Valletta Make-Up Shop’s ‘Misleading’ Sales Pitch Had A Customer Paying €750 On Anti-Acne Products
A consumer raised complaints with the Malta Competition and Consumer Affairs Authority after a salesman from Beauty Bar Venofye misled them into paying €500 more than initially pitched for anti-acne products.
Venofye has been ordered to refund the customer the surplus amounts after a Court Tribunal decided the sales conduct was misleading for the consumer.
The consumer was accosted on the streets of Valletta by a salesman offering a convincing pitch for an anti-acne product priced at €250. When the consumer had accepted the purchase, the salesman proceeded to add other products to the package without making it clear that these would carry an extra cost. The consumer was under the impression that these extra items were free or included in the discussed price.
The consumer ended up paying a total of €750 for the products.
Realising the mistake, the consumer requested a refund and was initially accepted to refund the extra money paid but this solution never materialised.
The Tribunal remarked that there was an element of confusion concerning the actual conditions of the transaction. The only certainty was that the consumer was willing to buy a product costing €250. As the consumer was about to pay, at the very last moment, the salesman began mentioning other products which he included in the sales transaction.
The Tribunal stated that this was not right, as in such transactions, everything must be made clear from the very beginning and the buyer must know exactly what they are buying and how much they are paying.