For Indian consumers, 2008 was one of the toughest in recent times, wherein they had to constantly grapple with soaring prices. But I would also remember the year for some of the most rewarding judgements of the highest consumer court. This was also the year when the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) finally tried to reign in banks and financial institutions resorting to unlawful methods of repossession of hypothecated goods, by issuing detailed guidelines on the subject.

When one looks back at the year gone by, what stands out is the suffering that consumers were put to as a result of the steep rise in the prices of all essential commodities. Fortunately, as the year draws to a close, the pressure on prices has begun to ease — the rate of inflation has come down, prices of petroleum products have nosedived, steel and cement prices have come down, home loans have become more affordable and air fares are going down. Hopefully, 2009 will be a better year on the price front.

Now I come to the orders of the apex consumer court. For years, consumers have been protesting over the steep rate of interest charged by credit card companies on outstanding dues and urging the RBI to put a cap on the rate. But all that the regulator did was to ask banks not to charge an “usurious” rate of interest. Finally, the apex consumer court stepped in and told banks that interest beyond 30 per cent would be regarded as usurious rate of interest and therefore an unfair trade practice (Awaz vs Reserve Bank of India, CC No. 51 of 2007).

The apex consumer court also came to the rescue of investors when it held — in the case of Senior Manager, Delhi Stock Exchange, vs Ravinder Pal Singh (RP No. 1474 of 2005) — that stock exchanges could also be hauled up before the consumer courts for any deficiency in service provided by them.

For several years now, private banks have been resorting to unlawful methods to illegally repossess financed vehicles following consumers’ failure to pay a few instalments. As criticism of the banks’ high-handed methods and the inaction by the banking regulator mounted, the RBI was finally forced to issue detailed guidelines to stop such illegal acts. However, given the global financial meltdown and its consequences, 2009 requires the banking regulator to do much more to safeguard the interests of consumers. In fact this would be the year when the willingness of the administration to protect the interests of consumers would be put to the test.