Savings Schemes for Consumers

Most of the private sector and public sector employees are paying a huge amount of money as income tax. This is because they don’t know much about the ways of acquiring tax exemptions. It is a common comment from most of the employees that they are fed up of paying income tax and are not able to save much. This is happening because of the poor knowledge about the taxation structure of government of India. There are a number of plans offered by various financial institutions and banks with guaranteed return, better interest rate and tax saving under Indian Income Tax Act. These plans offer better growth rate for money with assured financial security.
Banks offer fixed deposit scheme in which a certain amount of money can be deposited for a specific period with a fixed interest rate. This is an ideal scheme for a consumer who looks for a regular income. Loans and over draft facilities are available for fixed deposit and deposits of 5 years or plus are having tax exemption under section 80C. Reserve Bank Of India offer RBI relief bond with a maturity period of 5 years and the interest received at the end is free from TDS. Also in this scheme interest is compounded at every six months. These types of relief bonds also can get tax exemption.
The most easiest way to save tax is to choose one from the various savings schemes offered by Indian Postal Department. There are various plans with different interest rates like post office time deposit, post office monthly income scheme, national saving certificate, kissan vikas patra etc. All these can help to save the tax. LIC and other insurance companies like Bajaj Allianz, ICICI prudential etc also offers various saving schemes and policies with tax exemption under sec 80C.There are other types of savings called infra structure bonds which are available through ICICI and IDBI banks which provides a tax benefit for Rs. 20000/= per annum under sec 80 C. The various expenditure like LIC premium payments, contribution to employees provident fund, national saving certificate, ULIP policies, repayment of housing loans, fixed deposits with banks and post offices, infra structure bonds, tuition fees for children etc are having rebates under Income Tax Act. Under section 80CCC(1) an amount up to 10000 rupees is exempted from tax payment for the pension contribution through LIC or other insurance companies. LIC is offering Jeevan Suraksha plan for pension schemes. Under sec 80C, 80CCC and 80CCD the deduction on income tax is limited to one lakh rupees. Under section 80 D, there is an eligibility of deduction up to Rs.10000 ( in case of senior citizen up to Rs.15000) can be obtained for the premium paid by cheque towards health insurance policy like Mediclaim. Such health insurance premium can include spouse and dependents (parents or children) under sec 80D. There is also conditional exemption for interest paid to bank loans for the purchase or construction of house up to an amount of Rs. 150000. So always it is advisable to get a good idea about how you can save your money.

A Consumer’s Right

As a consumer, we all expect to get the correct measure of whatever we are buying by paying money. If there were no control over this, there are chances that a lot of consumers will be cheated. Many years ago people used to check the weighing balance thoroughly to ensure that the shopkeepers are not cheating them by using false balances. There are many ways followed by the shopkeepers to cheat the consumers in the measurements of the products they buy. One of the tricks is to stick some magnets to the balance so that the actual quantity of the product will be less by few grams. Similarly extra metal pieces are welded to the measuring cups which are used to sell liquids like oil. They even add small pieces of stones, especially in cereals to increase their weight while measuring. But now a days, these practices have reduced a lot after the government started implementing the laws regarding this. Even then these malpractices still exists but not as much as it used to be.
The right of a consumer to get the correct weights and measures is protected through the Weights and Measures Act, 1976. It defines different units to measure different products. No other units should be used for measuring the consumer products. For example, the standard measure for length is metre. This ensures that one shop should not sell a cloth by specifying its measurement in feet. The price of the cloth should also be specified according to this measurement. This allows the consumers to compare prices of different materials and also from different shops. A Weights and Measures License should be with every shop. This is issued after testing and validating the measuring instruments used in that shop.
This act is also applicable to the sales of packaged commodities. According to this act, every packet of item should have information like product name, manufacturing date, expiry date, address of the manufacturer and MRP. The packet should also contain the contact details in case there is any consumer complaint regarding that product. And it is also the responsibility of the manufacturer to respond to these complaints. If it does not happen, the consumers can take legal action.
As a smart consumer, one should ensure that he gets the right quality of the item as mentioned in the packet or as promised by the retailer. A consumer has the right to check a measuring instrument in case he is not satisfied with the measurement or he suspects that he is cheated. He can confirm the measurement by checking it using authorized measuring instruments. The consumers should definitely check the label on the package as this information is given for their benefit only. They should check the manufacturing and expiry dates thoroughly. If they find any flaws with any product or retailer, it is their responsibility to give a complaint to the consumer forum. By doing this there is a big chance that such malpractices are reduced and you can save a lot of other consumers from being cheated.

