Consider the following statements about the exploitation of consumers:
(A) A consumer might have to pay a higher price when sellers engage in hoarding or black-marketing.
(B) A consumer might be sold adulterated goods, that is, goods to which inferior substances have been added.
(C) With growing competition, sellers may be tempted to engage in unfair trade practices to increase their sales and market share.
(D) A consumer might be sold counterfeit goods, that is, goods that do not meet the prescribed quality standards.
(E) A consumer might be sold sub-standard goods, that is, goods of lesser value than the real product.
Which of the statements given above are correct? Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → (A), (B) and (C) only
(A) A consumer might have to pay a higher price when sellers engage in hoarding or black-marketing. — Correct. Hoarding and black-marketing make goods scarce, so the consumer pays a higher price.
(B) A consumer might be sold adulterated goods, that is, goods to which inferior substances have been added. — Correct. Adulteration means adding inferior substances to the product being sold.
(C) With growing competition, sellers may be tempted to engage in unfair trade practices to increase their sales and market share. — Correct. To increase their sales and market share in a competitive market, sellers may be tempted to use unfair trade practices.
(D) A consumer might be sold counterfeit goods, that is, goods that do not meet the prescribed quality standards. — Incorrect. This is the meaning of sub-standard goods. Counterfeit goods are products of lesser value than the real product.
(E) A consumer might be sold sub-standard goods, that is, goods of lesser value than the real product. — Incorrect. This is the meaning of counterfeit goods. Sub-standard goods do not meet the prescribed quality standards.
NCERT (2026-27 Edition): “Introduction … With growing competition and in an attempt to increase their sales and market share, manufacturers, sellers and service-providers may be tempted to engage in unscrupulous, exploitative and unfair trade practices like defective and unsafe products, adulteration, false and misleading advertising, hoarding, black-marketing, etc. This means that a consumer might be exposed to risks due to unsafe products, might suffer from bad health due to adulterated food products, might be cheated because of misleading advertisements or sale of spurious products, might have to pay a higher price when sellers engage in overpricing, hoarding or black-marketing, etc. As a result, consumer becomes unsafe, feels cheated and is exposed to many risks and health problems. …” “Importance of Consumer Protection The concept of consumer protection is to safeguard the interests of the consumers. It adopts measures to protect consumers from unethical malpractices by businesses and provide a swift redressal of their grievances with regard to: |