Faced with multiple complaints from consumers for excessive charges on terraces in the Historic Center, the Federal Consumer Attorney’s Office, PROFECO, assisted to review said establishments. The best-known complaint was the one made by a Twitter user, in which she revealed how they charged her additionally for occupying a table with a view from the heights, with a total bill of 4,000 pesos.
After PROFECO’s review of 25 establishments in the Zócalo, abusive practices such as conditioning for consumption were found, that is, a higher price for using the terrace or the obligation to consume a bottle of liquor. In addition, these establishments handled up to 3 menus with different prices and products not on the menu.
Given these findings, this morning at a press conference the Federal Consumer Attorney, Ricardo Sheffield announced that they will take measures in restaurants to curb these abuses. “They know that they are seriously watched,” announced the attorney.
What measures will PROFECO take to avoid abuses in restaurants?
In accordance with the agreement between the National Chamber of the Restaurant Industry, CANIRAC, and PROFECO, the actions that will be implemented to prevent abuse by restaurants are:
- Inspection protocols that provide legal guarantee to restaurant owners before the acts of the authorities.
- Self-regulation mechanisms that consider consumer rights.
- Promote reporting as a way to avoid and correct these irregularities. Tourism must be taken care of, since travelers spend 15% of their budget on food according to data from the institutions.
- Training restaurant staff on the rights and obligations of consumers.
- PROFECO reviews to supervise that restaurants comply with the regulations, thus guaranteeing that the sector can correct possible abusive practices and avoid problems.
How to act against restaurant abuses?
The attorney recommended that customers report this type of abuse to the Consumer Telephone:
555 568 8722 for Mexico City and the Metropolitan Area
800 468 8722 for free long distance calls
It is also possible to report by sending an email to [email protected]
If the consumer does not receive care because it is a weekend and must make the payment, they must request an invoice to file the complaint, they have one year to proceed against abusive establishments.
Editorial Team The editorial team of EMPRENDEDOR.com, which for more than 27 years has worked to promote entrepreneurship.