Shopping Angels – A New Experience to Consumers

Now the consumers do not need to worry about shopping in a metro city which is completely a new place to them. Shopping angels are there to help them. A shopping angel is an agent who can guide you in shopping. They know about the availability of different products, the places where they are available and the price levels. Shopping angels is the latest trend in customer support and is launched by Blue Foot Cultural Consultancy in Bangalore. There are almost hundred shopping angels working either full time or part time in this consultancy who are helping the consumers in shopping. Actually these shopping angels are having close association with most of the malls and shops where they are having a discount for the products. They are charging around 750 to 1500 rupees per day for their assignments at Bangalore and around 4500 rupees for other cities. These shopping angels are familiar with the nook and corner of the city. They will guide you to the locations where you can find your requirements like saris, bags, sandals, electronic items and so on. There are fashion designers, engineers, architects and artists among these shopping angels. If you want to buy oil paintings, the consultancy will arrange an artist to assist you in your shopping. Or if you want to buy saris or kurthis or accessories, you can get the help of a fashion designer.
I met a shopping angel when I was shopping at the Forum mall in Bangalore. She was assisting a family in shopping costumes and accessories for the marriage of their daughter. Initially I thought that the shopping angel is a customer care person of the shop as she was guiding them and at same time interacting with the sales executives at counters. I just asked the angel whether she is from some event management company as shopping angels are a new concept to me. She spent two minutes with me to explain about them. At the end of their shopping, I asked that family about their experience in shopping under the guidance of a shopping expert. They told me that they got a discount of 25000 rupees for their total purchase of 2 lakh rupees. That family told that it is the fourth time they are coming to Bangalore for shopping and by listening to the bluffing of hotel receptionists and taxi drivers, they have wasted a lot of money and time. But by spending around 1200 rupees for that angel, they could complete their shopping within one day and saved a lot as they got better discounts for their purchases. These angels know exactly all the shopping locations where you get items at reasonable rate, whether it is antique items, leather items, interior decoration items etc and are well known about the easiest and less traffic roads to such locations which will help you save a lot of time. After hearing their experience, I decided that if I am going to shop for more than 30000 rupees, definitely I will take the assistance of a shopping angel.

Consumer Awareness: Chennai Auto Rickshaw

It is very hard to believe that the Chennai Auto Rickshaw drivers are making more money than their counterparts anywhere in India. However, those who have been to Chennai may be aware that there are chances for that because they always demand more from the customers even for a short distance journey. Let me explain to you how this works.
Before starting, I wanted to tell you some of the assumption that we have made based on data collected from other valuable sources such as internet, and so on. We have assumed that every auto rickshaw travels around 100 Kms per day. However, some of the auto rickshaw drivers used to travel more than 150 Kms per day. Therefore, we decided to keep the average distance travelled by the auto rickshaw as 100 Kms per day.
In the beginning, the auto rickshaw drivers have to spend a huge amount. However if we consider the amount of profit they are making, it is nothing big. An auto rickshaw will cost around two lakhs rupees, the auto permit and driving license will cost around INR 5500. Therefore, they need to spend hardly around INR 150 per day to pay off this debt.
Most of the auto rickshaws in India give an average mileage up to 35 Kms per litre. However, the minimum average is 22 Kms per litre. Therefore, let us take the average mileage as 22 Kms per litre. The cost of petrol per litre and oil will cost him INR 60. Therefore, to travel 100 Kms the auto need less than 5 litres of petrol. The fuel costs INR 300. Suppose the auto rickshaw driver is spending INR 1000 per month for maintenance. Per day, it will cost him only around INR 33.
The minimum auto rickshaw fare is INR 21 for the first 2 Kms and INR 9 for every additional kilometer. Therefore, let us take the average fare per kilometer as INR 10. Since the auto rickshaw travels 100 Kms per day, they will make INR 1000 per day. However, they will make around INR 2000 or 3000 per day because they will never user the meter and if their customers are traveling for the first time, they will make more money. The auto rickshaw driver has to spend around INR 400 to INR 450 for petrol, maintenance and for paying off the debt. They will be making a good profit even if they charge the consumers based on the meter fare. However, they still charge a very high amount from the customers.
I have no idea why this is continuing for a very long time. Does it show the inefficiency of the government officials or the government itself? We can see many complaints and reports regarding the Chennai auto rickshaw. After seeing all these issues, one of the police officer had the courage to oppose this. That officer was a woman. She was doing her job perfectly and confiscated the auto rickshaws that did not follow the rule. However, she was transferred to another post with promotion. The government gave her a promotion because no one will create any problem regarding the transfer of that officer. This shows that there are many influential persons involved in this business. They are making very good profit and this fact is unknown to most of the customers. To protest against this, a group was formed in some of the social networking sites like facebook to stop using auto for a single day. This protest may have some impacts but nothing big.

