Concerned with problems that may arise for consumers in this holiday season, Procon-RJ has launched a guidance booklet for Christmas shopping.
The Director of Customer Service at Procon-RJ, Evelyn Capucho, said today (19) to Brazil Agency that, in general, the municipality verifies problems related to the delivery of products in purchases onlinewhen the company does not deliver the product or the consumer himself does not check the deadline for delivery of the merchandise, which ends up arriving, sometimes, on a later date than the one he needs to give as a gift.
Another problem is that of exchange, involving from cases in which this type of policy is not correctly informed to the consumer, to when the consumer does not pay attention to this process in the company.
In the booklet, Procon-RJ also alerts to the existence of websites fraudulent, where the consumer ends up being induced to arrive for lower prices or for some email Received. “So he clicks on that link and it’s not the site from the real store. It’s a type of fraud. These are things that we try to warn about. They are tips for consumers not to fall into scams, so they don’t have problems that are not necessary”, said Evelyn.
Invoice
The Christmas shopping tips booklet advises the consumer to always demand the invoice. “If, upon receiving the product in a physical store, he asks for the invoice; if he is working on the purchase, and the product will be delivered at home, because it is a virtual store or he is not at the establishment, that he has the purchase order, that he keeps it emails exchanged with that store, write down protocols. That he always tries to have all the documentation that registers that hiring he is doing. And the invoice is very important”, said Evelyn.
The president of Procon-RJ, Cássio Coelho, highlighted that the booklet covers everything from the act of purchase, both in physical and virtual stores, with the points that must be observed by the consumer, until delivery and what must be done in cases of non-receipt of the product. “If, even so, the consumer has any problem, he can contact Procon through the service channels available on the website”, added Coelho.
Guarantee
Evelyn Capucho also recalled the existence of the legal guarantee, which is linked to the fact that it is a durable or non-durable product. In the first case, the guarantee is valid for up to 90 days and, in the case of non-durable products, for 30 days. “Other than that, it is common for manufacturers, it is not law, to give a contractual guarantee of up to one year”. The guarantee above the legal one, which exceeds the period of 30 or 90 days, is called a contractual guarantee or manufacturer’s guarantee. “It is important for the consumer to verify this, to find out how long he will be insured”.
The booklet also clarifies what the so-called extended warranty is, what that contract covers, to find out if there are advantages for the consumer or not. In fact, the extended warranty is an insurance contract, an insurance policy. Therefore, Evelyn points out that the consumer needs to find out about the coverage that is given to know if it is interesting for him. “Because, not necessarily, what is there will be equal to the legal guarantee, which is a total guarantee of the product”, she warned. “He can hire, but hire what he really needs”, she added.
Commemorative dates
In the opinion of the director of Procon, the consumer is more informed about their rights, but, depending on the time of year, problems may occur. Complaints received by the municipality act as a thermometer of what is happening in the consumer market. According to Evelyn, important dates for the trade, such as Mother’s Day, Valentine’s Day, Father’s Day and Children’s Day, Black Friday and Christmas are always more likely to present problems.
“The busier the trade, the greater the chance of problems. Therefore, we seek to guide people towards conscious consumption. That they are aware of their rights, which they often fail to observe in their haste to make that purchase.”
The booklet can be accessed at link https://bit.ly/NatalProconRJ2022
