Mediamarkt, Carrefour and five other companies fined for false discounts during Black Friday

The Spanish government fined MediaMarkt, Carrefour, PC Componentes, Notino Italia, Gestaweb 2020, and two other companies (whose names have not been released) for offering false discounts during Black Friday 2023. The ministry sanctioned the seven companies with a total of €350,000 for price gouging. According to a statement released by the consumer protection agency Consum, the fines, listed from highest to lowest, were: Notino Italia (€110,000), Gestaweb 2020 (€100,000), MediaMarkt (€25,000), and Carrefour (€21,500). The companies were ordered to withdraw the false discounts for being misleading and unfair to consumers and are prohibited from repeating these practices.

Regarding this Black Friday, Consum has launched a major monitoring and surveillance campaign to prevent consumer fraud, as announced a few days ago by Pablo Bustinduy, Minister of Social Rights, Consumer Affairs, and Agenda 2030. Specifically, Consum's general management will monitor, through a comprehensive review process, any prices that are flagged and then reduced to the original prices. They will also track other illicit practices, such as drip pricing, pressure sales techniques, dynamic pricing, and personalized pricing based on personal data.

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