Out of reach of consumers

In the past one year the cost of vegetables and other grocery items increased drastically and it is quiet surprising that the common man is adjusting his belly and not resisting the hikes. The cost of vegetables like beans, potatoes, onion etc have risen to such an extent that some middle class families started consuming non vegetarian food regularly as it is a cheaper option. Middle class families have now started to rethink their daily menus. We can see a crowd now a days in the department stores and other government outlets where prices are comparatively lower. The high prices are especially affecting lower middle class families having fixed monthly income. The price hike made families to stick to one vegetable along with food while earlier they were able to consume multiple dishes. I still remember my earlier days at Chennai when the prices of vegetables were less. If I am buying vegetables for 100 rupees, I get enough quantity and it was sufficient for our 3-member family for a couple of weeks. Now a days, 250 rupees is not enough to purchase vegetables for a week. Earlier cereals were very common in our menus, which has become a rare item for us now due to the price hike.
The one major reason which caused the price hike is the heavy rain that happened few months back which has badly affected the crops. But even after the end of rainy season merchants are selling the commodities at a higher rate for their additional benefit even though the farmers are getting a nominal price for their products. The increased transportation charges due to hike in fuel price has also lead to the increase in the cost of consumables. But unfortunately the government has not done any sincere attempts to control the price hike. Even though the government has now started importing vegetables from other countries, the price hike is not under control. Consumers in a state like Kerala which is totally depended on other states for the agricultural products, are severely affected due to the short supply and hence the price hike. There is only one way to control the prices of these commodities. This is by developing new agricultural method and better productivity seeds. Also the consumers can start cultivating vegetables and fruits required for their daily use in their house itself. This does’t requires a huge land area and even it can be done on the terrace or in the available land. The best example is the Union Minister of State for Agriculture Mr. K. V. Thomas who has cultivated lot of vegetables in his official residence and distributed it among his colleagues and even to the Prime Minister. Most of the agricultural research centres are actively behind developing improved seeds, latest cultivation techniques and machineries. In earlier period cultivation was totally depended on manpower and involved a huge labour, but now a days you can see only few people working with the aid of latest technology and making the harvest in a huge area. There is no doubt that there should be a green revolution in order to see all these costlier vegetables in the kitchen of a common man.

A Comfortable Sleep for Consumers

Even though a product like mattress is very common and an unavoidable material in your daily life, there are many factors that should be considered while purchasing it. In fact it should always be kept in mind that a sound sleep is one of the most important things needed for a healthy life. And for sound sleep the comfort is the most important factor. Thus when you are looking for a comfortable and relaxing sleep, it is necessary to have a good mattress. You should always remember that sleeping on a bad quality mattress can even lead to chronic back_ ache.

Though there are lots of retail stores that can sell quality mattresses of different brands, your choice should always be made according to the comfort you need. One of the most important consideration to be made while buying mattresses is the adjustability and the prefect size of the mattress. To have a better understanding of the comfort and adjustment level of the mattress you need to check the side support quality of the items that you have selected. The side support is the thrust of the mattress on the body. It is important because this provides support for the spine and helps the body to maintain comfortable posture while sleeping. In this respect it is essential to note that though the side support can be checked at the shop itself. It is always better to go for a trial to understand the desired side support level.

In case of most good quality mattresses, cotton or damask blended fabrics are used in order to allow good air circulation. This keeps the internal temperature of the mattress normal, and it increases the comfort level of the users. For a standard mattress, the coil spring is one of the important support features that should be noted. In case of a standard mattress the coil spring count is 300 and in case of a king size mattress it is 450. Also in case of a queen size mattress the coil count is 375. Thus it is also a better choice to purchase a mattress with standard equivalent or better than these coil counts for the good life of the mattress and it is also good for the health of the consumers. Other than this, the importance of the price of the mattress is also an important thing. In fact the point is that you should always take care of your budget and choose your mattresses according to your needs. Other than that, there are also some other things that should be kept in mind for the proper choice of the mattresses for a better and comfortable sleep. We had purchased a double coat mattress 8 years back from Coirfed, which is one of the reputed manufacturer of mattresses. They use coir fabrics for better cushioning and we found that it is far better than other brands as it gives a sound sleep and it is comparatively cheaper. Over this period the cushioning effect has not changed. I suggest that everybody should go for such branded products for a healthier life.

