These anomalies refer to the inconsistency between the price displayed on the shelf or the product and the price that is recorded at the time of payment at the checkout.
From January to November of this year, the Department of Metrology of Acodeco carried out 299 scanner verifications in an equal number of commercial establishments. More than 40% scanner failures: Acodeco reports erroneous prices in stores. Acodeco will intensify scanner verifications this month and reminded consumers of the steps to verify prices and file complaints. Complaints are anonymous, but they must specify the violations, the name, and the exact location of the establishment. Photographic evidence is suggested, whenever possible, to take a photograph of the price the product has on the shelf to compare it with the price recorded at the checkout or on the invoice.
During the current month, the actions of the Department of Metrology will focus mainly on reinforcing scanner verifications in different businesses, seeking to ensure that the advertised prices match those registered.
The results indicate that 125 tests did not comply with the provisions of Article 36 of Law 45 of 2007, while 174 were considered acceptable. It is important to highlight that during these reviews, Acodeco detects situations where products register both an undercharge (in favor of consumers) and an overcharge (against buyers).
Comparatively, Acodeco recalled that last year 448 scanner revisions were carried out, of which 225 resulted in non-compliance and 223 were satisfactory.
Acodeco Recommendations for Consumers Faced with the recurrence of price anomalies, the institution issued several recommendations for consumers to protect their rights:
- Price verification: Buyers must verify that the prices of the products remain visible, either on the shelf, the packaging, or through a sign.
- Attention at checkout: Pay attention at the time of purchases are registered at the checkout to confirm that the price indicated in the display is the same as the one marked in the system.
- Lower price prevails: If there are two prices for the same product, Law 45 of 2007 establishes that the lower one must be charged.
- Filing complaints: If a higher price than the advertised one is registered, consumers can file their complaint through WhatsApp 6330-3333 and the Citizen Attention Line 311.
Ciudad de Panamá, Panamá. - The Authority for Consumer Protection and Competition Defense (Acodeco) has reported the detection of 125 anomalies in scanner verification tests carried out in various commercial establishments nationwide.
