Consumers should have awareness and also be ever vigilant

This is the age of Globalism and Consumerism.Consumer products have international markets. Hence, consumers while purchasing consumer goods and availing service should not only have awareness but also be vigilant so as to exercise their rights as a consumer, to agitate and get their legitimate grievances redressed.

Sometimes, a consumer’s legitimate grievances, even if they happen to be genuine, cannot be legitimately agitated; properly and adequately redressed and some times it may even go waste, for the reason that the consumer is not alert and vigilant and failed to respond in time and take timely action.

The recent case of a septuagenarian is an example. A senior citizen couple, both of them in their 70s, recently traveled from Villupuram to Avadi (Chennai) in train. After a days stay at Avadi returned to Villupuram in Pondicherry express. The senior citizen who purchased two tickets at Avadi, specifically informed the railway employee who issued the ticket, that they proposed to travel from Egmore to Villupuram by Pondicherry Express. Having got the tickets both of them traveled from Avadi to Villupuram in Pondicherry Express and reached Villupuram.

They got down from the train and reached the outlet where the Ticket Examiner was standing. The Senior Citizen handed over their tickets to the examiner.On checking up the tickets, the ticket examiner held them up and directed both of them to pay a fine of Rs 277/- and then leave.They were confounded and could not understand the reason.

‘We both had tickets with us.Why should we pay fine?’

‘Both of you had wrongly traveled up to Villupuram from Chennai. You see your tickets’ the ticket examiner said.

Then only the old man saw his tickets.The tickets had been wrongly issued to Vaniambadi (Instaed of Villupuram) from Avadi.

‘It was not my mistake.I specifically told at the ticket counter that we were going by Pondicherry Express and asked for two tickets only to Villupuram and not Vaniambadi.It was not my mistake.It was a mistake of your employee who issued the tickets to me.’

‘Sorry sir. I can’t agree with you.You have traveled upto Villupuram with a ticket meant for Vaniambadi.You ought to have immediately verified your tickets and got it corrected at Avadi counter itself. But both of you failed .On the other hand you have traveled all the way from Avadi to Villupuram, instead of Vaniambadi.There is no other go, You have to pay the fine of Rs 277/-'He issued a receipt for the payment of fine.

The senior citizens hesitated for a while. Realising that the ticket examiner was unyeilding, they rather reluctantly paid the fine and came out of the Villupuram Railway station.

Therefore, a consumer should not only be having awareness but also should be ever vigilant.

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