A Consumer’s Tip : Online Shopping

Online shopping is very tempting because it offers the lowest price that the consumers cannot find in any of the retails shops for all the branded items. However, there are many problems surrounding this. Therefore, the customers have to be very careful when buying products online. They should never assume that the website’s protection program would protect them from all the frauds because if the company is offering the lowest price, then the probability of getting a good product is very less. There are chances that the product may not be shipped to the customer or if they are damaged while shipping, the company will not replace it. Therefore, the consumer should make purchases only from reputed online shopping websites that offer good policies than complaining in the future.
The customers should make sure that he reads the privacy policy of that website before signing up, because there are chances that their personal information will be passed on to other websites and the customer’s inbox would be bombarded with spam mails. Therefore, it is better to use a separate mail for doing online shopping. They should give more importance to the return policy, i.e. if they are not happy with the product or if it is a faulty product, they need to send it back to the company. For that, the website might charge money from the customers. The company will deduct the shipping expenses from the refund amount. While making purchases online it is better to follow the normal payment options followed by the reputed website. Therefore, the chances of cheating the customers are comparatively low. The customers should periodically check their emails for the offers from the website and make purchases when they have given them some attractive offers.
While making online purchases the consumers should always make sure that, they have some proof for the purchases they made. For that they should take a print out or note down the company’s name, phone number, address, order confirmation page or a page that contains the description of the products that the consumer had purchased. It is better to have a print out of their policies so that the consumer can refer it when he finds time. The consumers should always keep the mails that we have received while making the transaction because it will be useful in the future if the company gave them a faulty product or when they have not received the product that they have ordered.
For the safety of the customers, it is better to use some of the best security software because the number of cyber crimes is increasing daily. The customer should make sure that the security software includes antivirus, antispam, and antispyware. The customers should be aware of the phishing because phishers will fake send mails to the customer’s email address and they will ask the consumer to verify the mail. When they click such links, the phisher will get all the details about the consumer including the credit card number, pin number,etc and the phisher will use the consumer’s credit card for making online purchases.

Be A Smart Consumer.

All of us might have purchased one or other type of packaged items from shops. Have you ever spend time to check the correct value of the product. The price printed on the packet is called maximum retail price ( MRP ) and it is the right of all consumers to get a particular item in the same printed price. As a part of weights and measures act of government of India, the MRP should be printed on every packaged commodity by the manufacturer and the retailer doesn’t have any rights to change the printed value. Even though the retailer can sell the product below the printed MRP, they are not allowed to sell it at a higher price than MRP. In case of any violation, the consumer is having the privilege to approach the court to prosecute the seller. Most of the retailers make advantage of many ignorant consumers by selling their products at a higher rate. In some particular occasions, some of the retailers take advantage of selling the commodity at higher rate and is punishable as per the act. For example, the price of the products in a shop in an isolated area is likely to be higher than MRP and there is no way for the consumers other than paying the amount as there will not be any other shop nearby. Even then the consumer is having all the rights to file consumer case against such shops

Today’s version of MRP was adapted in December 1990. Earlier the manufacturer had the option of printing the price of their commodities in two ways. The first option was that they can print the retail price and the local taxes separately. And according to the second option maximum retail price, inclusive of all taxes is printed on the cover.At that time there were many consumer complaints that merchants were over-charging by adding additional local taxes on product. This led to the new rule regarding MRP in 1990. This rule was made to end the complaints and confusion of over charging for products. The change was made by the Ministry of Civil Supplies and the Department of Legal Metrology.

If a seller is trying to charge more than the MRP, it is the right of the consumers to question it. A consumer should never compromise on hearing any explanation given by the seller regarding this.The consumers should always try to obtain full information regarding quality and price before making any purchases, especially for costly items. Most of the shopkeepers are very tricky and they may try to influence the consumers, and hence one should not blindly believe what a seller says about a product. The consumers should be very careful about false or misleading advertisement. Most of the time cheating happens when you are doing your shopping in a hurry. So it is better to avoid shopping in a hurried manner. The consumers can file a complaint with the District Forum if they feel that they have been over-charged for any packaged product. Since hotels and restaurants are not covered under the MRP act, they can sell a product even at a higher price than MRP.

