THE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has warned anew consumers in Negros Occidental against illegal sales promotions perpetrated by unscrupulous retailers during the holiday season.
DTI-Negros Occidental Provincial Director Lea Gonzales Monday, December 3, said the agency, through its monitoring team, is currently intensifying operations against prohibited promotions.
Under the DTI guidelines, establishments are required to secure permits from the agency before conducting any kind of promotion activities like sale and raffle.
Gonzales said this is to protect consumers from fraudulent businesses that may take advantage of holidays to increase their revenues.
“The monitoring of sales promotion activities is the agency’s measures to protect not only the consumers but also the legitimate business establishments," she reiterated.
The DTI had earlier said promotions for print ads and flyers can only be printed if an establishment has secured a sales promo permit.
Gonzales said establishment should submit first the letter of request before the issuance of the permit.
The letter of request includes the mechanics and the guidelines of the promotions as well as the kind of prizes to be given, she added.
In terms of validity of the mechanics, it will be determined based on the existing Consumer Act and Price Act.
For specific promotional activity like raffle, after issuing the sales promo permit, the DTI said it will send a representative to observe the actual draw and ensure that mechanics are followed by the establishment.
Also, the representative then reports through an “activity report” that the sales promotion and raffle has been conducted fairly.
Whatever prizes to be given to the winners indicated in the sales promo request submitted and approved by DTI should be strictly followed by the establishment, it added.
Gonzales said that even a simple change in the mechanics of the promo, including forfeited prizes, must also be reported to the DTI before the establishment modifies their sales promotion or raffle.
As of now, DTI-Negros Occidental has not yet received reports on illegal sales promotion activities.
"We continue to urge the public to report violations for necessary action," Gonzales said.