| ADVERTISING
Q. An earlier section said that store advertisements are not usually offers.
Are there any exceptions to this?
A. Yes. Suppose a store advertises that it will give a free gift
or a special discount to "the first
one hundred customers" or to a person who has made some other special
effort. If so, the store
has made an offer. You can accept it by making the special effort successfully.
(In fact, a few
years ago a major department store got into hot water by carelessly advertising:
"Be among the
first 1,000 shoppers at our store tomorrow to win a $1,000 shopping spree."
The wording
suggested that all 1,000 would win.)
Q. What is false advertising?
A. False advertising is an unfair method of competition forbidden
under federal law and in
most states, notably under the consumer fraud laws (discussed below).
The advertiser's intent
isn't important. The overall impression conveyed is what counts.
False advertising misleads about a product's place of origin, nature or
quality, or
maker. An example of misleading about a product's place of origin is putting
French labels on
sweaters made in Arkansas. Promising first-quality socks and delivering
irregulars or seconds
is misleading about an item's nature or quality. Claiming a Yugo is a
Lexus is misleading
about a product's maker. As for services, false advertising would mislead
you into thinking
that someone has qualifications (such as being a master carpenter) that
he or she actually does
not have.
The Wisconsin Bureau of Consumer Protection has a useful website on the
topic of
false advertising, at http://datcp.state.wi.us/static/cp/cpfacts/dec_ad.htm.
Q. How exact do advertisements have to be?
A. They must be accurate about material aspects of the product
or service in the offer. It's no
crime to sell a dress that looks better on the fashion model in the ad
than on a normal person.
It also is legal to prepare a food product in a special way to make it
look more tempting on
television than it will be at home. If an advertisement led you to expect
green spark plugs and
you got gray ones, the ad did not materially mislead you. But if the ad
said the plugs would
last a long time and they failed early on, you probably were misled.
Q. What about contests and investment schemes?
A. The rule is this: Any contest or get-rich-quick scheme that
requires you to part with money
probably is a losing proposition. Often these are "pyramid schemes."
Someone may contact
you by mail or over the phone, promising you some huge return on your
money and telling
you of real people who made a bundle in the scheme. That part is true,
actually. Some did get
a lot of money. But they did it illegally - by inducing people like you
to pony up. The only
way you could do the same is to con a large number of people to make the
same mistake you
did. The courts have held these scams - and any promotion that promises
an unrealistic return
- to be false advertising; if they involve mail, they are postal violations.
Some cases might
involve violations of securities laws. One good rule of thumb is that
no legitimate speculative
investment will ever promise or even strongly suggest a specific return
to you.
If you are contacted by mail regarding what seems like a fraudulent scheme,
contact
the office of the U.S. Postal Service Inspector General. Otherwise, report
such a pitch to your
state or city's consumer protection office or state attorney general.
Virtually all states now
provide a way for shutting down these scams and recovering victims' money,
but the process
may be long and may not always be successful.
Finally, exercise the most care when participating in contests or the
like over the
Internet. It is difficult and often impossible to tell whom you are dealing
with on the word
wide web, and virtually impossible for a private citizen to get satisfaction
after being swindled
by someone on line who may not even be in this hemisphere.
Q. What is "bait and switch"?
A. The bait is an advertisement luring you with the promise of
an unbeatable deal on an
appliance or auto. The switch occurs when you walk into the store and
the salesperson tells
you that the advertised model isn't available or is "not for you,"
but a more expensive model
is. The salesperson has "switched" you from the one you wanted
to buy. This practice is illegal
in most states if the advertised model was never available in reasonable
quantities. You have a
right to see the model that appeared in the newspaper ad. If the store
is "fresh out of them," it
also may be guilty of false advertising. You're allowed to be persuaded,
but keep up your
guard, and don't let someone talk you into buying a model you can't afford.
If insisting on your
rights gets you nowhere, keep the ad, get the salesman's name (and that
of anyone else you
spoke to) and report the matter to the state or local consumer protection
office.
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