Crackdown vs. deceitful marketing ploys to continue

The city will continue its crackdown against sellers engaged in deceptive marketing ploys to entice customers and earn more profit.

City Permits and Licensing Officer Allan Abayao said operations will be sustained by the team composed of his office, the Public Order and Safety Division, both under the office of Mayor Benjamin Magalong and the Market Division under the City Treasury Office.

The team last July 29, 2022 pounced on a vendor selling imported oranges but being passed on as coming from Sagada town in Mt. Province upon the complaint of a client who also discovered that the seller used a tampered weighing scale to pad her gain.

A trading store found to be engaged in a tricky marketing strategy preying mostly on senior citizens and unwary residents was padlocked on July 23, 2022.

Abayao had enjoined the help of all businessmen in ridding the city of deceitful schemes in a letter he sent to malls and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) recently.

“Let us be vigilant especially to tenants/agents within your jurisdiction who are meeting passers-by or mallers and offering their products/services with deceptive market strategy. A trading business was already closed…and a vendor was also penalized in violation of the provisions of the Consumer Act  (RA 7394) and there are more to come,” he warned.

“Let us help one another in making our City FREE from any deceptive marketing strategies.  Galit po tayo sa mga manloloko,” he stressed.

Abayao said Article 50 of RA 7394 provides the definition of a deceptive act or practice by a seller:

“A deceptive act or practice by a seller or supplier in connection with a consumer transaction violates this Act whether it occurs before, during or after the transaction. An act or practice shall be deemed deceptive whenever the producer, manufacturer, supplier or seller, through concealment, false representation or fraudulent manipulation, induces a consumer to enter into sales or lease transaction of any consumer product or service.”  – Aileen P. Refuerzo