Warning over dodgy suppliers in South Africa

The National Consumer Commission (NCC) has issued a warning to consumers, urging them to exercise caution when interacting with certain suppliers during this Black Friday, the festive season and beyond.

This comes after the NCC identified and shared the names of around 40 suppliers that have either disappeared or cannot be traced at their addresses listed on the sales records or websites provided to consumers.

These suppliers were identified through the complaints received from affected consumers, who had bought products either online or instore.

“The modus operandi observed is that these suppliers accept the orders, take consumers’ money and never deliver the goods or services as expected,” said the NCC.

“These suppliers would thereafter move from the known addresses without providing any forwarding address.

The same with online suppliers, these suppliers would also take orders, accept payments and never deliver the products [and] later abandon the websites or delink the sites completely,” added the commission.

The NCC warns consumers “to be extra cautious or to avoid doing business with [the listed] suppliers as their intention is to defraud consumers.”

Broadly, the Consumer Protection Act (CPA) mandates that suppliers provide accurate sales records, including physical addresses, contact numbers, and websites, to ensure consumers and authorities can easily locate them.

The NCC said that suppliers are reminded of their responsibility under the CPA, including the prohibition on misleading or deceptive marketing.

The CPA requires that when a retailer or service provider markets the goods, they must do so in a manner that is not misleading or deceiving.

This includes the condition of the goods, the price at which the goods may be supplied, or the relationship of the price to any previous price or competitor’s price for comparable or similar goods.

As Black Friday rages on and the festive season fast approaches, the NCC reminds consumers that knowing the original prices of items they intend buying during this period will help to determine if an item is indeed discounted or not.

Consumers are urged to be very vigilant when transacting online as some of the online stores are masquerading as legitimate businesses while they are effectively out to scam consumers,” said the NCC.

The list of these suppliers is available on the NCC’s website. Any supplier who has become traceable should contact the NCC to be immediately removed from the list.

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