The attention of consumers in view of Black Friday is drawn by the Union of Greek Consumers’ Workers’ Union of the Greek Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, urging them to be particularly careful and not to be lured by seemingly impressive offers. The association suggests following five rules to ensure that consumers do not fall victim to “offers”:

Conduct market research and check not only the price (original and new) but also the quality of products. They should also search the internet for the price of the product they are about to choose by code or model number, so that they can be sure that the price they have identified is the most advantageous.

Delineate their needs and plan by list the purchases they are going to make, which will be in line with their personal or family budget while avoiding wasteful spending

To be informed of the details and terms of their transaction when buying products on installments. Especially for credit card purchases, always be aware of the terms and conditions of that particular purchase.

Specifically for this day and for all discount periods in general, they should take into account that any notice of price reduction shall indicate the previous price applied by the supplier during the thirty (30) day period prior to the application of the price reduction. A price reduction notice is any announcement by a merchant that it has reduced the price it charges for a product or service.

Indication of a new (lower) price together with the previous (higher) price applied. The previous price may be displayed in a deleted form. E.g. “now 50 euros, before 100 euros” or “50 euros”.

Other advertising practices, such as “buy today without paying VAT”, which informs the consumer that the price reduction is equal to the value of the VAT (without implying that VAT is not collected).

Announcements such as “discounted” price, “special offers” or “Black Friday offers”

Always ask for the receipt for products purchased. In case the product is defective and they want to return or exchange it, showing the receipt is necessary.

For any problem, complaint or grievance regarding your transactions, consumers can contact the Hellenic Consumers’ Union (210-8817730) and the online complaint form: https://eeke.gr/epikinonia/kataggelies/ 

Theodoricakos on Black Friday checks: There are indications of violation of legislation in 2,000 codes

“To defeat inflation, we need to have strong growth, we need to have jobs for our children. There is nothing greater than the right of people to work and the government has achieved a significant reduction in unemployment,” Takis Theodorikakos, Minister of Development, said, speaking to Mega.

Specifically on the checks ahead of Black Friday, he noted that in the ten thousand codes under control there are indications of violation of the law in two thousand, and also for an influencer promoting products.

“I want to encourage people to report what they see so that inspections can be as targeted as possible,” he stressed, adding: “We are with the community, we have no one to spare.”

Theodoricakos pointed out that supermarkets and their suppliers are banned from making a higher percentage of profit than they had in December 2021. “The first thing I did when I took over as minister in charge is that we increased the fine sixfold. The six million hurts,” he said.

“As a result of the huge pressure, hundreds of codes have been reduced in price,” he said, making it clear that “those who raised prices before including codes in the initiative will be fined.”

“Unfortunately, there are many ‘smart ones’ who think they can fool people, but audits are underway at 26 major companies – all supermarkets the multinationals and the food industry – and the results will start to be announced in the next few days,” he said.