The Ministry of Commerce requires full compliance with the “Commercial Advertisement and Unfair Commercial Practices Regulation” due to the guiding effect of discounted sales on consumers.
In the investigations, it was determined that overlapping misleading final discount calculations such as “50 percent + 20 percent + 10 percent” created confusion among consumers.
Although it was stated in the main text of the advertisement that there was a discount on all products, it was determined that many products were excluded from the scope with footnotes, and the campaign conditions were presented in fonts too small and faint to read. Among the violations emphasized were the lack of start and end dates of discounted sales and the unrealistically high reference price in discounts made through loyalty cards.
PENALTIES ARE DOUBLED BY MEDIUM
Within the scope of the Consumer Protection Law No. 6502, advertisers, advertising agencies and media organizations that act contrary to the legislation are subject to sanctions. The Advertising Board has the authority to stop advertisements, correct them using the same method, or impose administrative fines, depending on the nature of the violation.
Administrative fines can start from 99 thousand 339 liras and go up to 39 million 916 thousand 524 liras, depending on the medium in which the advertisement is published. When determining the amount of the penalty, the Board takes into account the size of the unfair advantage obtained, the damage suffered by the consumer and the fault of the violator.
“FIRST WARNING, THEN PUNISH” STRATEGY
The Ministry of Commerce informed the relevant professional organizations and their members to prevent consumers from suffering and businesses to avoid heavy penalties.
Ministry experts emphasized that advertisements should be fully compliant with the legislation. It was noted that all commercial practices that lead to speculative price movements and violate the rule of honesty will be followed meticulously.
