There is a common thread — an intermediary in these types of agreements, as well as in sales, commerce, and so on. It is the entity responsible for organizing and giving legal validity to all these agreements (contracts) between companies and businesses. You could call it the merchant’s law.
PROFECO, also known as the FEDERAL CONSUMER PROTECTION AGENCY, enables a conciliation procedure that can be understood as the action carried out to reach an agreement between parties and resolve the conflict in a friendly and peaceful manner, where both parties align on a shared solution.
According to the social conciliation guide document, its primary purpose is to serve as an effective and swift means of resolving disputes between consumers and suppliers, taking into account the interests of all parties, the points of contention, and the common ground between them.
It is worth noting that PROFECO seeks the point of balance for both sides — both the seller and the consumer — thereby avoiding disputes over debts, missing products, scams, and similar issues.
- Can PROFECO actually be the downfall of your business?
The truth is, yes. Just as it can benefit your business and ensure that every agreement with another company is legal, secure, and transparent, it can also bring about the end of your business — as long as you fail to fulfill the agreed-upon terms of contracts. If you forge signatures, misrepresent products or sales, or steal from your buyer, your business can lose customers or even be shut down. In the same way, PROFECO will always seek the common good for the buyer (consumer).
The most advisable approach is to be clear about what you want, what you offer, and your sale prices, since lately even a simple period or comma can change the price of a product.
A case we can use as an example involved a motorcycle sold at Elektra®, with a real price of 15,000 pesos — but due to an employee’s oversight it was marked at 1.5 pesos, an extremely accessible price. After several disputes, PROFECO intervened and, citing the laws and sale regulations, stated that a price displayed on the tag must be honored. And so it was: the customer was able to purchase the 15,000-peso motorcycle for 1.5 pesos. Unfortunately, as a business you cannot argue when PROFECO steps in — you simply have to release the product at the stated price and comply, because if you try to do otherwise, your company, business, store, or stand could be shut down.
Do you really want trouble with PROFECO, or will you simply follow the regulations set out in your contracts? The merchant’s law is more than a potential loss for your business — it is a balance where, if you follow the rules, you can grow the right way.