Companies that request phone numbers from customers during shopping for reasons such as discounts, e-invoices, or completing transactions have come under the scrutiny of the Ministry of Trade due to unauthorized promotional messages. The Ministry has initiated an investigation into businesses that are reported to effectively make sharing a phone number mandatory and subsequently send advertising messages to consumers.
One of the most frequent complaints voiced by citizens is the constant receipt of promotional messages on phone numbers provided during store visits or shopping transactions. Some consumers state that even after blocking the messages, they continue to receive new messages from different numbers.
I block them. They send them, they send them from another number. My notifications never stop. They say you get a discount if you give your number. Actually, there is no discount either. It's like we are fooling ourselves.
MESSAGES RECEIVED AT NIGHT HAVE BECOME A SUBJECT OF COMPLAINT
It is noteworthy in the complaints that advertising messages are received not only during the day but also at night. One citizen described their discomfort by saying, “Messages come at 3 or 5 in the morning. We wake up, we are woken from our sleep. We go to the library, a message comes. This one comes, that one comes. The phone keeps vibrating and vibrating.”
The Ministry's investigation will focus on allegations that customers are asked for their phone numbers by being told “the transaction cannot be completed if you do not provide a phone number” and that this information is subsequently used to send commercial messages. It was reported that companies sending unauthorized advertising messages will be evaluated individually.
Citizens can file complaints about the companies in question through the Ministry of Trade's e-Reklam portal or via CİMER. It is recommended that company information be written completely and the date the phone number was shared be specified in the complaints.
With this step, the Ministry aims to audit the practices of making consumer contact information mandatory for shopping transactions and sending advertising messages without explicit consent.
News Source: 12punto
