Ministry of Consumer Affairs Imposes Fines for Fake Sales on Black Friday
The Ministry of Consumer Affairs has imposed fines of 90,000 euros on two major e-commerce operators for engaging in fake sales on Black Friday. The operators, whose names have not been revealed, raised the prices of various products before the sales event and then lowered them to their original prices, a practice that violates Article 20 of the Retail Trade Regulation Act.
Deceptive Sales
According to the Ministry, deceptive sales involve raising the price of a product before a sales event and then lowering it to its original price. This practice is considered a violation of Article 20 of the Retail Trade Regulation Act, which states that when an item is offered, the previous price must be shown and this price must be the lowest that has been applied to that item in the preceding 30 days.
Unfair Practices
The Ministry has also stated that false discounts may be considered unfair practices and may even be classified as serious offenses punishable by fines of up to 100,000 euros. The fine can be exceeded up to four to six times the illicit profit obtained.
Investigation
The Ministry’s investigation, which was launched by the Directorate General for Consumer Affairs, found that more than 20% of the products analyzed presented non-compliances, and 60% of the companies investigated would have committed this fraudulent practice. The investigation into other companies is still open, and disciplinary proceedings could also be opened against them.
Summer Sales
The Ministry of Social Rights, Consumption and Agenda 2030 has also started monitoring products during the summer sales season to ensure the rights of consumers and to control that companies do not carry out "false discounts". If this is the case, the Ministry has warned, sanctioning proceedings will be opened against operators who carry out this practice.
Example of False Discounts
In one example, a pair of sports shoes was sold at 29.99 euros before Black Friday, but the price was raised to 48.95 euros four days later. The price then dropped again to 29.99 euros on Black Friday, leading consumers to believe they were getting a discount of 18.96 euros, when in reality the price had been raised earlier.
Timeline
The Ministry has opened a maximum period of 9 months for the instruction of the investigation and its resolution by the competent bodies of the Ministry.