Beware of bogus bargains this Black Friday/Cyber Monday

November 16, 2023

The annual shopping spree we know as Black Friday and Cyber Monday is upon us. Our newly published CCPC research shows that younger consumers are more likely to trust Black Friday deals. More than half of those aged 15-24 say they trust the accuracy of advertised discounts.

This can leave them vulnerable to fake discounts. It’s important to know your consumer rights during these sales promotions, no matter what your age is. The bargain you’re eyeing up to splash the cash on may be too good to be true!

Stronger rights

Your shopping rights were strengthened by the Consumer Rights Act 2022 (CRA). When buying in the Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales at a reduced price, you have exactly the same rights and protections as you do if you buy at full price any other time of the year.

Read about your rights if you buy goods, services or digital content/services.

Faulty sales items

If a fault occurs within 30 days of buying the product, you can cancel the purchase and get a full refund. The refund must be the actual price you paid. If you no longer have your receipt but paid for the item with your card, a card statement will do.

A business can only repair or replace a product if you agree to that instead of a refund. Always contact the business first if something goes wrong. Your contract is with the business who sold you the goods and nobody else. You have rights on faulty goods if a business fails to meet their legal obligations to you.

Misleading sales pricing

Our research also reveals that three out of five shoppers are motivated by discounts. It’s important that businesses are honest and don’t mislead you into thinking you’re getting a better deal than you actually are. The ‘sales price’ offer and percentage discount applied may sway your decision to buy.

The seller cannot:

• discount a product from a price it was never on sale for
• hike the price up for a few days, then advertise a discount based on that artificial charge

When running campaigns like Black Friday/Cyber Monday, businesses must set their discounts based on the lowest price a product was on sale for during the previous 30 days. All goods on sale must now show this prior price. For example, if you see a laptop in the Black Friday sale ‘was €600 – now €400’, it must have been available for €600 (or over) throughout the previous 30 days . The regulations make it illegal for businesses to give a false or misleading previous price.

Learn more about price reductions.

Who to report to

If you believe the pricing was deliberately misleading rather than a genuine mistake, you should complain to the business. The CCPC can take enforcement action if we find that a business misled you. If you feel that a business has breached your consumer rights, report the business to us.

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