Causes of Consumer Exploitation: 1. Imbalance between supply and Demand: With speedy increase in the population demand for services and goods is increasing. Supply is not matching the demand. Consequently imbalance is caused between demand and supply. In such a situation the trader fleeces the consumers by charging high price for the low standard goods. 2. Illiteracy and Ignorance: Consumers in India are mostly illiterate and ignorant. They do not understand their rights and are cheated by the unscrupulous businessmen. 3. Monopoly: Monopoly means the rights on the production and distribution of a commodity, of a producer or a group of producers. In the state of monopoly producers have arbitrary behaviour regarding the prices and the quality and availability of the goods. As a result producers succeed in exploiting consumers. 4. Consumers Indifference: A consumer remains unaware of his rights as the consumers are, generally, unorganized and they are not bothered to know of their rights and stand against the scrupulous traders. In the absence of consumers organisation, they tend to compromise with the terms and conditions of the traders. 5. Liberalisations, Privatisation and globalisation: Exports-imports of goods and services have been eased due to various pacts and agreements under the purview of World Trade Organisation. Internal liberalisation has loosened the hold over the private trading – organisations. In the absence of effective control and constitutional provisions, substandard goods are imported and sold to the consumers at higher prices and thus they are exploited. Consumers become the victims of exploitation in the hands of unscrupulous and unethical traders.
