With the proximity of Black Friday, which takes place on the last Friday of November, offering promotions to consumers, consumer protection entities advise citizens not to fall into traps when faced with so-called mega sales and apparently low prices. The date, traditional in the United States, has been held in Brazil since 2010, and started as an exclusively online event, moving to physical retail afterwards. Shopkeepers use the day to increase the output of products and renew stocks for Christmas.
According to the lawyer for the Relationship Area of the Consumer Defense Institute (Idec), David Guedes, it is important to pay attention to three factors during these periods of promotion and great commercial appeal, which are these special dates. First, the planning, which involves calmly looking for the items you need in order not to give in to the temptations of these promotions.
The lawyer warns that people like the word promotion, and therefore it is necessary to avoid making purchases that go beyond the real need for consumption and their financial reality. “We are in a very difficult moment in which the debt of families in Brazil is above 75% due to several factors, so it is important that people make conscious consumption, using these opportunities to buy items that they really need and do not go into debt for nothing”.
The second point, according to Guedes, is the research, which is nothing more than checking the desired items, the quality, specifications and the supplier, especially the unknown one. “It is necessary to research the reputation of that store, how it solves problems with the consumer, if there is a very difficult and long history of problems, and how the company deals with this type of problem related to previous Black Fridays. All this information we got it on the internet quite easily”.
The last point is security, with the consumer being aware of the large number of scams, such as false links on social networks, appearing as advertisements with a strong appeal and attractiveness, with a price well below that practiced in the market and far from the reality of the promotion. “Many people believe, click on the link and end up installing viruses on their device or even being directed to a false payment page that disappears afterwards. One must be wary of very advantageous offers and avoid buying from unknown suppliers”, said the Idec lawyer.
Guedes highlights the issue of false discounts, which also tend to occur during this period, when the company raises its prices in the previous days and on the day of Black Friday it decreases to give the false idea of a discount. “This is fraud and can be reported to the Procon. It is important that the consumer follows the planning line with the surveys carried out in previous weeks to verify if this type of maneuver is taking place and avoid doing business with this type of seller, because there will be suppliers with truly affordable prices”, he guides.
Complaints can be made to the Procon in the city where the consumer resides or to the website of the National Consumer Secretariat (Senacon)?? If the person is the victim of a fraud with financial loss, it is necessary to file a police report.
“If the consumer can somehow identify the company or the seller, it is possible to file a complaint with the Procon. However, it is very common that this is not so easy, because fraudsters normally use false companies”, he said.
Guedes recalled that it is practically impossible to recover the amounts paid in these cases because the scammers have a very specific way of acting so as not to be identified, “that is why it is so important that the consumer takes all measures to protect himself”.
The lawyer also highlighted that all trade rules in general apply to the date, such as the delivery period and the right of repentance, which has a period of 7 days from the receipt of the product. “There is no difference. And the supplier needs to comply with the offer he makes. If there is any problem and if the buyer tries to solve it with the company and is not able to, he can seek the consumer protection agencies”.
To guide and clarify the doubts of consumers who intend to shop during the Black Friday period, Idec created a booklet that can be accessed at institute website??
