CCPA Issues Guidelines to Curb Misleading Advertisements in Coaching Sector

New Delhi: The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has taken a significant step to safeguard consumer interests by issuing the “Guidelines for Prevention of Misleading Advertisement in Coaching Sector, 2024.” This initiative aims to prevent coaching centers from making false or misleading claims in their advertisements, which often promote deceptive practices and unfair trade.

Under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, which replaced the outdated Consumer Protection Act, 1986, the CCPA was established to regulate matters related to the violation of consumer rights, unfair trade practices, and false or misleading advertisements. Since its establishment, CCPA has been actively working to enforce these rights and ensure a fair marketplace for consumers.

Recently, CCPA issued 45 notices to various coaching centers for misleading advertisements. As a result, penalties totaling Rs 61,60,000 have been imposed on 19 coaching institutes, directing them to cease unfair trade practices and discontinue misleading advertisements.

Union Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Shri B.L. Verma, highlighted the effectiveness of these actions during a recent Rajya Sabha session, stating, “The CCPA has been actively working to ensure that consumers are protected from deceptive practices. The issuance of these guidelines underscores our commitment to consumer empowerment and the prevention of unfair trade.”

In addition to regulating advertisements, the National Consumer Helpline (NCH) has played a crucial role in addressing consumer grievances at a pre-litigation stage. Serving as a single point of access for consumers across the country, NCH offers a toll-free number—1915—for registering complaints in 17 languages through various channels such as WhatsApp, SMS, email, and the NCH app.

To date, 1004 companies have voluntarily partnered with NCH under the ‘Convergence’ program, ensuring that complaints are directly addressed through their redressal processes. For companies not partnered with NCH, complaints are forwarded to their respective email IDs for further action.

The proactive intervention by NCH has been instrumental in resolving grievances for students and aspirants in sectors like UPSC Civil Services and IIT entrance exams. Recently, NCH facilitated the refund of ₹1.15 crore to affected students who faced unfair practices by various coaching centers.