Nicolette Dirk
THE National Consumer Commission (NCC) is to investigate whether the Consumer Protection Act (CPA) was contravened
after complaints about Mango Clothing store’s cancellation of online sale prices.
On Monday, clothing items were advertised from R1 upwards, causing a buying hysteria among online shoppers. But by Tuesday, shoppers were informed via e-mail and on Mango’s Facebook page that orders were cancelled.
Buyers took to Facebook to vent their anger.
One wrote: “Disgusted with Mango. It’s not a technical fault. The order was confirmed and the money taken out of my bank account. What the customer sees is what the customer gets. False advertising and definitely a cause for reputational damage.”
Another stated that prices seen on an order, paid in full, is an order that must be honoured.
NCC spokesperson Trevor Hattingh, however, said a supplier can retract a displayed price under certain circumstances.
“We also received one formally lodged complaint which we will be assessing to establish if there was a contravention of the CPA.”
Mango spokesperson Marta Soler Morera said the promotion of up to 50 percent was part of a worldwide drive. .
“In South Africa, some of the garments included in this selection were affected by a technical problem involving prices, reducing them to more than 99 percent of their original price.
“As soon as the company realised the error, Mango proceeded to immediately communicate this to all clients affected and cancelled the orders, issuing all the refunds straight away,” she said.