The National Consumer Commission (NCC) has warned consumers to exercise caution when interacting with certain suppliers during this Black Friday, during the festive season and beyond.
The NCC said it has identified about 40 suppliers that seem to have either disappeared or cannot be traced at their addresses listed on the sales records or websites provided to consumers.
The commission spokesperson, Pheto Ntaba, said these allegedly fraudulent suppliers were identified through the complaints received from affected consumers, who had either bought products online or in-store.
“The modus operandi observed is that these suppliers accept the orders, take consumers’ money and never deliver the goods or services as expected.
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.
The suppliers would later abandon the websites or delete the sites completely,” said Ntaba.
The commission has published a list of these suppliers on its website and urged any of the suppliers on the list who have become traceable to immediately contact it to be removed from the list.
The NCC warned consumers to be extra cautious or to avoid doing business with these suppliers as their intention is to defraud consumers.
Moreover, the commission warned consumers to carefully study the prices when spending during Black Friday.
Consumers are further reminded that knowing the original prices of items they intend to buy 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.
