Last week saw the National Consumer Commission (NCC) embarking on a campaign to raise awareness about consumers’ rights when it comes to the display of prices to prevent vulnerable consumers from suffering unfair treatment at the hands of retailers.
“It is said that consumers with low literacy levels, which make up a large portion of the population, can easily be duped by unscrupulous retailers, especially during the busy festive season shopping rush,” stated the NCC.
The campaign which started at the beginning of last week aims to encourage ‘voluntary compliance amongst retailers’ according to the Consumer Protection Act’s pricing provisions, section 23 of the Act.
“Key among the pricing provisions is that information should be adequately displayed, expressed in the currency of the country, and be written in plain and understandable language,” the NCC added.
The growing trend of retailers displaying incorrect pricing on the shelf only for consumers to be surprised by mark-ups and ‘correct’ prices at the till have long plagued consumers.
With the festive season on our doorsteps, it is usually a prime time for retailers to take advantage of the pandemonium that exists within shopping aisles and stores as everyone rushes to get their Christmas shopping done. For this reason the commission are using this time to fight this ‘injustice’ and raise awareness around this, for the benefit of the consumer.
“Over the next two weeks the NCC will also undertake unannounced inspections to retailers around Tshwane, Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni and Middelburg in Mpumalanga Province to assess compliance with the CPA’s pricing provisions,” explained the commission.
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