As a follow up to this thread, I received a letter from eCost saying they were sorry for their computer malfuntion. They also included a rebate letter of $25 on a $50+ purchase.
I expected nothing from eCost for an honest mistake and was pleasantly surprised to get the rebate. I give eCost two thumbs up! :approve: :approve:
Yeah, I got one of those letters and worthless MAIL-IN coupons. Just something else for thier "computers" to mess-up on. Why can't they honor thier mistakes like others? There was an airline who's computer reservation sold round trip tickets for $1.89 and they honored them. This seems just like a marketing scam from eCost to get people to "purchase" something and get more emails for thier marketing.
i'm no lawyer but i don't think having a disclaimer that says they can cancel orders should get them off... false advertising and "bait and switch" practices are still illegal. disclaimer or no...
hey i think i'll make a disclaimer that says i'm not responsible for robbing the liquor store when i'm drunk... i'm sure that'll get me off ha ;)
just kidding
[QUOTE=messmerizer]i'm no lawyer but i don't think having a disclaimer that says they can cancel orders should get them off... false advertising and "bait and switch" practices are still illegal. disclaimer or no...[/QUOTE]
Your are right, you are not a lawyer. This is not a bait and switch. They did not offer one thing, and then shipped another thing. It was a mistake that was caught before the order was shipped. They informed me of the mistake and cancelled my order as they had the right to do.
Mistakes happen. There is no legal obligation to honor a typographic error. The company has the OPTION to honor the mistake and maintain customer goodwill, but there is no legal obligation to make good on a typo. The best companies will eat the loss. eCost choose to mitigate their loss by giving a $25 rebate. They could have done nothing and would have been perfectly within their rights. It would not be a good public relations move, but they still would have been within their rights.
To suggest anything else demonstrates a lack of knowledge of consumer laws and starts to sound like whining.
Agreed. I have heard of a case of one online retailer that shipped out $1200 Powerbooks for $1.97, but caught it before too many went out and had to eat that loss, but then they fell back on the "typo" mistake you mentioned.
I got my coupon yesterday and will keep on eye on their site if there's any chance of doubling up with a manufacturers' rebate! :approve:
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To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. - extreme hardware chick
"Once you can accept the universe as matter expanding into nothing that is something,
wearing stripes with plaid comes easy." - Albert Einstein
who's to say it's not bait and switch? that doesn't mean they told you you were getting one thing and shipping something else. it means they lure you in with a promiss of something and then TRY to sell something else.
but i know it was probably a typo or whatever i was just kidding.
What is False Advertising?
Advertisements that contain representations that are false, misleading, or deceptive are illegal under state and federal laws. To be found guilty of false advertising, it must be shown that the advertisement was deceptive in nature. Proof that the ad actually harmed anyone is not important. MOREOVER, THE INTENTIONS OF THE ADVERTISER ARE IRRELEVANT, INCLUDING IF THE FALSE OR DECEPTIVE ADVERTISEMENT WAS A MISTAKE.
[QUOTE=messmerizer]although here's a definition from legalmatch.com:
What is False Advertising?
Advertisements that contain representations that are false, misleading, or deceptive are illegal under state and federal laws. To be found guilty of false advertising, it must be shown that the advertisement was deceptive in nature. Proof that the ad actually harmed anyone is not important. MOREOVER, THE INTENTIONS OF THE ADVERTISER ARE IRRELEVANT, INCLUDING IF THE FALSE OR DECEPTIVE ADVERTISEMENT WAS A MISTAKE.[/QUOTE]
You make an excellent legal argument. But, I still say that no court has ever held an advertiser liable for a typographic error that was caught and immediately corrected. To do otherwise would flood the courts with complaints when there are not any real damages.
JUDGE: "How much money did you lose as a result of their ad?"
PLAINTIFF: "Well, nothing. But I WOULD have gotten A REALLY GREAT DEAL!"
JUDGE: "And how long did they advertise this low price before correcting it?"
PLAINTIFF: "Less than a day, maybe 8 hours."
JUDGE (To the Plaintiff): "Get out of my courtroom and get over it!"
[QUOTE=VegasGuy]JUDGE: "How much money did you lose as a result of their ad?"
[/QUOTE]
PLAINTIFF: "No cash money was lost, however, because of this they got my email address and have been spamming me ever since. I never signed up for the "announcements" they put me on and every time I unsubscribe, I somehow get signed up again a few days later."
This wouldn't be such a big issue if it was the first time they did this, but they have a reputation of "computer glitches" and orders getting cancelled.
[QUOTE=ZakVamosh]I wouldnt bother. They ALWAYS cancel the order, and then quote something from their website saying that they reserve the right to do so at any time. Dont waste your time![/QUOTE]
I forwarded the information about this order to our state AG's office. I doubt anything will happen, but I am on record if it does happen again.
[QUOTE=VegasGuy]You make an excellent legal argument. But, I still say that no court has ever held an advertiser liable for a typographic error that was caught and immediately corrected. To do otherwise would flood the courts with complaints when there are not any real damages.<snip>[/QUOTE]
Happens all the time. Take a look in your local newspaper, here in Miami 2 or 3 times a week you'll see "correction notices" that an advertised price from Kmart, WallyWorld, Target, CirucsCity, BeatBuy, Seers or whoever, had a typo and they are sorry but cannot honor it and real price is whatever....
There are usually disclaimers to that effect in their catalogs, circulars, websites, etc, too.
Now if only I can find a rebate before my $25 coupon expires :shrug:
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So many programs, not enough ROM To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. - extreme hardware chick
"Once you can accept the universe as matter expanding into nothing that is something,
wearing stripes with plaid comes easy." - Albert Einstein
[QUOTE=SirElmo]PLAINTIFF: "No cash money was lost, however, because of this they got my email address and have been spamming me ever since. I never signed up for the "announcements" they put me on and every time I unsubscribe, I somehow get signed up again a few days later."[/QUOTE]
JUDGE: So your stongest argument and only damages are that you were put on their mailing list and now you get 1 or 2 spam emails per week that you can't unsubscribe from? And, these 1 or 2 emails are in addition to the thousands of spam emails you currently receive per week?
PLAINTIFF: Yes and yes.
JUDGE: Ever heard of kill filters?
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