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CAVEAT EMPTOR

Not happy? Cancel the contract

In these days of Net shopping, it is important for consumers to insist on a cooling off period from sellers and service providers

A few weeks ago, we received a complaint from Kavitha Krishnakumar who had telephoned a new supermarket that promised not just `best bargains' and `guaranteed lowest prices' but also `free home delivery'. She placed an order for groceries and some other products, including a 2006 diary. She had wanted this diary ever since she had noticed a newspaper advertisement by the supermarket that had described this large, desktop leather-bound diary with a planner and telephone index. The products were subsequently delivered in her house, and later that evening when she was putting things away; she noticed that the diary was actually a tiny pocket-sized one — and the planner was even tinier (you could use it only if you could write and read at font size 4) and instead of leather, the diary had been bound with a synthetic substitute.

Since it was late that evening, she called them the next morning and pointed out that they had sent her the wrong diary. After some discussion, the supermarket clerk clarified that this was indeed the diary that had been advertised and that consequently, there had been no mistake whatsoever.

Virtual market

With the increase in methods by which you can shop nowadays, including by telephone, fax and Internet, the traditional norms and rules of shopping have undergone some change. For example, a week later when Mrs. Krishnakumar ordered an expensive camera on the Internet and the camera that was delivered turned out to be different and defective, she did not know whether she could return it or not.

In both the above instances Mrs. Krishnakumar did not have an opportunity to examine the product before she paid for it — arguably the most critical aspect of traditional shopping. The impact this lack of opportunity has on her rights, as a consumer, is equally important because now, the seller could argue, that she was not entitled to return the product or seek a refund.

The proper response to this situation and situations like this is to mandate the requirement of a `cooling off period' on all sellers and service providers. A `cooling off period' is one that allows the consumer to unconditionally cancel the contract where the purchase has been made without providing her an opportunity to examine it.

So irrespective of whether you ordered clothing or bags from a catalogue or newspaper advertisement, if you buy a camera or CDs on the Internet, or if you phone to order products to your home, if you did not have the opportunity to examine them for defects or deficiencies, a cooling off period of seven days or ten days or even one month, must be provided, during which you could return the product and get your money back.

Several countries around the world have detailed rules relating to `cooling off periods'. In the U.K., you can cancel any loan within a cooling period of 5 days and you can cancel any contract where you had no opportunity of examining the product earlier within 7 days of its receipt. In fact, in Australia and Canada, if you purchase goods or services above $50 from a door-to-door salesperson, you are entitled to a 10-day cooling off period during which you can change your mind!

In India, `cooling off periods' are not common. A rare exception is the insurance sector, where recent amendments require a `cooling off period' of 15 days to be provided to consumers (perhaps recognising for the first time that since insurance contracts are notorious for their size and use of legalese).

But we have a long way to go. With the increase in online purchasing and telemarketing, it is important that we introduce provisions that adequately protect consumers in the new and emerging virtual marketplace. The introduction of strict `cooling off periods' is one such provision that should be urgently brought into the consumer law.

The writer works with CAG, which offers a free `Consumer Advice Clinic' to assist citizens in finding answers to queries or complaints they may have. Contact 24460387 / 24914358 or cag.helpdesk@gmail.com

BHARATH JAIRAJ

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