The Consumer Protection and Fair Trade Authority informed the dealer that it operated businesses under the names: Deal Century, Premium Sale and Direct Line for the imposition of a financial sanction in the amount of NIS 8.3 million. This is a high sanction that emphasizes the severity of the violations committed by the dealer. The dealer has no previous violations and therefore the financial sanction has been reduced by 20% in accordance with consumer protection regulations.
According to the authority’s announcement, the investigation began following intelligence work and numerous complaints received from consumers. The company that contacted the consumers, most of them elderly, through initiated phone calls in order to sell various products in a distance selling transaction, such as jewelry, kitchen utensils, small appliances, bedding and more. In the marketing and sale process, the company has taken aggressive marketing actions against consumers of unfair deception and influence, as well as violating its obligations under the law in a distance selling transaction, before and after the transaction.
In addition to operating the sales center where most of the violations were committed, the dealer engaged an array of representatives who made marketing calls outside the dealer’s offices. As can be seen from the evidence, these representatives used even more serious practices. The telephone sales calls were aimed at older consumers of the third age, and were characterized by a series of violations, deception and unfair influence throughout and after the call.
In the first stage, immediately at the beginning of the conversation, a representative of the dealer identified himself as a representative of the “Credit Card Holders Benefits Department” and as someone who works with Visa and Isracard, in a way that instilled in consumers the representation that the spokesperson is a representative of the credit company . This, while the dealer is not a credit company, does not act on behalf of any credit company, and is not authorized to present itself as such. In other cases, the representative of the dealer identified himself as representing additional bodies.
In the second stage, the representatives claimed that they were contacting the consumer because he had a “Visa or Isracard” credit card. This is in order to determine the presentation according to which they are official representatives of the credit companies, who call the consumer due to the fact that he holds a card of the credit company.
When the consumer confirmed that he had a credit card, the representative informed him that he was entitled to a series of benefits on various grounds. In practice, these statements, made to all consumers in whole or in part, have no grip on reality, have been claimed in ignorance and sweepingly, and are intended to present a benefit, even if it does not exist, in order to bring the consumer into contact with the dealer.
The company’s representatives informed consumers that the company holds a monetary credit in the amount of NIS 1,000 in the consumer’s name or a coupon in the same amount, and claimed that not using the credit would result in its cancellation. In practice, such a credit did not exist at all, this benefit did not exist at all, and the company never “canceled” the fictitious benefit but again and again offered it.
The dealer’s representative claimed that the benefits were given due to the fact that the consumer was a member of a customer club operated by the dealer. In practice, the dealer did not operate any customer club. A representative of the dealer claimed that they called the consumer because his name came up in some lottery. In practice, the dealer did not hold lotteries at all.
The company has performed acts of unfair influence: making repeated inquiries to the consumer even though he has explicitly expressed his desire to stop doing so, exploiting consumer disabilities, and providing paid products not at the express request, all for the purpose of entering into a transaction.
The company’s representatives informed consumers that they owed some debt, or that the consumers belong to a customer club operated by the dealer. The representatives claimed that in order to repay the debt or to terminate the membership in the club, consumers must pay thousands of shekels, or purchase products in an amount to be determined by the company. In practice, such a debt did not exist, the company did not operate any customer club at all, and after consumers sought to terminate their membership in the club allegedly, the company debited their credit card as a sale transaction for all intents and purposes and sent home various products. Sometimes the dealer even charged the credit cards of the consumers without prior sales call, and then sent home various products without their explicit request.
The company did not comply with the consumers’ demand to cancel a transaction, even though they did so on the date set by law. In other cases, the company demanded a cancellation fee from consumers at a higher rate than that stipulated by law.
Anita Yitzhak, Deputy Commissioner and Head of the Investigations and Intelligence Division: “This is a high financial sanction that highlights the many violations committed by the dealer, this is a very large-scale violation, hundreds of violations against dozens of consumers. The investigation materials revealed shocking cases of exploitation of mostly elderly consumers, “The elderly continue to operate against companies that harm the consumer public, with an emphasis on vulnerable consumer populations, and will prosecute any dealer who acts while harming and exploiting the consumer public.”