Consumer Protection sent inspectors to establishments with a history of deceptive advertising
Taken from Diario Libre
Black Friday 2021 wasn't as bustling as in previous years. The day started off quietly. The main businesses in the central district operated normally, and the usual frenzy of other years was nowhere to be seen.
Citizens attributed the situation to a lack of money, others to the fact that the offers have been available since the beginning of November.
“I needed an air conditioner and I bought it two weeks ago. It was a great purchase because today, when it's supposed to be cheaper, it's a bit more expensive,” said Jesús Almonte, a consumer who was at one of the establishments visited by the executive director of Pro Consumidor, Eddy Alcántara.
The day was passing normally, traffic jams as usual, but some people were seen leaving the stores with televisions, furniture, bedroom sets, washing machines, stoves and portable speakers, among other things.
Mario Lama, president of the National Organization of Commercial Enterprises (ONEC) and one of the main executives of the Plaza Lama stores, assured that before the current problems of delays and high maritime transport costs arose, the department store was able to stock up in advance, so he indicated that it has enough inventory to offer consumers this Black Friday and for the rest of 2021.
“We (Plaza Lama), thank God, were able to stock up in time, before the problems with maritime cargo began, which, as everyone knows, is a bit expensive and ships are scarce,” the businessman explained.
Expectations were high at Plaza Lama for Black Friday, and they hoped to surpass those expectations and emerge from the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
On stage, the executive director of the National Institute for the Protection of Consumer Rights (Pro Consumidor), Eddy Alcántara, congratulated the executives of Plaza Lama and expressed that this is one of the establishments that the entity has been monitoring since November 1, with the prior verification.
“We are checking the price of the offer and it is certainly below the price that was being offered since we started doing the operations,” he said.
He indicated that so far they had not received any complaints about misleading offers, but that inspectors would remain throughout the day at the establishments that had previously been the subject of complaints.
"The report we have is that all the offers being displayed are certainly based on the price it previously had," he reiterated.
The inspectors from Pro Consumidor have been dispersed throughout Greater Santo Domingo, Santiago, San Cristóbal, La Vega and San Pedro de Macorís, among other places.
