As many businesses have opted to utilize e-commerce platforms such as Facebook in doing business, sellers are reminded to indicate the specific prices of products being sold online, the Department of Trade Catanduanes Provincial Office said last week.
“If a customer is asking for the price, sellers shall not reply with “PM sent” or “PM is the key”, instead, the actual price shall be posted along with the photo of the product,” it said in a statement.
The DTI cited one of the Basic Rights of Consumers, the Right to Information, which mandates that “the consumer should be protected against dishonest or misleading advertising or labeling and has the right to be given the facts and information needed to make an informed choice.”
The sellers, both for brick-and-mortar stores and online stores, must display their prices outright to guide the potential buyers in making informed choices without going for extra effort in sending a direct message just to know the price of the product being offered, it stressed.
Republic Act No. 7394 or the Consumer Act states that “it shall be unlawful to offer any consumer product for retail sale to the public without an appropriate price tag, label or marking publicly displayed to indicate the price of each article and said products shall not be sold at a price higher than that stated therein and without discrimination to all buyers.”
Moreover, Republic Act No. 7581 or the Price Act stipulates that products being sold without a price tag can be an evidence of profiteering. Profiteering is committed by sellers who make or seek excessive or unfair profit.
Any person who violates the Price Tag Law shall be subject to a fine of Php500 but not more than Php500, 000, depending on the intensity of offense. Consumers are advised to be aware of their basic rights and righteously demand for accurate information from the sellers.