Law 182: Recognized Rights of the Consumer

According to the first article of Law 182: the Nicaraguan Consumer Defense Law (LDC), is ¨to guarantee consumers the best quality of goods and services, an atmosphere of respectful treatment in their commercial relations, and just and equal treatment by public and private enterprises whether individual or collective. Before we list the rights Law 182 recognizes, let us briefly go through what each of these clauses mean.

Consumer (art. 4 LDC): A consumer is ¨anyone who acquires, uses, or enjoys, as the final user, a good, product, or service of any nature.¨ That is to say, the person who buys something for their personal or home use, and even for their small business.
NOTE: Large enterprises that buy goods and services to include them as inputs in their production of other goods are not consumers!

Producer (art. 4 LDC): A producer is ¨any entity, of public or private character, that develops processes of production, manufacturing, importation, distribution or commercialization of goods, or the provision of services to consumers.

Goods: Any type of product that one finds on the market to be sold.

Services: Any activity that one finds on the market to be sold.

Quality: Quality assumes that the consumers feel satisfied with the good or service they have bought.

DDC (art. 4 RLDC): The Direction of the Defense of the Consumer is the ¨part of the Minister of Industrial and Commercial Promotion charged with overseeing and ensuring the rights established in Law 182 are enforced.¨

Law 182 Recognizes the Following Consumer Rights (art. 12):

1. Protection of the health and security of the consumer of goods and services.
2. Education for the consumer.
3. Information that is true, accessible, clear, and adequate with regard to the goods and services available on the market.
4. Good and equal treatment on the part of producers of goods and services.
5. Reparation that is integral, accessible, and adequate in case of any harm and suffering experienced by a consumer, if they are caused by the producer.
6. To demand the realization of promotions, sales and offers if the producer does not follow through with their word.
7. To associate with other consumers and create consumer groups.
8. To access the administrative or judicial entities that protect consumers´ rights and legitimate interests.
9. Adequate preservation of the environment that guarantees the conservation and development of natural resources.
10. To make claims to State institutions when there is negligence of public services and loans that have done direct harm to a consumer.
11. To be protected in regard to life, security and property when a consumer makes use of public overland transportation, water transportation, and air transportation. In the event that this right is not realized, the affected consumer must be compensated at the expense of the producer of these services.

In order to facilitate their explanation we have divided these rights into five sections:

1) The right to information: Consumers need to know what they are buying! Therefore, producers are required to give us sufficient information so that our purchase does not assume risks. In certain cases, this information is not necessary (for example if one is buying a broom), but in order cases, this information is fundamental to protect the security of a consumer who is buying, for example, medicine.

2) The right to education: In order to consume without risks and with necessary information, the population should be educated to this end. Therefore it is fundamental that Law 182: the Consumer Defense Law, should lead to the acquisition of new attitudes that favor its enforcement.

3) In order to protect the physical and economic security of consumers, the law recognizes the following rights:

• Protection of ones´ health and safety in the consumption of goods and services.

• Good and equal treatment.

• Reparation that is integral, accessible, and adequate in case of any harm and suffering experienced by a consumer, if they are caused by the producer.

• Adequate preservation of the environment that guarantees the conservation and development of natural resources.

• To be protected in regard to life, security and property when a consumer makes use of public overland transportation, water transportation, and air transportation. In the event that this right is not realized, the affected consumer must be compensated at the expense of the producer of these services.

4) All of these rights would be meaningless if the law did not also recognize the right of consumers to make claims against producers for their possible violations. Therefore, consumers also have the rights to:

• Access the administrative or judicial entities that protect consumers´ rights and legitimate interests.

• Make claims of negligence against the State for public services that have produced direct harm to the consumer.

5) Finally, the law recognizes another right, which seems to us the most important right of all since, if it is used in the right way, it can guarantee the fulfillment of all consumer rights: the right to form consumer associations. As always, the organization of civil society is a fundamental part of any social accomplishment we wish to pursue. United consumers have already pursued major goals in other parts of the world that would not have been possible to accomplish if consumers had worked individually.
Unión Fenosa, the sole distributor of electricity in Nicaragua, would not have gone back on their plan to raise rates for electric use if the Nicaraguan population had not protested by boycotting their electricity for two days. This kind of boycott means major losses for an enterprise. These kinds of actions raise the power of the consumer and are only possible when consumers are organized and work together. This is the only way we can accomplish real social changes!

Only United and Organized Can We Succeed in Defending Our Rights as Consumers!