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CONSUMER RIGHTS Q: What is the legal basis of the prohibition on the “No Return,
No Exchange” policy of business establishments?
Q: Do you know your Consumer Rights?
A: Pursuant to the Implementing Rules and Regulations of R.A.
7394, or the Consumer Act of the Philippines, specifically Title
A: Dapat! III, Chapter 1, Rule 2, Section 7 of Department Administrative
Order (DAO) No. 2, Series of 1993, the words “No Return,
 Right to Basic Needs No Exchange”, or words to such effect shall not be written into
 Right to Safety the contract of sale, receipt of sales transaction, in any
documents as evidence of sale, or anywhere in the store or
 Right to Information
business establishment.
 Right to Choose
 Right to Representation
Q: What is the rationale for this provision?
 Right to Redress
 Right to Consumer Education
A: The prohibition is aimed to correct the misconception of a lot
 Right to Healthy Environment of consumers today that they do not have the right to return
shoddy or defective goods or de mand for remedies, in case of
Q: Like mo ba ang Online Shopping? defective or imperfect service because of the “No Return,
No Exchange” notice in the receipts or anywhere in the
A: Yes! Basta May DTI Sales Promotion Permit. business establishments.

Q: Ano ang mahalaga sa Label ng Produkto?
A:
 Expiry Date
 Product at Brand Name
 Name at Address ng Manufacturer
 Translation sa English o Filipino
Q: Why is the presence of a “No Return, No Exchange” notice
considered deceptive?
A: Such statement is considered deceptive because
consumers may return or exchange the goods or avail of other
remedies, in case of hidden faults or defects, or any charge the
buyer was not aware of the time of purchase. By provision of
law, sellers are obligated to honor their implied warranties and
grant corresponding remedies to consumers.

Q: Paano makararating and Balikbayan Box sa loved ones Q: Can Business establishments still issue official receipts with
mo? the “No Return, No Exchange”?

A: Ipadala lamang ang Balikbayan Box sa mga Consolidators o
Freight Forwarders na may Philippine counterparts/agents na
accredited ng DTI.
Q: Ano ang SRP?
A: Ang SRP o Suggested Retail Price ay nagsisilbing gabay ng
mga mamimili upang makasiguro na tapat ang presyo ng
produkto.
Q: No Return, No Exchange?
A: No way! Basta depektibo and biniling produkto, pwede i-
replace, i-repair o i-refund.
A: The Plan has six-month objectives and three-year
objectives. Business establishments with unused Official
Receipts should erase or blot out the words “No Return, No
Exchange” before issuing such receipts and henceforth,
such words should no longer be printed in their receipts or
anywhere in their business establishments.
Q: If an item bought from store Y turns out to be more
expensive than a similar item in store X, can the customer
return the item and ask for a refund?
A: No. While consumers have the right to choose and make a
canvass of prices, once a sale in done and the product has no
defect, one cannot return the goods nor ask for a refund

Q: Can a store exercise only a policy of exchange but not

Q: Two Price Tags? refund?

A: Bawal! Dapat isa lang ang presyo, cash man o credit card. A: Consumers are entitled to either an exchange or refund, as
long as there is a defect in the quality of goods or imperfection
Q: Problema sa Product Quality and Safety? in the service.

A: Wala dapat! May mga Quality at Safety Standards upang
masiguro ang kaligtasan at kasiyahan ng konsyumer.
Q: Surcharge sa Credit Card?
A: No! Bayaran lamang kung magkano ang nakasulat sa Price
Tag.
Q: No Repair, Replacement o Refund?
A: Basta may Resibo o Warranty Card, pwede na! Lahat ng
mga produkto o serbisyo na binibili ay may nakapaloob na
Warranty.
Q: If the defect is due to mishandling on the part of the buyer,
can he/she still return the item and demand and exchange or
refund?
A: No. The prohibition covers only hidden defects, shoddy
goods or imperfect service.
Q: If after buying a certain item, a customer changes his/her
mind and wants to return said item. Can he/she invoke the
prohibition on “No Return, No Exchange”?
A: No, the prohibition is not an excuse for the consumer to
return the goods because of a change of mind.

