can anyone please give me a good slogan on protecting consumer rigths?

Answer 1

The Best Way To Serve The Consumer Is To Respect His Rights

Answer 2

Consumer Rights Slogan

Answer 3

Caveat Emptor

Answer 4

C - Consumers
O - Obviously
N - Need
S - Some
U - Useful
M - Mechanism
E - Ensuring
R - Rights
S - Security

Answer 5

Customer is always right - not on a paper but it is a Reality.

Answer 6

consumer right is synonym of human right so better stick to it

Answer 7

How about "Buyer beware, not buyer be powerless"?

Answer 8

wrong spelling

Answer 9

answer?

Answer 10

MALTAMALTA
Consumer Education in Malta
The Department of Consumer Affairs was set up in February 1992, when the Trading Standards Section of the Department of Trade was transferred to this newly established Department. In 1994, the Consumer Affairs Act established amongst others the Office of the Director of Consumer Affairs. The functions of this Office are varied and the main objective is to protect consumers and honest traders.

It is our belief that there are two facets of consumer protection, that is: consumer education where the consumer is aware of his/her rights and responsibilities, thus getting the best value for money and avoiding complaints; and prevention is better than cure, whereby law enforcement detects infringements of the laws and takes the necessary corrective measures to avoid consumers being cheated.

Following the establishment of the Department, consumer education was carried out on a small scale by the participation of Department officials in media programmes, occasional articles in the press, sporadic lectures in schools, social activities, and the publication of the quarterly newsletter Fair Deal. In 1996, the Government announced its intentions to revise the National Minimum Curriculum and the Education Authorities initiated the process by inviting all concerned to put forward proposals and amendments to this Document.

Mr Joseph Schembri, Director Con-sumer Affairs grasped this golden opportunity to introduce consumer education into our schools and the following proposals where submitted and published in the Draft National Minimum Curriculum in March 1998:

1. Knowledge and Understanding
Through consumer education pupils should acquire and develop key ideas and concepts about:

Market Economy – free enterprise; distinction between need and want; consumer choice; value for money; and the price system.

Consumer Legislation – know the content of the most important laws and other statutory provisions dealing with consumer rights and obligations; be familiar with general rules on agreements and contracts; know rules for product labelling; consumer advice; information; and means of redress.

Advertising – the role of the mass media in society. Learn to identify advertising and to understand the difference between information and advertising; be able to analyse, interpret and critically examine the content of commercial images, communications and their use of language; learn to understand how the media creates lifestyles that are reflected, inter alia, in particular gender roles and physical ideals.

Consumer Associations – the importance of these associations to act as watchdogs and monitor government and industry, provide information, education and representation thus enabling citizens to effectively participate in decisions that affect their lives, support consumers to organise and to work together to solve their problems and represent consumers either individually or collectively to secure their rights.

Safety – information and labelling with respect to product safety; safety provisions for equipment at home and in school;

2. Skills
Through consumer education, pupils should be given opportunities to develop the following skills:

Budgeting – planning personal finances; to make a budget and keep a cash book; be able to compare prices, and assess price and quality; to be able to take responsibility of their own financial situation by planning income and expenditure; to be aware and make the best use of financial services.

Communications – communicating effectively with providers of goods and services. Learning to express complaints or points of view, in oral and written form.

Safety – dealing safely with dangerous substances; prevention of accidents at home, school, work and during leisure activities; dealing with common technical aids at home and school and how they can be kept safely away from children; making decisions about the choice and proper use of goods and services in relation to cost, convenience, safety, durability and reliability.

Analytical – making critical use of and responding constructively to consumer advice and information. This can be obtained from a variety of sources including advertisements, information provided by retailers and service providers, official forms and leaflets and other consumer related materials.

