Consumers/Customers/Investors like you and I must have surely come across something called ‘Fine Prints and Disclaimers’ – which can be found in each and every agreement, contract, sale and purchase transactions, etc. In a layman’s language, Fine Prints means, the terms and conditions relating to a particular transaction, which are needed to be understood before entering into a transaction or else, one may face serious losses. It’s called by that name because these small conditions are typed or written in small and fine print type. Disclaimers mean, the declaration of non-claiming of responsibility by the other party to the transaction in the event of loss due to lack of knowledge on the part of the investor or first party to the transaction. Though sounding simple, in reality, this is not so. Fine Prints means the terms and conditions in Print that do not leave the prospective investor / customer / consumer in a Fine or Happy state. Disclaimers mean the declaration, which holds responsible the investor / consumer solely for his / her contractual deeds and actions.
We come across the first disclaimer at the start of the day i.e. when we go to purchase ‘milk’. If you are new to the vendor, he says ‘Doodh kharaab hua to hamari jimmedari nahi (If the milk gets spoiled, we are not responsible and milk will not be compensated)”.
Same kind of disclaimers and fine prints are observed in our day to day life, only the degree of severeness is different or more or less damaging.
Take the case of the print media (Newspapers, magazines). Our day starts with a newspaper and a cup of tea. One can find a disclaimer in the newspaper. It says, “Views expresses in the articles are solely of the author. The Editor does not necessarily subscribe to them” or “Views expressed are personal” or “Neither the publisher nor the Editor, nor the Printer will be responsible for any damage or loss to anybody arising out of any error or omission in the issue” or “We do not own any responsibility legally or otherwise for correctness of the same.”
Take the case of educational institutions, admission to courses, etc. Here also disclaimers are found. For example, “Fees once paid will not be refunded or transferred” or “We will not be responsible for non-delivery or non-receipt of forms sent through postal authorities or courier”. In Fine Print, we can find “The courses are not recognized or approved by UGC or AICTE”.
Same is the case when we buy some consumer durables or eatables. Here we come across something like “Goods once sold will not be taken back or exchanged” or “Rules are liable to change without prior notice and intimation”.
It applies to Fine Prints. The terms and conditions of a concerned advertisement, offer, sale, etc. is written in so small letter fonts that it’s literally difficult to read them with naked eyes. Such information is so important that, it should be actually written in visible fonts and should be given more emphasis. If the reader misses out to read the Fine prints, then it is for sure that he will find himself in soup and that time it would be too late to protest.
Surprisingly these Fine Prints and Disclaimers are believed to be a part of Customer Relationship Management (CRM). Does this exploitation in the name of CRM, a good management concept? Probably, the answer lies in a concept in the Sale of Goods Act, 1930. The concept speaks about the responsibility when buying or purchasing goods. It’s called ‘Caveat Emptor Rule’. This means “Let the buyer beware”. By reading these numerous disclaimers, once can conclude that, this concept is being misused nothing but for holding the buyer solely responsible for the transaction. Though the Rule has few exceptions, it’s very difficult to prove them.
From the sellers’ perspective, it has to be accepted that, if the sellers do not resort to the Fine Prints and Disclaimers it will be a mess for them to handle the litigations arising. According to those resorting to disclaimers and fine prints, there are approximately 35% of the total customers who look for a chance to claim service and benefit and take undue advantage if such disclaimers and fine prints are not mentioned. The sad part is, due to these 35%, remaining genuine consumers suffer.
The after sale service contracts have probably, the maximum number of fine prints and disclaimers. After reading those, it’s for sure that, the customers will not feel to go to their seller and instead purchase a new item. These disclaimers only hold the concerned customer responsible for any fault in the item or service and agree to satisfy the customer only when the customer has satisfied its numerous ‘ifs’ and ‘only’. It’s also true that, all Disclaimers and Fine Prints may not be necessarily legal. There is an extreme use of the Caveat Emptor Rule by the sellers just to avoid responsibility.
Any customer service will be satisfactory only when the Disclaimers and Fine Prints are reduced to minimum and the conditions will be ‘open’ than ‘hidden’. Customer Relationship Management will only prove its real meaning and value then.
