SÃO PAULO, BRAZIL – The “Consumer Protection and Defense Program” Foundation (PROCON) of São Paulo fined “GOL Linhas Aéreas” (GOL Airlines) the amount of R$3.5 million (US$875,000) for infringing the Consumer Protection Code (CDC) during the “GOL A Preço de Brahma” (GOL at Brahma’s [beer] Price) promotional campaign.
The campaign advertised the sale of tickets for R$3.90 during the Brazilian national football team’s match against Venezuela on June 18th, during the Copa América.
The PROCON investigation found that only travel agencies had access to promotional tickets, and several consumers were unable to make the purchase directly. “It was therefore found that the promotional tickets were not all sold to the final consumer even though the promotion was advertised as aimed at these consumers.”
According to PROCON, GOL disrespected a CDC provision that “prohibits the supplier from refusing to meet the demands of consumers, to the exact extent of their stock availability.”
Besides, consumers were not accurately informed of the number of tickets available, the promotion’s expiration period, destinations, and available dates, according to PROCON. “This practice infringes Article 37, Paragraph 1, which prohibits the dissemination of misleading advertising by omission,” adds the foundation.
GOL stated that it would not comment on the sanction.