3. Attitudes
A consumer education programme should provide opportunities for pupils to develop:

an appreciation of the conflict of interest between consumers, producers and the providers of services.
a critical appreciation of the values placed on goods and services through advertising, pricing and availability;
responsible attitude towards the social and environmental consequences of consumer behaviour in relation to health, nutrition, safety, energy conservation, land use and pollution.
an appreciation of the appropriateness of consumers co-operation with one another to influence the provision of goods and services.
4. Activities programme
However, until the final document is published we cannot rest on our laurels. Since March 1998 we have embarked on an intensive educational programme which included: drawing up a consumer education page in the following magazines:

Saghtar

This is the national magazine for Maltese school children ranging from the upper primary (age 8) to the fifth form of the secondary schools (age 16). It is distributed in all State, Church and private schools.Publication of this magazine started in January 1971 and has run uninterrupted for twenty-eight years during the scholastic months October to May (i.e. 8 issues per year). Its material is varied and includes short stories, literature and the arts, health and the environment, sports, history, games and crosswords, pop culture humour, children’s contributions, general knowledge, competitions with prizes, etc. It also includes a special feature for students sitting for their Matsec examinations. 17,000 copies of this magazine are printed monthly, 12,000 of which are annual subscribers, but its contents make it an all-family magazine; thus the actual readership within the family circle is substantially more than the print-run.

Education 2000

This is a bi-annual magazine about ongoing training of a practical nature for all teachers and for students of education. Each attractively designed and illustrated issue contains articles of a practical nature of interests to students and teachers in the primary, secondary and tertiary sectors.

The Teacher

The official organ of the Malta Union of Teachers founded in 1919: the firstofficially recognised trade union in Malta. The magazine has appeared regularly throughout these years. It is published quarterly in March, June, September and December. Its content is educational, trade unionist and cultural. This magazine is published quarterly and the Department submits a consumer education article twice annually.

Lectures to Personal and Social Education Teachers

Discussions were held with officials of the Department of Curriculum Development and starting in January, 1999, officials from our Department delivered lectures to Personal and Social Education Teachers in Malta and Gozo with the aim of introducing consumer education to students at the secondary level. Furthermore an in-service course for teachers was organised during July 1999.

Skolasajf (Summer School)

Between August 26th and September 3rd, 1999 children from primary schools (ages range between 7-10 years) who participated in the Summer School, visited the Department accompanied by their teachers. During this one hour visit, consumer related issues were discussed with full participation of the children. At the end of the discussion every child was given a ballpoint pen and a balloon with the slogan – KONSU, Department of Consumer Affairs.

Consumer Education Week between 26-30 October, 1998

This activity was organised at the City Gate of our Capital Valletta. The main aim was to make the general public more aware of the services offered by the Department and to educate the public about their rights and responsibilities. This week was inaugurated by a press conference given by the Hon. Edwin Vassallo, Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry for Economic Services. Officials of the Department distributed the quarterly issue of Department’s newsletter ‘Fair Deal’, which carried a message by the Hon. Josef Bonnici, Minister for Economic Services, responsible for Consumer Affairs.Consumer Education in A New National Curriculum For Schools was the main feature of this issue. Three leaflets featuring the Door-to-Door Salesman Act, Consumer Claims Tribunal, Care labelling of Clothes, etc., were also distributed. From time to time, publications such as these are produced by the Department, in order to educate the consumer. We prepared a questionnaire to establish the general public’s awareness of the services offered by the Department. Our officials stationed at City Gate carried out 502 interviews with the following results:


86.5% were aware about the existence of the Department
13.5% were not aware
71.6% made use of the services provided by the Department and were satisfied with the results.
28.4% unsatisfied consumers

We checked with the Department’s files to discover the reason why they were not satisfied and found that either there was not enough evidence to proceed or their complaint was not valid. It is encouraging to note that 84.6% were conscious of the Department without needing its services. Through this questionnaire, we also learned that the public confuses us with the voluntary Association for Consumers, which can be contacted after office hours. We feel that this activity was a success.

Konsu, the Lion, Consumer Education Mascot

In order to make consumer education lectures at schools more interesting and attractive, we have created a consumer education mascot, Konsu the Lion. The lion was chosen for he is the King of the Forest and the consumer is the King of a liberalised market. The right to choose makes the consumer King of the market place for he determines which products and services are to be offered for sale. Since his launch, Konsu has accompanied officials of this Department to deliver consumer education talks in various primary and secondary schools and attended social activities organised for elderly persons.

In addition Konsu was a regular guest on Television Malta programme "L-Ghodwa t-Tajba". Its 20 minutes slot kept television viewers informed of current consumer issues. A competition was held where the general public was asked a question related to the topic discussed and the first correct answer through a phone-in was awarded a soft toy, a KONSU miniature.

