The price hike trap of supermarkets trying to escape "exorbitant price" inspections has been exposed.

The President of the Consumer Confederation (TÜKONFED), Aydın Ağaoğlu, stated that some opportunists have developed various methods to avoid being caught in excessive price inspections at many points, saying, "Instead of suddenly increasing prices by 30-40%, they spread the excessive price increase over 1.5-2 months with small increases every 4-5 days or once a week."

Ağaoğlu, in his statement, mentioned that at the end of last year, price increases were experienced in many items, from legumes to fruits and vegetables, citing the expected increases in the minimum wage as a justification, and explained that the price change date on some products' labels reads "December 31, 2024."

"THEY SPREAD THE INCREASES OVER DAYS"

Questioning, "What happened that you raised prices and changed labels on the last day of the year, that is, on December 31?" Ağaoğlu said: "As excessive price inspections increased, supermarkets, companies, and wholesalers are taking precautions accordingly. Various methods are being developed to avoid being caught in excessive price inspections at many points. Instead of suddenly increasing by 30-40%, they spread the price increases over 1.5-2 months with small increases every 4-5 days or once a week. The opportunists are progressing with increases of 8%, 11%, or 12%. One consumer recounted that he bought a box of eggs for 120 lira. The next week it was 130 lira, and the following week it increased again to 150 lira. When he asked why it increased so much, the seller warned him, 'You will buy it for 180 lira next week.' Depending on the price, sometimes there are those who add just 1 lira every 3-5 days, while sometimes they add 5 lira. In other words, they spread the increases over days and think it doesn't look like excessive pricing, but that's not the case."

CALL TO CONSUMERS

Ağaoğlu urged consumers to pay attention to price changes on labels, saying, "Consumers should report any abnormal price increases they detect to the Unfair Price Assessment Board under the Ministry of Trade. The provincial trade directorates in 81 provinces will conduct the necessary investigations and impose sanctions."

PENALTIES UP TO 800 THOUSAND LIRA

Pointing out that the penalties to be applied from the beginning of this year range from 80 thousand to 800 thousand lira, Ağaoğlu stated, "If a local market has committed an offense, the penalty is 80 thousand lira; if a chain store has done so nationwide, a penalty of 10 times the product price is imposed. In other words, if it has been done on 10 products, a penalty of 8 million lira can be imposed. Here, a significant responsibility falls on consumers. The biggest inspectors are the consumers." he said.