UFC-Que Choisir accuses brands of inflating their prices in order to lower them better

Black Friday, this promotional weekend which often kicks off the Christmas purchasing season, was to be held subsequent weekend. But, many brands, like Amazon, and federation of companies have agreed to postpone it by a week. If Black Friday will be the event for good enterprise, this era conducive to reductions can even conceal scams.

The client affiliation UFC-Que Choisir accuses brands to inflate their prices earlier than the promotional operation to then supply extra spectacular reductions than they really are.

” In truth, in the absence of a authorized framework on value reductions, professionals improve their prices a couple of weeks earlier than the operation (…), Explain the association in a press release. It is an invisible sleight of hand for shoppers that enables them to promote the identical merchandise on the similar prices whereas making them imagine they’re getting a superb deal. ”

Six brands identified

” These are the observations that we make yearly », Explains Alain Bazot, president of the group to our colleagues from the Parisian. ” Today, on the Internet, a vendor can very nicely have a fridge at 500 euros, put it for twenty seconds at 1000 euros, after which, on Black Friday, he’ll inform the buyer, “we go from 1000 to 500. euros
“. “

The UFC-Que Choisir accuses extra significantly six brands: Boulanger, Fnac, Rue du Commerce, Darty, Cdiscount and Rakuten of training unlawful promoting campaigns, and places them on discover to put an finish to ” their senseless advertising campaigns and the instrumentalization of prices and promotions “.

A scarcity of authorized framework on value reductions

To do that, the buyer affiliation relies on the Anti-waste law. In this regulation, we be taught that it’s deceptive, ” in an advertisement, to give the impression, through nationally coordinated promotional operations, that the consumer benefits from a price reduction comparable to that of sales, outside their legal period », When these take place in January and June, reminds RTL. The Black friday will not be not prohibited in France, however the ads which might end result from it, will be penalized.

The affiliation takes benefit of this press launch to denounce the dearth ” legal framework In the price reductions. ” French regulation supplied for a framework for value reductions with a reference value earlier than it was repealed due to a judgment of the European Court of Justice. This lack of framework is fertile floor for misleading practices and scams of every kind. », She wrote, asking that France transpose the Omnibus Directive, adopted into European laws.

It signifies in explicit that when professionals make value reductions, they need to point out the bottom value noticed on the product throughout a minimal interval of 30 days earlier than the discount, particulars the central council of the Belgian economy.