A SIMPLE RULE ABOUT PRICES

In the last few weeks several people have contacted us reporting problems they’d experienced with prices.

Most often people have told us about times when the price of an item at the till was higher than the price on the shelf. I know that’s happened to me, it’s probably happened to you as well.

One of the consumers who contacted us had a slightly bigger problem. She’d ordered a large number of cookware items from a supplier at a price that both she and the supplier agreed, P107 per item. That price was discussed over the phone and in various messages.

But then it went wrong. The supplier called her to tell her that the items had arrived but the price was now P124, not P107. Obviously she complained, reminding the supplier that this wasn’t the agreed price. After some argument they offered to discount this new, made-up price of P124 down to P118.

The consumer and I had a chat and I suggested she give this company some free education. She told them that Section 7 (1) of the Consumer Protection Act says that a supplier “shall not advertise any particular goods or services as being available at a specified price in a manner that may result in consumers being misled or deceived as to the actual availability of those goods or services from that supplier, at the advertised price”.

She told him that Section 11 (3) of the Act says that a supplier “shall not charge a consumer more than the price indicated or displayed for goods or services”. I also suggested that she tell him that Section 23 (1) (a) of the Act also states that a supplier may not “unilaterally amend the terms of the contract or agreement”.

Finally, I suggested that she remind them that any breach of these clauses of the Act can lead to “a fine not exceeding P50,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years, or to both”.

They had a quick think and offered her the items at the original price of P107.

See what a little education can achieve?