VIJAYAWADA: Consumer Club expressed concern over the restrictions on money withdrawals and the levy of service charges on online transactions. It said this was a violation of the consumers’ rights.
Members of the consumers club at a meeting on consumer rights here on Monday said the bouncing of cheques could pose problems for the customers.
They said the restrictions on withdrawal of bigger amounts were not rational. They said the consumers were being exploited in food, medical services and retail sales sector due to the failure of the officials of the food safety, legal metrology, municipal corporation and other departments.
Consumer Forum activist PVV Satyanarayana Murthy said that fast food centres, restaurants and those in food business were exploiting consumers by using substandard oil for cooking. Participants said Vijayawada was fast turning into a food adulteration hub due to spurious chilli powder and adulterated ghee.
Consumer Club member S Srinivas raised the issue of exploitation of the patients by doctors. He said there is no monitoring over consultation fees and costs of surgeries like Caesarian, Ureterectomy and cardiac surgeries.
The participants rooted for strengthening the Consumer Club. They also decided to send delegations to the officials of various departments and conduct ward-wise awareness meetings. They asked the consumers to fight for their rights and question the irregularities by shopkeepers and vendors. They called upon the consumers to join the Consumer Club and strengthen the movement.