed Atab Shaikh to attend the closing session. Mr, Aftab Sheikh in his speech promised to get the Consumer Protection Ordinance issued within one month and within three month put up the bill in Sindh Assembly.

Lack of Interest in Consumers Real Problems:

Although many of the speakers emphsazed the need for creating awarness besides promulgation of laws their talk focused on consumers of industrial goods. Barrister Zahid Jamil agreed that in developed countries like USA, the term consumer includes not only the buyers of consumable goods but also patients in hospitals, hoders of 
insurance policies, account holders of banks, passengers of buses, trains and airlines and in short all those who pay for or buy good or services for their needs..

International Aid Agencies have been emphasizing upon the need for consumer laws sinece the last 35 years. But little interest was taken by the Government but few NGOs sprang up in 1980s in order to share international help in setting up consumer protection bodies and to attend International seminars and workshops. But they have met little 
success in convincing the Governments in the center as well as provinces to play their role. However, Consumer Protection laws were passed in Islamabad and Baluchistan but have not been efficcious. 

Dangerous Food Stuff and Water
Helpline Trust has been struglling against substandard goods and the great health hazard posed by substandard food stuff and Chahlia. Consumer groups in Pakistan have been e pressing the government to act against companies producing mineral water that has been found to be unsafe by a government-run chemical testing ... Pakistan Council for 
Research in Water Resources (PCRWR) had found all 26 brands of mineral water sold in the domestic market to be unfit for human consumption. Consumer protection. But legislators take little interest as they know that the demand for providing clean water in villages and small  towns is growing and every body wants development projects in 
one own area.

Implementation of the Consumer Protection Act  in different provinces that has been gathering dust even though Pakistan is a signatory to 1984 UN Guidelines on Consumer Protection. 

Consumer protection is virtually non-existent in Pakistan but some NGOs have appeared.  Established in 1998, Consumer Rights Commission of Pakistan (CRCP) is a voluntary, non-profit, community-oriented national organization working for the furtherance of civil and consumer rights in the country. 

Consumer Rights Commission of Pakistan (CRCP), Development Communications Network of Pakistan (DEVCOM), Centre for Civic Education (CCE) and Eco-Conservation Initiatives (ECI) have urged the CDA to go for open public hearing on the proposed sewerage treatment project worth Rs. 1.3 billion before awarding contract for its installation. http://www.crcp.org.pk/index.htm

nExploitation by Credit Card Companies in Pakistan

In some States of USA, a bank can charge interest only at the rate of 18% per annum on the first $ 1000 of the outstanding balance and only 12% per annum on the rest. Many states allow only 12% flat interest as maximum limit. Usually bank charge only 9 to 11% rate of interest as we see on Internet   In Pakistan some banks are skinning Pakistanis by charging 3,50 % COMPOUNDED MONTHLY that amounts to over 52% PER ANNUM almost Three times more than that allowed in USA.

Although such usurious practices are prohibited in Sharia, we should at least learn ways and means to check usury from secular Countries like USA. We should stop such cruel exploitation of middle class. In Pakistan mostly middle class people get credit card loans. Even after covering the defaults the banks are making Billions in profits.

Banks Debiting Service Charges without notice to the Account Holder 

Recently some banks have started charging service fee of RS. 50 per month in all cases where the balance of less than RS. 5000 is obtaining. This has been implemented by the bank without issuing any written notice whatsoever to the accountholders. The sadistic part of the order is that the charge is to be made even on dormant savings accounts where there is no withdrawal or any transaction during the month. The bank used to open the savings or PLS account with such small amount as RS. 100 to RS. 1000 and no service charged was indicated. The banks should be prohibited to charge the amount of RS. 75 or so for issuing chequebook. This amounts to indirect taxation on the excuse of printing of your name on the chequebook. Almost all the banks have stopped the practice of issuing monthly statements in order to save mailing and other costs. They must issue periodic statement whether or not requested by the accountholder. In this age of electronic communication the banks still take about 15 days or so for obtaining 
clearance of outstation cheques. 

FOOD ADULTERATION: Food Adulteration, short measures and hoarding and profiteering continue to a source of problem for the  people. 

Damage to Electric Appliances due to violent Fluctuation in Electricity Voltage,
KESC must be made to provide indemnity for losses sustained due to their faulty service.

CRUEL EXPLOITATION BY THE PUBLIC TRANSPORT: -.
Seats locally installed by the owners of private buses happen to be almost twice than that considered appropriate under international norms and passengers are packed like sardines in vehicles plying on different routes in cities. . Law must prescribe adherence to International Standards.

Unfair Practices of Traffic Mafia: 
Only Green Buses operating in the city can be regarded as satisfactory mode of public transport. Vehicles in dilapidated condition spitting smoke and creating shrill din are a menace to the urban environments. On top of that the behavior of the conductor with the commuters happens to be uncivilized. Bus owners discourage and even insult the 
passengers going from one end to the other as they make more money if they get passengers from stop to next stop rather than the last stop. 

Police official rarely take notice of complaints in this regard. These are other problems like high cost of medicines ever since the system of prescribing medicine by generic name was abandoned; Drinking water and unhygienic conditions of animal slaughterhouses etc also deserve attention. All such problems need to be addressed soon. It is also suggested that National Consumer Protection Week be organized in cooperation with the Federal Government..

