Consumer Rights and Responsibilities – JSS2 Civic Education Lesson Note (Second Term)

Consumer rights are the protections every buyer or user of goods and services is entitled to, and each right comes with a matching responsibility.

Behavioural objectives

By the end of the lesson, students should be able to:

1. Define a consumer and consumer rights.
2. State the eight consumer rights.
3. Explain each right in simple words.
4. State the responsibility of the consumer that goes with each right.
5. Give examples of laws or bodies that protect consumers.

What is a consumer?

A consumer is a person who buys or uses goods and services.

• Goods: things we can touch, such as rice, garri, drugs, shoes and phones.
• Services: work done for us, such as transport, banking, electricity and phone networks.
• Example: a student who buys a packet of biscuits at the school canteen is a consumer.

What are consumer rights and responsibilities?

Consumer rights are the protections every consumer is entitled to when buying or using goods and services.

• Right: something the consumer is entitled to expect from sellers and the government.
• Responsibility: something the consumer must do in return, so that the right works well.
• Number of rights: there are eight consumer rights, listed below.

What are the eight consumer rights?

The eight consumer rights are safety, information, choice, being heard, basic needs, redress, consumer education and a healthy environment.

1. What is the right to safety?

The right to safety protects consumers from products that may cause bodily harm when used as intended.

• Meaning: products should be tested and carry warning labels where necessary.
• Nigerian example: drugs and packaged foods should be safe to eat or use.
• Foreign example: in 1972, the US government formed the Consumer Product Safety Commission to set safety and performance standards.
• Consumer’s responsibility: use the product safely, follow all directions and heed any later warnings about it.

2. What is the right to be informed?

The right to be informed means the seller must give accurate and truthful information about a product.

• Meaning: the consumer can then make an intelligent and informed choice.
• Covers: financing, advertising, labelling and packaging.
• Everyday example: a label showing ingredients, price and expiry date.
• Laws from this right (USA): the Wholesome Meat Act, the Truth in Lending Act and the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act.
• Consumer’s responsibility: analyse the product information and use it wisely.

3. What is the right to choose?

The right to choose is the right to have a variety of goods and services to select from.

• Meaning: the market must be healthy and open to fair competition.
• Everyday example: several brands of bread or phone networks to pick from.
• Laws that protect it: laws on patents, anti-trust, and price-cutting and gouging.
• Consumer’s responsibility: make choices carefully.

4. What is the right to be heard?

The right to be heard is the right to express complaints and concerns about goods and services.

• Result: complaints lead to safer goods and services and to new safety laws.
• Where to complain: the seller first, then a consumer body.
• Foreign example: in the USA, attorneys general and the Better Business Bureau handle complaints.
• Consumer’s responsibility: express concern when necessary.

5. What is the right to satisfy basic needs?

The right to satisfy basic needs is the right to access the things needed to live.

• Basic needs: food, clothing, shelter, education, health care, sanitation and water.
• Consumer’s responsibility: consume these items sustainably, so that others can meet their needs too.

6. What is the right to redress?

The right to redress is the right to be compensated when a product or service causes loss.

• When it applies: misrepresentation, shoddy products or unsatisfactory services.
• Forms of redress: a refund, a replacement, a repair or other benefits.
• Example: a new phone that stops working in a day should be repaired, replaced or refunded.
• Consumer’s responsibility: seek fair compensation when wronged, so that wrongdoing is not accepted.

7. What is the right to consumer education?

The right to consumer education is the right to the knowledge needed to make the best buying decisions.

• Meaning: information should be easy to find and easy to understand.
• Consumer’s responsibility: stay informed as products and information change.

8. What is the right to a healthy environment?

The right to a healthy environment is the right to live and work in surroundings that are safe and non-threatening.

• Meaning: it goes beyond consumer rights into basic human rights.
• Who it covers: people today and future generations.
• Consumer’s responsibility: make choices that reduce harm to the environment, now and later.

How do consumer rights match consumer responsibilities?

Each consumer right has one matching responsibility, shown in the table below.

Which bodies and laws protect consumers in Nigeria?

Several government agencies protect Nigerian consumers by checking goods and handling complaints.

• NAFDAC: the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control checks food, drugs, cosmetics and packaged water.
• SON: the Standards Organisation of Nigeria sets and checks standards for products.
• Consumer Protection Council: set up by law in 1992 to protect consumers and handle their complaints.
• FCCPC: the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, created under the 2018 Act, now carries out consumer protection work.

Evaluation

1. List the eight consumer rights.
2. What is the consumer’s responsibility under the right to safety?
3. Which right allows a consumer to ask for money or other benefits after being cheated?
4. Name two Nigerian bodies that protect consumers.
5. Why must the environment for choosing products be conducive to fair competition?

Assignment

Choose any three consumer rights. For each one, explain the right in your own words and state the responsibility of the consumer that goes with it.