Companies that were once content to fight in grocery-store aisles and on television commercials are now choosing a different route – filing lawsuits and other formal grievances challenging their competitors’ claims. Longtime foes like Pantene and Dove, Science Diet and Iams, AT&T and Verizon Wireless, and Campbell Soup and Progresso have all wrestled over advertisements recently.
Dueling advertisers, however, argue that these claims can mislead consumers and cause a pronounced drop in sales. Because advertisers are required by law to have a reasonable factual basis for their commercials, their competitors are essentially demanding that they show their hand. The goal is usually not money but market share. Companies file complaints to get competitors’ ads withdrawn or amended. The increase in these actions may be a reflection of the dismal economy: during recessions, when overall spending lags, marketers must fight harder for customers.

If you’re an online shopaholic, make sure you have a personal identification number (PIN)/password for your credit or debit cards. Otherwise, forget about using them for internet shopping from August 1. A recent directive by the Reserve Bank of India makes it mandatory to have an additional authentication passcode verified by Visa or MSC (Mastercard Secure Code). This is in addition to the other information already on the card like name, card number, expiry date and CVV (card verification value) number
So how do you get this new password? Credit/debit card users have to register online with their banks, giving personal and card details. They will then be given a PIN or password to be be used as an additional layer of security at the checkout point before completion of the transaction.

So, if you did not know about this directive, and wonder as to why your card does not seem to work online anymore, now you know the reasons for the same. So, go ahead, and contact your bank for getting the confirmation. As to whether this is fool-proof, only time will tell.

- Pepe Jeans: The store had this huge sales sign outside proclaiming that if you buy 2, then you get 2 free (and of course they had the ‘*’, means that some conditions will apply). However, if you thought that this was a great bargain for getting 2 Pepe jeans, then think again. The offer was only for Pepe T-shirts, something that they forgot to put in the huge sign.

- Priknit: I was looking for some discounted jackets for the next season, and Priknit with it’s 80% offer seemed fishy, but why not give it a try. So off I went to the Shipra Mall in Indirapuram in the NCR region, and entered the store over there. I looked at a jacket when inside, and speculated that such a jacket should not cost more than Rs. 2,000 at the most, and it looked impressive, and with 80% discount, could be considered for buying. Imagine the shock when the list price of the jacket was listed at Rs. 4,000, and on a closer look, some of the threads on the jacket seemed to be awry. And there were some better jackets that were listed at Rs. 6,000 – you could have knocked me down with a feather.

- Cantabil was the next one – Here also there was a 80% discount. Well, guess what, more of the same. Shirts (and nothing spectacular) were listed at Rs. 1600. I am pretty sure that people would not have even looked at the store again if these shirts were retailed at their full list price; I made a quick exit from the store. If I wanted to buy such shirts, would rather go to a much better place.

- Kouton was the first such brand that was offering these 75% kind of discounts on clothes, and I remember buying some pretty great looking shirts from at discounted prices of Rs. 400, and those shirts looked great, but when I had gone there recently, the quality and designs had degraded.

Final realization: What looks like a bargain may not be a bargain (there is this psychological thing where you end up buying something if it seems to be a great bargain, and you have to spend some effort in order to prevent yourself from falling under this spell), and a lot of these retailers are indulging in some pretty ugly anti-consumer practices. Please add more such issues you know about in comments.

Paresh Karia (30), the owner of Jeetendra General Store, a grocery shop near Sonapur Lane in Kurla (W), was in for a shock when he received an ABN Amro credit card statement for June showing Rs 44,900 as due. Karia claimed that he never received the credit card. Karia said he approached the bank several times, but they did not reply. The bank allegedly did not even respond to his advocates’ letters. According to him, the bank has even started sending notices and making calls. “In the last two months, I have received over 15 calls from the bank’s recovery department, threatening me and demanding repayment of the dues and the late fees.”
He said, “In April, one of the bank’s telemarketing executive called me, asking me to apply for the bank’s credit card. At first, I refused, but the executive kept calling me, after which, I took the card. In May, the executive took my signature on the form, and took documents like PAN card and my HSBC Bank statement.” After 15 days, Karia received a confirmation call from the bank to verify the documents. However, Karia refused to give the details on phone and asked the executive to come down to his shop. “The next day, I received a parcel from the bank,” said Karia.

From time to time, the RBI and various Consumer forums have asked banks and other financial institutions to behave, and many times charged penalties, but these incidents keep on happening. It will come to a time when courts will actually start hauling executives of the banks before the court, like a court almost did to the ICICI Chief.