Q: Nadaya ka na ba? Q: Is there a time limit within which a buyer may return
defective products?
A: Para makaiwas, maging alerto at wais sa mga Sales Offer
na karaniwan ay hindi totoo. A: There is no hard-and-fast rule on the period within which a
customer may return the products he purchased. A rule of
reason should, however, be observed, taking into consideration
NO RETURN, NO EXCHANGE the nature of the item purchased and the express / implied

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warranties mandated by law, i.e. Consumer Act and the New
Civil Code of the Philippines.
Q: Can a buyer return defective goods without the official
receipt?
A: The Official Receipt is the best proof of purchase. However,
he/she may still demand replacement or refund if he/she can
prove that a defective item was bought from a certain store.
Q: Can a store print in their invoices the statement “Exchange
of Merchandise will not be accepted without a valid receipt or
other evidence of purchase”?
A: No, because there may be goods exclusively manufactured
or sold by a company and there is no need to prove purchase
of the item.
Q: Can a store impose the condition that merchandise can only
be exchanged once?
A: No, because merchandise can be exchanged as many
times, as long as the consumer chooses the option of
replacement.
GIFT CHECKS, CARDS, AND
CERTIFICATES
DAO 10-04: Guidelines on the Issuance, Use and Redemption
of Gift Checks, Certificates or Gift Cards in accordance with
Republic Act No. 7394 or the Consumer Act of the Philippines,
and for other Purposes
Gift Check/ Certificate/ Card - an instrument issued by a
supplier to an individual, partnership or a juridical entity for
monetary consideration evidencing a promise by the issuer that
consumer goods or services will be exchanged in favor of the
bearer upon presentation of said gift certificate/ check/ card to
the value, credit, specific good, service or event shown in the
instrument. It represents value held in trust by
the issuer/supplier/distributor, thus DTI intends to regulate its
use to protect consumers and ensure that they are not unduly
deprived of their money
Salient Features:
 Upon effectivity of the order, 16 July 2010, all gift
checks/ certificates/ cards issued must bear a date of
issue and an expiry of two (2) years.
 Starting 01 July 2012, all suppliers, issuers,
distributors and sellers are prohibited to issue and/or
sell gift certificates/check/cards with an expiry date.
 Gift certificates/checks/cards that are
distributed to consumers under
awards, loyalty or promotional programs are
not covered.
 All gift checks/certificates/cards with no
expiry dates shall be redeemable until used
by the bearer.
 Holders of unused and unexpired gift check/
certificates/ cards after June 30, 2012 shall
be entitled to replacement after revalidation
by suppliers.
 Terms and conditions of unused gift check s/
certificates/ cards issued before the
effectivity of this order shall be honored; but
those bearing expiry dates beyond June 30,
2012 shall be subject to revalidation or
replacement.
 Goods and services that are paid with gift
certificates/check/card are qualified in
promotional sales activities, loyalty
programs, warranties, return policies for cash
purchases, and discounts for senior
citizens/persons with disability.
 The suppliers cannot be held liable for gift
certificates/ checks/ cards under that are:
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 lost due to no fault of the supplier;
and
 mutilated or defaced due to no fault
of the supplier and such
damage prevents the supplier from
identifying the security and
authenticity features thereof.
SALES TALK
...should not misrepresent the product or service.
In the game of selling, advertising gets products and services
noticed by consumers. Literature, printed in posters, flyers and
brochures or posted on the company website, provides the
important details that could push consumers into buying. But, it
takes a master in the art of sales talk to win the customer and
complete the sales transaction.
Yes, we are living in an increasingly impersonal, computerized
world. Transactions made over the Internet are on the rise.
Several local retail establishments have also put up websites
where their customers can order online and have them
delivered to the house.
Yet, there is no doubt that a majority of consumers still look for
that human touch and continue to go to the retail outlets to buy
stuff. Malls and supermarkets are packed with people even
during weekdays. And, in spite of conveniences of these
places offer, places like Divisoria and wet markets, where the
culture of haggling and negotiating thrive, continue to give
them a run for their money. Consumers want actual live
people to explain the virtues of a certain product or service to
them before they actually buy these goods.
Thus, in the traditional retail setting, it is the good sales
persons that keep the customers coming back.