Water Mafia in Karachi
Water shortage is artificially created in the summer and people are made to buy water through bossier at the exorbitant rates Many Owners of under construction buildings compalin that they  have to bribe the valve men of KWSB to open valve to ensure adequate supply of water any time of the years.. 

Consumers Rights
In most countries the Consumer Protection, term is applied to the efforts of government, public-interest organizations, individuals, and businesses to establish, protect, and enforce the rights of people who buy products or services. The basic rights of consumers, as set forth by United States President John F. Kennedy in 1962, are the following: (1) the right to safety, (2) the right to be informed, (3) the right to choose, and (4) the right to be heard.

The Right to Safety
Products offered for sale should not pose undue risk of physical harm to consumers or their families. The U.S. government agency responsible for ensuring the safety of most products is the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). The CPSC was established in 1973 to protect the public from unreasonable risk of injury caused by consumer products; to assist consumers in comparing the safety of various items; to develop uniform safety standards; and to promote research about the causes and prevention of product-related deaths, illnesses, and injuries. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is charged with ensuring that processed foods, drugs, medical devices, and cosmetics are safe and properly labeled; that foods are wholesome; and that drugs are effective. Motor-vehicle safety is regulated by the National Highway 
Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which sets highway safety standards, investigates reported safety-related motor-vehicle defects, and enforces laws regarding the correction of such defects.

The Right to Be Informed
To ensure that consumers have the information they need to buy wisely, the federal government and many state governments have passed several important laws directing businesses to disclose necessary information. The Fair Packaging and Labeling Act (1966), for example, requires that packages be labeled truthfully with such basic facts as quantity and ingredients. To provide essential comparative information between products, several private, independent organizations test products and report their findings to interested consumers. Consumer Reports is a leading periodical that rates various products by brand names according to the results of laboratory and use tests, provides advice on services such as banking and insurance, and reports on 
recalled items.

The Right to Choose
The structure of the American economic system is based on the belief that, generally, competition is the best regulator of the marketplace. When many companies are selling a product, the effort of each to attract more customers keeps prices at the lowest level that allows businesses to cover costs and make a fair profit. When a market is not competitive, sellers can set the price as high as they wish, up to the level where consumers simply will not buy the product. To preserve competition in the marketplace, federal laws make it illegal for businesses to monopolize an industry, restrain trade, or fix prices.

The Right to Be Heard
In US a consumer who has been cheated or who has bought a product or service that does not perform properly has a right to seek a refund, replacement of the product, or other remedy. Various laws help dissatisfied consumers, and federal, state, and local governments have established offices or agencies to help protect consumers or to resolve disputes between consumers and businesses.

History of the Consumer Movement
In the late 19th century businesses started to advertise and sell their products nationwide. As food companies and meat packers began to centralize their operations and use refrigerated railroad cars to ship their products, concern arose about the unsanitary conditions under which food was processed and about the dangers of preservatives and dyes used in these processed foods. Eventually, pure food and drug 
legislation was passed. In 1937 more than 100 people died after using Elixir Sulfanilamide, a liquid sulfa drug. A new law, the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (1938), included a provision requiring manufacturers to prove the safety of new drugs to the FDA before putting them on the market. A growth in organized consumer activism in the 1960s and 1970s resulted in the passage of additional consumer 
laws, including the Hazardous Substances Act (1960, with later amendments), the Motor Vehicle Safety Act (1966), and the Consumer Product Safety Act (1972). 

Most of laws and practices about consumer protection in US can applied in developing countries like Pakistan and it is not correct to think that all of them are not suitable for us.
                
Consumer Awareness Programs in US
The website of Federal Trade Commission of USA carries information for public.It says that Education is a key tool to prevent consumer injury. 

In this section of our website, you'll find publications with advice on avoiding scams and rip-offs, as well as tips on other consumer topics http://www.ftc.gov/ftc/consumer.htm

Laws Relating to Spam (Unslicited Emails) in USA
Do you receive lots of junk email messages from people you don't know? It's no surprise if you do. As more people use email, marketers are increasingly using email messages to pitch their products and services. Some consumers find unsolicited commercial email - also known as "spam" - annoying and time consuming; others have lost money to bogus offers that arrived in their email in-box. 

This website has information about the Federal Trade Commission's recent law enforcement actions against deceptive commercial email and spammers' responsibilities under the CAN-SPAM law. In the "Consumer Info" section, you'll find tips on how to reduce the amount of spam email in your in-box.
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/edcams/spam/index.html
                
Financial Literacy in USA - Earning a Lifetime of Dividends

February 1 - 7, 2004, was designated National Consumer Protection Week to highlight consumer protection and education efforts around the country. The subject of this year’s NCPW is financial literacy.Every day, consumers conduct some type of financial transaction requiring an educated decision: shopping for a mortgage or auto loan; 
understanding and reconciling credit card statements and telephone bills; choosing a retirement plan; comparing health insurance policies; understanding what’s on their credit report and how it affects the ability to get credit; simply deciding how to pay for a purchase... The list goes on and on.

Whether you’re an adult, student, parent, teacher, or consumer advocate, we encourage you to use the resources on this site and to enhance financial literacy. It contains information from federal, state and local governments, as well as national advocacy organizations. The Outreach Toolkit has materials to help you promote NCPW, including a Presidential Proclamation, a downloadable NCPW poster, and banner ads and buttons. 

http://www.consumer.gov/ncpw/