The Competition Commission said on Friday that South African pharmaceutical retailer Dis-Chem had made the right call when it withdrew its appeal after being found guilty of price gouging.
Shortly after the start of the national Covid-19 lockdown in March, the Competition Commission reported to have received numerous complaints from the public against Dis-Chem for hiking the price of face masks.
“I am pleased that Dis-Chem has made this decision. The price increases that occurred during the state of national disaster were regrettable. We believe that the tribunal made the right call by condemning the conduct. After investigating, the commission found that Dis-Chem was charging excessive prices on essential hygienic goods to the detriment of consumers.
These essential items included surgical face masks blue , surgical face masks and surgical face masks folio dress blue.“For surgical face mask blue 50PC the average price was inflated from R43.47 per unit in February 2020 to R156.95 per unit in March 2020, a price increase of 261%.
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