First of all, the sales personnel must be trained to deal with all
kinds of personalities. Never rude to clients no matter what
mood they are in. For the duration of the transaction, they are
able to make the clients still feel as if they are the most
important people in the world. Second, the sales personnel
must know the product or service like the back of their hands.
Nothing annoys consumers more than a sales person who
knows squat about the item he is selling.
Most important in the art of sales talk is not to misrepresent the
product or service just so the consumer would buy it. Sales talk
serves to inform consumers that the product or service
addresses a certain consumer need, therefore it is a given that
sales talk highlights the good qualities of the goods being sold.
Still, trickery and deception should never be a part of the sales
pitch.
The Consumer Act protects consumers against deceptive sales
practices. A deceptive sales act or practice is defined as an act
on the part of the seller that induces a consumer to enter into a
sales or lease transaction of any consumer product or
service through concealment, false representation or fraudulent
manipulation.
What does concealment, false representation, or fraudulent
manipulation mean? The law cites several examples such as
the following:
 A consumer product or service has the sponsorship,
approval, performance, characteristics, ingredients,
accessories, uses, or benefits it does not have.
 A consumer product or service is of a particular
standard, quality, grade, style or model when in fact it
is not.
 A consumer product is new, original or unused, when
in fact, it is in a deteriorated, altered, reconditioned,
reclaimed or second-hand state.
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 A consumer product or service is available to the
consumer for a reason that is different from the fact.
 A consumer product or service has been supplied in
accordance with the previous representation when in
fact it is not.
 A consumer product or service can be supplied in a
quantity greater than the supplier intends.
 A service, or repair of a consumer product is needed
when in fact it is not.
 A specific price advantage of a consumer product
exists when in fact it does not.
 The sales act or practice involves or does not involve
a warranty, a disclaimer of warranties, particular
warranty terms or other rights, remedies or obligations
if the indication is false.
 The seller or supplier has a sponsorship, approval, or
affiliation he does not have.
It is government policy to promote and encourage fair, honest,
and equitable relations among parties - the seller and the buyer
- in consumer transactions. Retailers are encouraged to
promote transparency to consumers among their ranks. All
information about a product or service, especially those that
concern pricing and quality, should be disclosed to
the consumer.
For instance, clothing stores sometimes goes on sale for items
with factory defects. If a shirt is being sold at a discount
because it has an inconspicuous hole or tear then the seller
should mark the shirt where the “imperfection” is located. In
this way, the consumer is informed that there is a reason for
the mark -down in prices.
By giving him that information, he is given the power to choose:
to buy a perfect but more expensive shirt, or a discounted one
with the inconspicuous hole. If he does choose the shirt with
the hole, he cannot complain that the item is defective.
LIFE AND DEATH OF A PRODUCT
...are determined by the consumers!
The consumer’s decision to buy is power.
Consider the ordinary housewife, everyday she has hundreds
of pesos at her disposal to buy basic needs and splurge on
some luxury items on what is leftover from her budget.
She is free to choose from a wide variety of products offered at
the market shelves. She dictates to the market what she needs
– five eggs and loaf of bread for breakfast, a kilo of fish and
beef for lunch and dinner. Probably she would drop the kilo of
fish and buy a pair of step-in slippers as she detours to the
nearby department store.
Does anyone notice her buying pattern? Oh yes, the egg
vendor lists down in her notebook how many were bought
today and how many eggs must be brought in tomorrow. The
department store merchandiser places a notch on the log book
that the item has moved.
In the process, the consumer has revealed to the market what
she needs and silently what she does not.
This is just one consumer on an ordinary marketing day.
Now, let us consider all the buyers in a single place, clearly this
very loose conglomeration of individuals with million pesos of
buying power can turn a market to either desolate or bustling
area. Thus, the consumer together with the producer
that builds the market. This constant interaction of buyer and
seller develops market and that market that gives birth to towns
and cities – just because there are consumers are willing to
spend in a given area.
Consumers determine the life and death of a product. If they
