Are Black Friday deals actually providing the ‘consumer’ a saving
Did you grab a bargain this year during the Black Friday sales? Dean Dunham looks into product pricing from retailers during Black Friday and urges consumers to compare their deal prices to see if they did make a good saving or not.
The Retail Ombudsman had lots of complaints last year (post-Black Friday) with many consumers complaining that the deal they thought they were getting on Black Friday turned out to be only a slight saving or even nothing at all. In some cases, the price was actually more expensive during the Black Friday sales. Now, a week on from Black Friday, we are receiving the same complaints.
Talking to LBC Radio, Dean Dunham highlights the issue and reminds retailers about their obligation to provide honest pricing on their products and not to mislead the consumer during sales events such as Black Friday.
“A retailer must compare the Black Friday price or the sale price with the price they had the goods at immediately before the sale commenced,” Dean explained.
“Some retailers will tell you what the price was at 3 months ago, but forget to put the words ‘three months ago’, so you [consumers] think this is the price immediately before Black Friday and think you are getting a great deal,” he added.
Are we really getting a great deal?
“What happens with Black Friday. We all assume automatically that we are all getting a good deal, but it’s not always the case and we have to be careful,” Dean says.
Looking at other sectors in retail, Dean explains that supermarkets are now tightly regulated on sale prices so that they are not misleading the consumer and he thinks sectors, like shops and online retailers, need to be regulated as well.
“We still see retailers in shops and online pulling these tricks which is why we see all these complaints at The Retail Ombudsman.”
The advice from Dean to consumers planning on hitting the festive sales this year is to do your homework on pricing:
“Because we have the internet it is so easy to go around and compare prices and that’s what people need to do.”
We would like to know about your Black Friday purchases. Did you get a good deal or was the price far from a great saving? Just head over to our Twitter account or our Facebook page and let us know. For more information on your consumer rights, please click the video link below and listen to the rest of the show.
Read more consumer advice articles here.
