It is indeed very sad and disgusting that hundreds of Goans have been swindled and cheated by job racketeers and crooks running financial companies, some of which had surely been established with the sole purpose of defrauding the people. Decades back, we had the “Chit Funds” which we would jokingly call Cheat Funds, with some of them having eventually turned into such, sometime later. And in a country where the honest and the just have no place, there can hardly be any hope for these poor people, some of whom had put major part of their meagre savings in these organizations.
But it is not alone these unfortunate people that are being taken for a ride; in fact, most of us are. We are being lured into buying goods and services that are just not worth the money or where after sales service is extremely poor and into believing in plans and schemes that conceal, in fine print, clauses highly prejudicial to our interests. Those who have mastered the art of deceiving us include professionals, builders, Banks and various agencies employing individuals, endowed with the gift of the gab.
An Insurance company with the pompous name of a foreign city and having posh offices has also been misguiding unsuspecting people and selling them policies with unacceptable clauses, which the agents themselves claim not to have had knowledge of at the time of sale. Builders are a very powerful lot all over the country, as they generally have substantial unaccounted money at their disposal to fund political parties and bribe concerned people and departments to overlook their illegalities. It is thanks to many of them that we have narrower roads, encroached or no footpaths, open spaces usurped, parking spaces converted into shops or godowns, overflowing soak pits, hills and fields converted into open toilets, slums with no sanitation facilities, etc. all with the blessings of Planning Depts, Municipalities/Panchayats, etc. In a sellers’ market where demand is high, the emphasis is on reducing the costs by compromising on the quality and people are constrained to accept whatever they are offered. A classic example is the collapsed Ruby Residency in Canacona, where the owners may not get justice because someone powerful in the Government appears to have benefited from the builders’ generosity. Owners of apartments are unable to take action against the builders for illegalities or violations of agreements as these have enough clout with the Govt. and other concerned agencies and our Courts are of little or no help. However, a good word must be said about a few builders who not only provide fairly good quality construction but also clean, beautiful and comfortable surroundings.
Service at the counters of most of our institutions would have made people run away from them, if there was a choice. Everywhere, the claim is of staff shortage, with no effort whatsoever at improving the situation despite the unemployment around. The public accept delays often without a whimper, as they feel helpless. But those employed somewhere or having children at home or to be picked up from school cannot afford the time.
At Margao Post Office, long queues are seen almost every day and the board “Closed” is often seen even more than an hour before the prescribed time. Post Offices need to introduce ATM cards and machines to avoid customer dissatisfaction. Some banks have wisely introduced time saving cash deposit and pass book printing machines. A few private banks have been sending unsolicited messages advising balances, but at a cost and many clients have had their balances wiped off for want of minimum balance or for remaining inoperative. Several accounts, even of NRIs are being turned into dormant within a few months of being inoperative and activation needs to be done by the client, which may not always be possible if he/she is away. These are issues that clients need to be made aware of.
Hidden charges are not a monopoly of banks alone. The Electricity Dept claims, besides consumption, Electricity Duty, FPPCA and Fixed Charges, which the consumer needs to shell out without even knowing the purpose. This initiative must have been the brainwave of the man, who, whilst in Goa, surreptitiously hiked stamped paper for various documents and charges for forms, attestation, birth, death, marriage certificates, etc which affect the common man and which the BJP supporters are conveniently silent about. Fortunately we have now been spared of his intelligent tactics, prejudicial to us.
With more and more people going in for vehicles and gadgets, mostly out of necessity than as status symbols, marketing experts have no difficulty in convincing people into buying products, where, however, after sales service leaves much to be desired. Car dealers charge heavily for servicing and other small requirements, when out of warranty period. In Goa, particularly, after sales is either not available or very expensive. Most dealers want their clients to enter into Annual Maintenance Contracts. Not only are these expensive but some dealers do not bother to call on the clients to check the functioning of the gadget during the period, unless there is a complaint. This often results in the gadget breaking down soon after the warranty or AMC expires. I was constrained to replace a washing machine, sometime back, after I was informed that the required part was no longer available. However, a machine with a similar problem was repaired in Mumbai by the Company around the same time. An AC supplier asked me to provide him with a ladder to repair the outdoor unit, when the same Company had the ladder while installing the unit. In the last few months, conversations on the mobile are either not audible or are not clear. Could it be that the service providers have taken more than they can chew?
There can be little doubt that consumers are often being taken for granted or for a ride. Let us stop being gullible. Unrelenting dealers compel people to go in for new gadgets, when the old ones are easily repairable. It is imperative that consumers assert themselves and do not allow dealers or their agents to have the last word. Exposing them in the Press must be resorted to in the interest of the general public. The public will eventually benefit from such exposure and people will be spared unnecessary and heavy expenditure.
(The author is a retired banker)