like it - more likely it will have a good shelf life - but if they love
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it, a bestseller is born. Meanwhile, unpopular products end up
in incinerators. With this line of argument, it is also the
consumer that determines the development of an industry.
Thus, companies spend a lot of money to study on how
consumers behave and the preferences they make. They
probably would research if girls would love to wear T-shirts that
show belly buttons or boys want to put on loose pants.
Companies will only supply what the consumer is willing to buy.
Only a foolish businessman will offer his goods to the market
without considering the needs of the consumer.
Passing by vegetable stalls or even at the Tutuban in Divisoria
you will hear vendors bark “Bili na dito suki!” Come to think of it
you have not even bought at the store at all in your life.
But a very important idea is being presented by a sales lady ...
patronage or the choice to continuously by from establishment.
Suki means you get a discount. Suki means you get more sukli
or more value for your money. Their business is at the mercy of
the patronage of consumers.
Unfortunately, the ordinary consumer does not understand this
power. The ordinary housewife does not know how to wield this
to her favor. Alas, a lot of education must be done to make the
consumer a powerful force to reckon with - education that
will make consumers cry out for better products.
But definitely, the power is in the hands of the consumer from
which firms take their cue. Others may say it is the money that
is inside the purse or wallet. But in the end, it is the decision of
the person when, how, what, and where to buy.
PURCHASING GUIDE
Food labels can be very interesting literature. For some people,
trying to decipher the cryptic text in food containers and
packages is an amusing mental exercise, a kind of distraction
to eating processed goodies containing multi-
syllabic, hyphenated ingredients they cannot pronounce, like
sodium caseinate, xylitol, aspartame, monosodium glutamate,
evaporated cane juice, partially-hydrogenated vegetable oil. In
the process, they would also check out the fat, calorie and
sodium contents based on the daily allowable intake indicated
in the nutrition label.
Many of these label readers would have no idea what the
words meant. A person trying to avoid sugar, for example,
would probably think that the product containing evaporated
cane juice is a better alternative, not knowing that it is actually
just sugar that underwent different processing. Not surprisingly,
a consumer study confirms this lack of understanding of food
labels among consumers.
According to a global Online Consumer Opinion Survey
conducted by AC Nielsen in 2005, which polled 21,261
respondents from 38 countries from the Asia Pacific, North and
Latin Americas, Africa, and Europe, half of consumers
worldwide only partially understand the nutritional labels on
food packaging.
Yet, in spite of this partial understanding, 20% of consumers
would always check labels while 40% of consumers worldwide
would check the labels when buying a product for the first time
- the Philippines coming out among the top 10 countries whose
consumers would do so.
The study also showed that nearly 30% read the labels
whenever they would buy certain food types. Consumers were
most likely to check for fat, calories, and sugar content, as well
as preservatives, coloring and additives. However, 44% said
they did not know the difference between saturated and
unsaturated fat.
While 21,000 survey respondents would hardly be a
representative sampling of the world’s billions of consumers,
the study does say something important to businesses and
consumers are looking for adequate information to guide them
during purchases, and product information in labels and
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packaging is becoming a key factor in determining whether a
product will be bought or not.
Labeling is a powerful marketing tool in convincing consumers
to buy your product. Therefore, making the labeling information
clear and relevant to the needs of consumers can be a vital
step toward consumer patronage.
Labeling, clearly, is indispensable to consumers in the exercise
of their right to information and choice, and to businesses in
enabling them to cater to their market’s needs and to promote
their products well. But, labeling has a far more
important function than merely contributing to sales; it is a
double edged sword with the equal ability to misinform as
much as it can provide the right information.
That is why businesses and government have a big
responsibility in making sure that consumers are not only given
honest information about a consumer product, but that the
information does not mislead them in any way.
As a state policy, government is enforcing compulsory labeling
to enable consumers to get accurate information as to the
nature, quality, and quantity of the contents of consumer
