A Maryland woman bought some jewelry on sale at the Kohl’s in Westminster, then discovered cheaper prices under the price tags.
misleading
WISdomestics Blames Competitors For Its Own Misleading Vibrator Copy
By 12.23.08
Jen ordered a product on Amazon, but what arrived in the shipment was significantly less than what was promised.
Supermarket Chain Adds 10% At Register, But Only In Some Stores
By 10.10.08
The Nash Finch stores Avanza, Food Bonanza and Wholesale Food Outlets add the 10 percent charge to food at the register and specialize in serving Hispanics, according to store workers.
This Shaw's Pizza Box Is Conflicted
By 10.1.08
Someone in marketing really wanted to show the handmade goodness of Shaw’s house brand pizza, despite the fact that there is no handmade goodness to the product at all. But not to worry! A little fine print takes care of any legal issues, and you’re good to go.
Toys "R" Us Unable To Explain Why "All Video Games" Means "Some Video Games"
By 9.23.08
Toys “R” Us is not doing a very good job of explaining why an ad advertising a special that applies to “ALL Video Games $19.99 or less” only applies to some video games that are “$19.99 or less.” Reader Laura says that not only are they unable to explain how “ALL” means “some,” they aren’t able to understand why she is upset.
Verizon: 'You've Earned A New Phone' (Just Not From Us)
By 8.26.08
Is this Verizon promotional email being over-enthusiastic with its subject line, or is it actually misleading? A phrase like “you’ve earned a new ___” doesn’t usually get followed up with, “Just pay us anywhere between $100-$200 for it,” unless it comes from a scam vacation offer. Or Verizon. As Bryan notes in his email to us, “The subject line must mean something like when you tell Verizon, ‘You’ve earned my suspicion and contempt.'”
Hey Banquet, Chicken Pot Pie Usually Comes With Filling
By 8.22.08
Does anyone remember Bunnicula? We think there’s a similar beast in the Banquet pot pie plant, only instead of sucking vegetables dry he’s draining the pies before they ship. That’s the only thing that can explain how the real pot pie this Consumerist reader cooked looks nothing like the bountiful pot pie harvest shown on the box. Oh wait: it could also be that Banquet is a cheap-assed company that can’t be bothered to sell decent frozen food.
Almond Joy Is In Denial About Its Almond Usage
By 7.28.08
We’ll admit that it would look a little sad to advertise a single lonely almond on the wrapper of the .6 oz Almond Joy. But printing “Coconut & Almonds” on the front, including an illustration of two almonds next to the text, and then referencing “almonds” in the ingredients list, looks a little misleading when you open the package and see one lonely nut lump on your candy. (Thanks to James!)
Feazel Roofing Responds To Misleading Junk Mail Accusations
By 6.18.08
Last week, we wrote about a roofing company that had sent out a “Defective Roof Notice” to potential customers. The blogger who received the junk mail thought it was deceptive, and so did we. To make matters worse, he wrote a complaint to the company and was ignored—but a few weeks later a fake “customer review” appeared on his site that was traced back to Feazel. Now the owner of Feazel Roofing has responded and apologized for the junk mail:
Roofing Co Sends Misleading"Class Action" Junk Mail, Fakes Customer Reviews Online
By 6.11.08
Update: The owner of Feazel Roofing has responded and apologized for the misleading nature of the junk mail.
Blogger HolyJuan was annoyed with a piece of junk mail he received from Feazel Roofing, because it was written in such a way that it could (intentionally) mislead homeowners into thinking the roof inspection being offered was somehow official, required, or necessary. In fact, it was simply an attempt to drum up new business for the company—but when you lead off with “DEFECTIVE ROOF NOTICE” and then mention class action lawsuits in the first paragraph, it’s hard to claim marketing innocence. HolyJuan complained about the letter on his blog, and a few weeks later an anonymous “customer” posted a rebuttal full of praise for Feazel Roofing—from the IP address of the company, naturally.
TIME's "Subscribe For $1.99" Offer Misleading
By 4.10.08
First, we want to say thanks to TIME Magazine for naming us one of their top 25 blogs. Now that’s out of the way, and we can ask why they’re using such a misleading ad on the masthead of their site: “Subscribe to TIME Magazine for just $1.99” it says! Yes, but when you click through to the sign up form, you see that your “subscription” is for six issues—six weeks—and that the fine print indicates you also agree to an auto-renewed fee of $19.95 every six months. We don’t mind the $1.99 tryout period, but hiding the real subscription fee in fine print is sneaky. Any magazine with the good taste to recognize our blog should also respect its readers enough to be upfront on the details of its subscription offers.
Domino's Pizza: Sacrificing Our Delivery Drivers So We Can Use Our New Slogan
By 3.4.08
Domino’s has a mildly amusing television campaign right now to promote their new slogan “You Got 30 Minutes,” but the fine print on Domino’s site points out that this should be taken only as a suggestion, not a service guarantee: “Because safety is a priority “You Got 30 Minutes™” is not a guarantee but an estimate. You may get more.” A former Domino’s delivery guy is not impressed: “Some douchebag ad exec wants to trick customers into believing that the ’30 minutes or it’s free’ guarantee is back, then leave it to the delivery drivers to explain to inevitably angry customers why their pizza isn’t free when it gets there in 31 minutes.”
Is It Legal To Use Out Of Date List Prices For Comparison On Sales?
By 2.27.08
Last week we pointed out how Apple artificially inflates the discount of its refurbished units by using the original introductory list price as a comparison, even if the price has since dropped and the true list price is now lower. Now a reader writes in to say he caught Toys R Us doing the same thing on sale prices of Playstation 3 bundles and 30 gig Zunes. Our question: is this legal? New York City’s consumer protection law seems to imply that—at least for retailers doing business in NYC—it’s not, unless you clearly indicate the trail of price reductions, something neither company is doing.
You Can't Discount The Past, Apple
By 2.23.08
A reader noticed that Apple is selling refurbished 8gb iPhones for $349, and they’re listing the original price as $599. “Save 42% off the original price,” says the Apple Store. Gosh, that’s a huge savings! Wait… well sure, the original original price was $599, but we all know that Apple knocked that down fairly quickly, and now a brand new 8 gb model sells for $399—which means actually you’re only saving 12.5% off the Real World Price Right Now of a brand new iPhone, if you went and bought it today.
KFC Is Sneaking Extra Profit From Bigger Orders
By 2.7.08
If you’re planning on buying some Hot Wings from KFC in Colorado Springs, Colorado, your cheapest option is to buy them in sets of six no matter how many you want. KFC charges you slightly more per wing as you buy more—”Guess they just hope nobody’s good at quick math,” our reader Jay writes.
Chase: By Cashing This $9.25 Check You Agree To Give Us $59.99
By 1.4.08
Reader Aaron writes in to complain about a “scam” that he can’t believe is legal. Many of you know about this little marketing tactic, and we’ve written about it before, but some of you probably do not.
Does Urban Outfitters Have A Secret In-Store Website?
By 1.4.08
Reader Chaely C tried to return a gift to Urban Outfitters, only to find that the website in the store showed that her item was on sale for $19. Chaely knew her friends paid $58 for the item via Urban Outfitter’s website, and told the cashier this.
Sara Lee "Soft & Smooth Made with Whole Grain White Bread" Has More Water Than Whole Grain
By 12.18.07
The CPSI has announced its intention to sue Sara Lee over its “Soft & Smooth Made with Whole Grain White Bread,” which claims to combine “all the taste and texture of white bread with the goodness of whole grain,” when actually “there is more water in this product than whole grain,” according to the CSPI.
