Ministry of Commerce Started An Investigation on Special Discount Days

Ministry of Commerce Started An Investigation on Special Discount Days The Ministry of Commerce started an investigation on special discount days. The Ministry stated that necessary administrative sanctions will be applied. In a written statement made by the Ministry, it was stated that there are many different discounts under the names of "legendary Friday discounts", "great Friday discounts", "super Friday discounts" at certain times of the year, especially in November. With the effect of the coronavirus (Covid-19) epidemic, consumers preferred "shopping online" due to ease of use and the opportunity to access products in a wide variety of types and at lower prices without time and space limitations. “However, it is seen that online shopping can cause many grievances such as misleading discounts, disruption in logistics processes due to intensity, sending defective goods to buyers by malicious sellers or collecting the price and not sending any goods, and not using the right of withdrawal.” In the statement made, in order for consumers to avoid being victims, administrative sanctions on the vendors or their suppliers points needs to be paid attention on the contracts they will be a party to are listed as follows: “- Before shopping, consumers should determine exactly and correctly the goods or services that will meet their needs, and observe the balance between their budgets and expenditures. - Necessary inquiries should be made from places such as contact information about the seller or provider, tax identification number, MERSİS and ETBİS record, complaint platforms and seller / provider customer service if necessary. The price of the product offered for sale should be compared with the prices of other vendors or suppliers, especially for standard products. - It should be checked whether there are options such as SSL certificate, 3D security or virtual card payment, which are secure payment methods for shopping with the security of the seller's website. - Regarding the websites redirected through social media channels, the referral to the website of the seller or provider should be checked from the address bar. - Before the payment process, it should be checked whether the preliminary information included in the legislation and including the title of the seller / provider, full address, detailed other contact information, the total amount to be paid for the goods or services, details of the right of withdrawal and remedies should be given. - In relation to the accuracy of the discounts alleged to be made at very high rates on special days, other vendors or suppliers should be investigated for the price of the same product.”   What Should Vendors and Providers Consider? In the statement of the Ministry, the following warnings were made for vendors and suppliers:

“Before concluding a distant contract with consumers, it is important to deliver the preliminary information to the consumer through a written or permanent data storage, to comply with the legal terms of delivery or performance, the use of the right of withdrawal and the return of the price, in order to meet the legal obligations in the consumer legislation. In the event of the use of the right of withdrawal, the consumer must be refunded at once without incurring any costs or obligations within 14 days. In order not to cause consumer victimization by canceling the orders paid for the goods or services subject to distant sales due to reasons such as not being in stock or not being supplied, attention should be paid to the stock and product supply stages.”

  What should be taken into consideration in discounted sales? In the statement it is said that the starting and ending dates of the discounted sales and the amount of the goods or services offered for sale at a discount is limited, this amount should be stated clearly and understandably, It was noted that in discounted sales advertisements, information about the product or service to be subject to discounted sale should be presented together with the discount, without causing any confusion, in other words, without misleading the consumers or creating the impression that more discounts are applied than they actually are. In the statement made, it was stated that when calculating the amount or rate of the discount applied, the price before the discount price should be taken as basis, the seller or the advertiser is responsible for the proof of the discount, and if there is a time and stock limit for the application of the discount price, it should be clearly stated on the website and advertisements.   Administrative Sanction Will Be Applied In the statement of the Ministry, the following statements were used, the necessary administrative sanctions will be applied in the event that the Ministry determines the contradictions regarding the mentioned issues:

“The Advertisement Board, which operates within our Ministry, has also started ex officio investigations regarding special discount days. Our consumers, who have lost their rights regarding distance contracts, should apply to consumer arbitration committees or consumer courts for the settlement of their disputes, taking into account their monetary limits.”