Ministry shield for so-called November discounts

In the written statement made by the Ministry, it was stated that inspection activities are continuing in order to protect the economic interests of consumers in the discount campaigns that intensified in November, to prevent deceptive and misleading advertisements and to ensure fair competition conditions in the market.

In this context, the statement emphasized that discount sales advertisements are closely monitored in line with the investigations and consumer complaints initiated ex officio by the Ministry, and added: "Administrative fines between 99 thousand 339 liras and 39 million 916 thousand 524 liras may be imposed on advertisements that are found to be deceptive or misleading to consumers, depending on the medium in which the advertisement is published and the nature of the violation." expressions were used.

In the statement, it was reminded that the rules regarding discount sales advertisements were updated with the legislative change that came into force on August 1, and it was stated that it was aimed to protect consumers more effectively and increase transparency in commercial practices.

In this regard, it was stated in the statement that it is of great importance to inform consumers accurately and completely in discount sales advertisements, to reflect the reality of discount rates and to clearly state the conditions of the campaign, and the following information was included:

"In particular, advertising discounts that do not actually exist, not taking the lowest price applied within 10 days before the discount start date as a basis when determining the pre-discount price in advertisements related to the sale of goods, not including the start and end dates of discount sales campaigns, misleading consumers about the final discount rate by stating more than one discount rate such as '70 percent + 10 percent + 5 percent', not complying with the rules for discount sales advertisements in campaign communications regarding loyalty programs and conditional sales practices, "Inconsistency between the main promise and the exceptions to this promise, hiding exceptional conditions that may affect consumers' decisions, or providing this information in a way that is difficult to access are among the practices that may harm the economic interests of consumers. Our Ministry continues its inspections against these and similar practices contrary to legislation and does not allow misleading consumers and unfair commercial practices."

In the statement, consumers were warned on various issues so that they do not suffer from inconveniences and can shop consciously during the discount campaigns in November.

In this context, it was pointed out that consumers should conduct price research and evaluate the reality of the discount by comparing the current and pre-discount prices of the products, and pointed out the importance of investigating the reliability of the websites and examining the campaign conditions.

In the statement, it was stated that the Ministry continues its inspection and inspection activities with determination in order to prevent consumers from suffering due to deceptive advertisements and unfair commercial practices, and that complaints can be forwarded to the Advertising Board.

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