DTI to public: be careful on freebies
Posted on | Monday, 4 April 2011 | No Comments
by Mari Cruz
BAGUIO CITY – The Department of Trade and Industry-Cordillera Administrative Region (DTI-CAR) has advised consumers to be extra cautious in availing freebies or giveaways from retailers, suppliers, and manufacturer.
Atty. Sam Gallardo, chief of the Consumer Welfare Trade Regulatory Division of DTI in a radio interview, said that the DTI has jurisdiction on complaints regarding deceptive sales acts and practices and prohibition against deceptive sales acts or practices as embodied in the Consumer Act of the Philippines or Republic Act 7394.
The law states that "An act or practice shall be deemed deceptive whenever the producer, manufacturer, supplier or seller, through concealment, false representation of fraudulent manipulation, induces a customer to enter into a sale or lease transactions of any consumer product or service."
Among the most common strategies or modus operandi being practiced by unscrupulous traders and retailers are first, they approach customers by informing them that they are the lucky ones selected to win a prize. They urge shoppers to visit or enter the store to claim the 'supposed' prize, Gallardo said.
Since the customers are still in awe of the winning, they think that grabbing the offer is like hitting two birds with one stone; two products at the price of one. Even with the lack of relevant information and lack of sufficient time to come up with a sound decision, they relent to buy usually using their credit card since the purchase is usually unplanned.
The problem begins when the terms of the sale is revealed. The awe turns into shock when upon receiving the receipt, the price quoted reflects that the price they paid grossly exceeded the price of similar products they know of. Upon summation, the customer has also paid for the "supposed" freebie.
R.A. 7394 Title III, Chapter I, Article 50 protects consumers against sellers or suppliers that express false claims when marketing products or services especially that, nowadays, many of them would go to great lengths just to be able to sell and earn money.
‘Don’t rush into making purchases, take time to carefully read contracts; beware of unsolicited phone offers –don’t be afraid to hang up on telemarketers that are too pushy; ask about refund policies and warranties before you buy,’ Gallardo advised.*(PIA-CAR)
BAGUIO CITY – The Department of Trade and Industry-Cordillera Administrative Region (DTI-CAR) has advised consumers to be extra cautious in availing freebies or giveaways from retailers, suppliers, and manufacturer.
Atty. Sam Gallardo, chief of the Consumer Welfare Trade Regulatory Division of DTI in a radio interview, said that the DTI has jurisdiction on complaints regarding deceptive sales acts and practices and prohibition against deceptive sales acts or practices as embodied in the Consumer Act of the Philippines or Republic Act 7394.
The law states that "An act or practice shall be deemed deceptive whenever the producer, manufacturer, supplier or seller, through concealment, false representation of fraudulent manipulation, induces a customer to enter into a sale or lease transactions of any consumer product or service."
Among the most common strategies or modus operandi being practiced by unscrupulous traders and retailers are first, they approach customers by informing them that they are the lucky ones selected to win a prize. They urge shoppers to visit or enter the store to claim the 'supposed' prize, Gallardo said.
Since the customers are still in awe of the winning, they think that grabbing the offer is like hitting two birds with one stone; two products at the price of one. Even with the lack of relevant information and lack of sufficient time to come up with a sound decision, they relent to buy usually using their credit card since the purchase is usually unplanned.
The problem begins when the terms of the sale is revealed. The awe turns into shock when upon receiving the receipt, the price quoted reflects that the price they paid grossly exceeded the price of similar products they know of. Upon summation, the customer has also paid for the "supposed" freebie.
R.A. 7394 Title III, Chapter I, Article 50 protects consumers against sellers or suppliers that express false claims when marketing products or services especially that, nowadays, many of them would go to great lengths just to be able to sell and earn money.
‘Don’t rush into making purchases, take time to carefully read contracts; beware of unsolicited phone offers –don’t be afraid to hang up on telemarketers that are too pushy; ask about refund policies and warranties before you buy,’ Gallardo advised.*(PIA-CAR)
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Baguio City
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