Commerce Department’s ‘Legendary Discount’ Warning

According to the information obtained from the Ministry of Commerce, the campaigns known as “Legendary-Wonderful Friday Discounts” announcing that various discounts will be given on many products will be conducted in November in Turkey as well as around the world. .

This discount period, especially created through e-commerce, comes with many drawbacks such as misleading discounts, disruption of logistics processes, sending defective goods by malicious sellers or not sending goods despite collecting the product price, not using of the right of withdrawal.

In this context, it is important that consumers be careful and pay attention to certain matters related to the distance contracts to which they are party, so that consumers do not suffer from the discount promotions that are intensively conducted on the internet and mobile applications , especially in November , and that the sellers or providers are not faced with administrative sanctions.

Therefore, the points that consumers should pay attention to are listed as follows:

PRE-REVIEW WARNING FOR SELLERS

Determining what goods and services are really needed means shopping only to meet those needs.

Prior to shopping, a brief preliminary investigation into the seller and whether the seller/supplier has detailed information (such as full name and address, trade name, landline telephone number, tax identification number, MERSIS registration, electronic trade information System registration, accreditation of a trust stamp ) must be checked. If necessary, investigating the complaints about the seller/provider and the seller’s customer support plans related to these complaints can prevent potential grievances.

Since elements such as the features and price of the good or service in online shopping are convenient, fast and free, researching the estimated price of the product through similar channels can prevent price cheating.

ATTENTION HIGH DISCOUNTS

In the context of discount promotions, many shopping sites and other sellers offer or claim to offer very high discounts. It is common for sellers to first increase the prices of the products and then discount this price. It is important that consumers be extremely careful with such practices. In order not to be exposed to such deceptive practices and to understand how many discounts are actually given, it is necessary to research the past selling prices of the products and approach unrealistic or high discounts carefully.

If the website name does not appear in the address bar as usual, then the site name should be checked for a fake or bogus site.

Facing the promotions and advertisements that you come across while browsing social media, it is necessary to check the product and the price of the seller and the provider’s own site, bearing in mind the possibility that these sites are counterfeit.

It is important to check that the site where you are going to shop online has details such as SSL certificate, 3D security or virtual card payment.

Before making a payment, the preliminary information that is legally required to be provided to the consumer should be read and the accuracy of the information examined. Details of the seller, the total amount to be paid and the right of withdrawal must be learned.

STOCK MAY NOT BE GIVEN

During the mentioned discount promotion period, the points that the sellers and providers should pay attention to are the following:

All information that is legally required to provide to the consumer (total price of the product and its basic functions, contact details, whether the right of withdrawal can be exercised, the duration of the use of this right) must be clear and in a clear manner, within the legal term.

All deadlines specified in the legislation must be respected for matters such as delivery of the goods, performance of the service and reimbursement of the price in case of exercise of the right of withdrawal.

Refunds must be made immediately, both within the legal term and in accordance with the means of payment used during the purchase, and without entailing any costs or obligations for the consumer.

Consumers should not be the victims of, for example, not being in stock or being unable to deliver. In this context, in distance selling, the phases of the procurement of stocks and products must be treated more sensitively and professionally than ever before.

AMOUNT OFFERED FOR SALE MUST BE SPECIFIED

The start and end dates of the discounted sale, the price of the discounted goods or services, before the discount, and if the quantity offered for sale is limited, this amount must be stated clearly and comprehensibly.

Phrases or images that may mislead consumers by creating confusion about which goods or services will be discounted or how much discount will be applied, or that may create the impression that there are more discounts than they actually are, should not be included in discount sales ads.

When determining the sale price of a good or service before the discount, the lowest price will be used within 30 days before the discount is applied.

EXHIBITION ADVERTISING BOARD REVIEW

While the Ministry of Commerce will impose the necessary administrative sanctions in case of detection of violations related to these identified problems, ex officio investigations will be initiated by the billboard working within the Ministry regarding the special discount days.

Consumers who have lost their rights in relation to distance contracts must have recourse to consumer arbitration boards or consumer courts for the settlement of their disputes, taking into account their monetary limits.