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Consumers' Foundation pans Watsons ads

Consumers' Foundation president Cheng Jen-hung yesterday accuses Watsons of misleading the public through its advertising. PHOTO: CHU PEI-HSIUNG, TAIPEI TIMES

The Consumers' Foundation (消基會) yesterday accused Watsons, the nation's biggest personal-care retailer, of fraudulent advertisements that may have damaged consumers' rights and infringed upon fair trade regulations, calling on the Fair Trade Commission to look into the case.

Watsons' latest ad campaign and commercials claim that when consumers bought a product they could pay an extra NT$1 to get two.

However, when consumers went to the stores they found that they had to buy two of the same product, then add NT$1 to obtain a small pack of trial products, which was completely different to what appeared in the TV commercial, the foundation said.

"The misleading advertisements have violated Article 21 of the Fair Trade Law (公平交易法) and the commission should look into the matter right away," foundation president Cheng Jen-hung (程仁宏) told a press conference yesterday.

A small disclaimer in the TV commercial, which said that consumers should refer to notices in stores for the conditions and restrictions of the promotion running through March 28, could not excuse the improper advertising and is not legally binding on consumers, the commission said.

In response, Watsons said they had not mislead the public, as details of the promotion are clearly stated on its shelves and in its monthly catalog.

Up to 70 percent of more than 500 selected items are buy one get one with an extra NT$1, while the other items are buy two, get one with an extra NT$1, the Central News Agency cited Watsons as saying. The products given away for NT$1 are not necessarily the same products that customers had purchased, the retailer said.

Meanwhile, Fair Trade Commission spokesman Lin Yi-yu (林益裕) said the regulator will investigate.

The investigation could lead to a fine of between NT$50,000 (US$1,513) and NT$25 million, according to the regulations, if Watsons was found guilty, Lin said by telephone yesterday.

Watsons was fined NT$500,000 earlier this month for misleading advertisements selling cosmetics.
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