A speaker addresses the session in Ranchi. Telegraph picture

Have you ever been cheated by a shopkeeper who sold you a defective, damaged or an expired product? Does your mobile service provider deduct money from your account for caller tunes and other value-added services that you never subscribed to in the first place?

It’s time to wake up as a smart consumer, who is aware of the rules of the trade.

The ‘Jago Grahak Jago’ campaign — a nationwide initiative started by the National Consumer Helpline to spread consumer awareness under a project of the Union ministry of consumer affairs — entered Ranchi on Thursday with the help of a local NGO.

Berojgar Kalyan Sangh, authorised by VOICE (Voluntary Organisation in Interest of Consumer Education), held an interactive session on how and where to seek redressal in case a consumer is cheated at Central Coalfields Limited’s auditorium.

VOICE gives its subscribers free legal advice. It is also authorised by the Bureau of Indian Standards to conduct comparative brand testing to help its readers make informed choices about products and services.

A representative of the magazine, Neeraj Singh, conducted the programme, which tried arming the participants with vital information regarding their rights and duties as consumers, ways to approach the consumer forum for justice and how to manage an out-of-court settlement. State director of Berojgar Kalyan Sangh Anita Jaiswal said their next step would be to set up a helpline exclusively for local consumers.

A few things that consumers must know:

Always ask for a receipt for any product or service and keep it till the product or service is in use. The receipt is the most important evidence when one approaches a consumer forum

If the dealer or manufacturer does not take action, the consumer should move a consumer court

One does not need a lawyer and can fight own case

Cases with redressal amount of Rs 20 lakh are settled in district forums, whereas those between Rs 20 lakh and Rs 1 crore are handled by state forums. The national forum deals with cases above Rs 1 crore.