products. Minimum labeling requirements have been imposed
for businesses to comply with such as registered trade or
brand name, the business name and address of the
manufacturer or importer, the general make or active
ingredients, the net quantity of contents, and the country of
manufacture.
Additional labeling requirements for food products have also
been imposed to protect consumers further:
Food products must indicate the expiration date, whether the
product is semi or fully processed, ready to cook or ready to
eat, the nutritive value, and whether the ingredients used are
natural or synthetic.
To address issues raised by livestock farmers and consumers
as to the importation of buffalo meat from India and Kangaroo
meat from Australia which are being used as substitute for
cattle beef and pork in various types of meat products, the
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has enforced the
Philippine National Standards (PNS) requiring prepackaged
meat products such as corned beef to indicate the type of
meat used, whether cattle beef or carabeef.
The caption “No Approved Therapeutic Claim” must be printed
on the primary display panel of all labeling materials used for
food supplements (i.e. immediate label of the container, box,
carton, brochures, leaflets, etc.) to ensure that these products
are not commercially sold or advertised with therapeutic
claims.
It is up to the businesses to make sure that these labeling
requirements are written in a language easily understandable
to consumers but ultimately, becoming knowledgeable about
the meaning of the information in labels rests solely on
the consumer. After all, information is useless if it is not being
read and applied.
SHOPPING TIPS
Exposed to a variety of goods in the market and bombarded by
an overdose of advertisements, the poor consumer can easily
get confused. How, then, can a consumer make a sound and
intelligent decision on what and how to buy? Consumers must
be equipped with shopping skills and should exercise vigilance,
whether buying in a supermarket or in other types of stores, if
he or she wants to save precious money, time and energy. It
helps to know the following tips:
 To save time in locating products, familiarize yourself
with the arrangements of stocks in the stores where
you frequently do your shopping.
 To avoid missing special, genuine sales, shop
systematically up one aisle and down the other.
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 Keep a sharp eye for special price reductions of
products which can be reserved for future use.
 Be alert for low-budget, economical but nutritious
recipes and other consumer product information. Go
for quality, not quantity.
 Vary your meals. Look to perk up the appetite of the
family.
 Read labels carefully and take note of nutrition
information such as contents, measure, etc.
 Look for expiry dates to insure freshness.
 Do not be ashamed to ask the assistance of store
supervisor for information or location of some items.
 Compare prices per unit or serving.
 Help control. Store operating costs which will
indirectly affect prices. Handle merchandise carefully.
 Go for value, not brand.
 Time saved is time well-spent. At the check-out
counter, unload items with prices showing.
TOP 10 WAYS TO STAY SAFE AS A
CONSUMER ONLINE
1. It can take only 10 minutes to crack a lowercase
password with 6 characters. Use original and different
passwords for all your accounts.
2. Set passcodes on all your devices. Without it your
apps, tickets, calendars, contacts, payment
information and personal information is readily
available.
3. In 2015, 429 million identities were left exposed
online. Check and update your privacy settings on
social media and avoid sharing personal information
online.
4. Always set a password for access to your Wi-Fi
network. Without one you don't know who you're
sharing your network with.
5. In 2015, spam email attempts to obtain sensitive
information such as usernames and passwords to
people's work emails increased by 55%. Watch out!
Don't trust email offers or rewards which seem too
good to be true.
6. In 2016, the number of email viruses detected was
four times higher than in 2015. Be aware and avoid
opening unusual email attachments and links.
7. Avoid sharing unnecessary personal details online.
Use temporary email addresses which will expire
within a certain amount of time when signing up to
one-off services. There are websites which can set
them up for you.
8. Over half a billion digital personal records were lost or
stolen in 2015. Stay safe when making payments
online and only use websites that start with 'https' and
have a green padlock sign.
9. Hackers exploit out-of-date software and operating
systems to launch cyber attacks. Turn automatic
updates on for all your devices to stay secure.
10. Almost 1/3 of the world's computers have been
affected by malicious software. Make sure you install
and update firewalls, antivirus and anti-spy software.