An Unavoidable Gadget Among Consumers

It has to be admitted that mobile phones became an unavoidable product in our day to day life. Even now it is common that school students are carrying the mobile phones. Now a days mobile phone manufactures and service providers are keen in generating new consumers and are having well defined sales strategies. 10 years back mobile phone was an expensive item and the bill amount of the service providers was also quite high. Incoming calls are totally free now except for roaming calls .Even recharge vouchers for 20 rupees are common in the market which makes many consumers to use the phone. Especially by the flood of cheap Korean made handsets in the market, more and more consumers are attracted to the world of mobile communication. As one among the million consumer of mobile phone, I would like to share my personal views regarding the advantages and disadvantages of this gadget.

Let us look in to the advantages first. The major advantage is that it keeps you always in touch with your friends, relatives and other important people. In emergency cases, it is very helpful to contact others. Even without SIM card SOS message can be send from most of the handsets. You can listen to stored music, FM radios or videos while travelling and during free time. The usage of memory cards makes it easy to view even movies in the handset. It is also having useful functions like calculator, note pad, alarm clock, timer , reminders etc. Most of the mobile phones also have a camera with good resolution to pick the images with quality equivalent to that of a still camera. Mobile phones give an easy access to internet and email. For example my blackberry handset help me to receive and send my mails easily. The facility like USB port helps to take the print out directly without routing the data through a computer.Some of the mobile phones are introduced with torch light and is helpful in emergency.

Even though mobiles phones makes our life easy, we should see the negative part of them also. You should be very careful in choosing a service provider. If you are not conscious, they may empty your pocket. Especially we should choose the cheapest service provider with the best package suitable for us. Now a days most of the people are spending more time with mobiles phones than with their family and friends. It makes people lazy as most of the communications are done by phone calls and it avoids physical presence. Sometimes it is a disturbance during working hours and other activities. Several recent studies reveals that it affects the health of people due to emission of radiation. The biggest disadvantages we are facing is the road accidents happening due to the usage of mobile phones while driving. Now a days most of the car manufactures are coming out with bluetooth enabled speakers which avoids the diversion of concentration while driving. Even most of the state government is treating the usage of phones while driving as a traffic offence and punishable. As per my experience we should carry the handset but the usage should be restricted to limit the disadvantage. Also one should budget the usage as per their capacity and try to use it only in unavoidable situations. It is also highly recommended that we should not use mobile phones phone while driving.

Influence of Media on Consumers

Ever since mass media became a ‘mass media’, companies have naturally used this means of communications to let the customers know about their new products as well as their existing products. Advertising is an artistic way of influencing the customers to buy their company’s new products. Advertisements are made in such a way that the human brain will not be able to recover from their fantasy world and think further about the product. There is nothing wrong with that, as it allows innovative ideas and concepts to be shared with others. However, as the years have progressed, the sophistication of advertising methods and techniques has advanced. They will picture it in such a way that the product is a necessity for the consumers even if it is very expensive.
There are many ways in which both media and advertisers influence the consumers through deceptive means. Their main target is the teenagers and the college students because they spend lots of money to buy products each year. They make their purchasing decisions based on false logic implanted into their brains by the mass media. These advertisements focus purely on business profits.
In this competitive market, companies spend crores of rupees on advertising to win the hearts of the customers and influence them to buy their company’s products. Since a large amount is spend on the advertising, the advertiser should make sure that nothing negative about the company gets reported otherwise they will lose their business and won’t be able to stay alive in this competitive market.
All the consumers give much importance to the advertisement and we have created a weakness for us, which will cause us troubles in the near future. However, we should make sure that we should not be fooled by what the advertisers project to us about the product. These advertisers are people themselves, who realize our weaknesses and prey upon us. They make our national economy weaker as we buy more and more products, which will eventually increase our personal debts. To pay off these debts we try to work extra time. Some may be able to get out of that, while some cannot. They have to get help from somewhere to pay of the debts. Everything happened because deceptive advertising convinced them that they need the new car, home, apparels, jewellery, and so on. The consumer are not aware that they can survive with the bare essentials. They only need the four basic things: food, water, shelter, and clothing. The rest are completely unnecessary and may add burden to the consumer’s life in the future. There is no use in complaining about it later in life.
As a consumer, we should search for the reviews and reports about the product before deciding on which product to buy and also whether we really need it or not as we can survive with the basic needs. In addition, we should make sure that we could afford that luxury, so that it will not make u bankrupt in the future.