Fake discount and fraud warning to consumers

Consumer Confederation (TÜKONFED) Deputy Chairman İbrahim Güllü stated that November discounts are an important opportunity for consumers to meet their needs at more affordable prices and said, "However, while ambitious campaigns such as 'Legendary November', 'Great Friday', 'Black Friday', 'last opportunity' and '70 percent discount' direct consumers to shopping, deceptive discounts may cause them to suffer." he said.

As the November discounts approach, Güllü warned consumers to be careful against fake discounts, artificial price increases and imitation shopping sites, and emphasized that not every discount means real savings and not every campaign means an advantageous shopping opportunity.

Güllü stated that in some campaigns, the pre-discount price may not reflect the truth, prices may be increased before the campaign, stock and duration information may be presented misleadingly, or conditions that will affect the consumer's decision may be hidden.

Giving advice to consumers, Güllü said:

"Our first advice to our consumers is not to make a decision based on the discount rate alone. Just because a product says 50 percent, 60 percent or 70 percent discount does not alone prove that the product is actually cheaper at that rate. The consumer should compare the price of the product before the campaign, sales prices at different sellers and past price changes as much as possible. Price comparison sites, tools showing the price history of the product and records on sellers' own websites can be used.

Consumers are asked: 'What was the real sales price of this product?', 'How much is the same product being sold at other sellers?', 'For which products and between which dates is the discount valid?', 'Is there any additional product purchase, membership, card or other condition to benefit from the campaign?' and 'Does the price shown reflect the total cost including shipping and other mandatory expenses?' You should definitely ask questions. "The consumer should look at the actual conditions of the campaign, not just the campaign message written in large print."

İbrahim Güllü said that one of the most common methods used by fraudsters during November sales is to imitate the websites of well-known brands and direct consumers to shop at unrealistically low prices.

Underlining that consumers should carefully check the domain name before shopping from a website, Güllü said:

Source: TRT Haber Ekonomi RSS (Open Press / Translated Full Text)