World Consumer Rights’ Day, March 1998 and 1999

For the first time in 1998, a public talk was organised to commemorate this international day. The first speech was delivered by Mr Joseph Schembri, Director Consumer Affairs and focused on the services provided by the Department to protect consumers. An official from the Consumer’s Association presented his contribution on the role of consumer associations in a civil society. This was followed by a discussion where the general public participated enthusiastically.

The next year, the Department of Consumer Affairs organised an educational and entertaining evening on 18th March at the Floriana Primary School. The popular Maltese singer Enzo Guzman and Angela Agius were the presenters of the programme. This two-hour event was varied and quite interesting. Konsu, the Lion, consumer education mascot was launched during this activity.

The stage was well decorated with flower arrangements and the backdrop was eye catching, depicting the slogan chosen by Consumers International -Consumer Protection: Where do We Stand? Konsu explaining the eight basic consumer rights accompanied by two ballet dancers in the background, initiated the activity. Mr Joseph Schembri, Director Consumer Affairs then gave a concise description of the role of the Department, that of safeguarding the interests of consumers and honest traders. This was followed by a dynamic display by a group of Spirit Combat Youths. Students from Sir Adrian Dingli Junior Lyceum danced to modern music. Well known Maltese actors gave a good interpretation of three short plays with plots based on consumer complaints. A scene at the Consumer Claims Tribunal was also included. The author of the plays did an excellent job as Stage Manager throughout the evening. The educational message was well conveyed to the audience through the humour of the plays. Later on Xummiemu, the mascot of the Department of the Environment joined Konsu in a scene highlighting the importance of a clean and healthy environment for all. A CD entitled L-Ahjar Prezz!, (Best Price)with lyrics written by George Peresso was produced for the occasion. The song was interpreted by Enzo Guzman who was also responsible for its composition.

This activity reached its climax by the speech delivered by the Hon. Dr George Hyzler, Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Economic Services. In his speech Dr Hyzler remarked that nowadays children are lucky to have the opportunity to be educated in the spheres of consumer affairs and the environment, which were lacking during his school days.This was followed by the presentation of prizes by Dr Hyzler to the winners of the competition in the Saghtar magazine for school children. This is a monthly competition drawn up by Ms Joyce Borg,Officer in charge of Consumer Education. Sixteen students were awarded a soft toy which was a miniature of Konsu and another twenty four students were given a Konsu printed T-shirt. The children whose ages ranged from 6 to 14 years came from primary and secondary schools and were accompanied by their parents. Furthermore it has marked the birth of Konsu, which is yet another dream fulfilled in the field of Consumer Education in Malta.

Konsu in the Junior News

Konsu featured in the supplement of the Junior News in the popular local newspaper, The Times of Malta. This supplement, which aimed at children, is published weekly featuring children’s views, Cartoon Corner, stories and other letters, pictures and interesting messages. Write ups about: Konsu’s mission of consumer education; toy safety; the best use of pocket money; and Konsu school talks were published in four different issues. A competition related to the contents was also featured in every supplement to encourage readership amongst the children.

Consumer Education in Media Programmes

During 1998 officials of the Department were involved in 201 programmes on Radio/T.V. stations. The current year to date participation was as follows:

Programmes on three different television stations: 29
Programmes on five radio stations: 112
The aim of these programmes is to educate Maltese consumers by: furnishing information about their rights and responsibilities in view of:

Consumer protection legislation administered and enforced by theDepartment of Consumer Affairs
Other Departments dealing with consumer protection legislation such as Department of Health re date of minimum durability of foodstuffs; the issue of a receipt by the VAT Department, etc.
Basic services offered by public corporations such as: water,electricity, telephone company.
Services offered by professional bodies such as: The Malta Chamber of Pharmacists; The Malta Chamber of Architects & Civil Engineers; Dental Association of Malta; etc.
It should be noted that when the topic concerns other entities, representatives from other Departments, Public Corporations, and Professional bodies are invited as guests during these programmes to provide relative information. Furthermore these programmes are very popular with the Maltese public who participate through phoneins about their complaints and express their views on what goes on in the market place.

For more information please contact:
Joyce Borg
Department of Consumer Affairs
Principal Officer in charge Consumer Education
3A Old Mint Street
Valetta CMR 02
MALTA
Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
E-mail: [e-mail]