Trade Ministry on the lookout for White Friday scams

AMMAN — Amid ongoing White Friday deals across the country, the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Supply has confirmed that it is keeping track of fake discounts and sale scams.

Arab countries prefer to describe the last Friday in November as “White Friday”, as opposed to “Black Friday”. 

“Of course there are some retail stores that deceive customers, in order to sell their items,” ministry spokesperson Yanal Barmawi said.  To combat this issue, the ministry monitors the local market on a daily basis, particularly during sale periods, Barmawi added.

In a statement sent to The Jordan Times on Sunday, the National Society of Consumer Protection (NSCP) said that it has received a significant number of complaints regarding fake White Friday discounts.

 “The majority of complaints focused on consumers being exposed to discount fraud,” according to Mohammad Obeidat, head of the NSCP, who also pointed to the need for the relevant governmental agencies to protect consumers from fraud and misinformation.

“Many stores are misleading consumers. They want us to think that they reduced their prices, when in fact, they only increased original prices and the discounted price is actually the usual selling price,” Maha Ali, an Amman resident, told The Jordan Times.

Ali said that many stores that have online presence have different in-store prices than those offered online.

A significant number of retailers have offered fake discounts on White Friday, said Aseel Qutaishat, 25, who noted that “other stores, which claim they are offering up to 50 or 60 per cent off, barely have a couple of items marked as being on discount for 50 or 60 per cent. The majority are only on sale for 10 or 20 per cent”.

“Discounted prices are rarely real deals,” she added.