Don't be victimized by fine-print thievery

“Free ring tones for your cell phone*” “Special prices on airline travel*” “Get full MSRP for your used car*”

You’ve likely seen or heard such offers in print and on TV, radio, and the Internet. They often come with lots of conditions, either in hard-to-read fine print or uttered by a fast-talking announcer.

While ads can use fine print or its verbal equivalent to elaborate on the details of an offer, major conditions and other gotchas should be made clearly and conspicuously. Companies that leave the devil for the details risk violating various federal and state laws. In judging an ad, regulators and courts look at whether the overall effect is likely to mislead customers acting reasonably under the circumstances and whether that deception materially affects the deal.

There are plenty of examples of companies’ failing that test.

• August 2009. The Federal Department of Transportation reached a consent order with United Airlines in connection with fares posted on the “special deals” section of airline’s Web site. The agency said the ads violated federal rules against unfair or deceptive practices because they used double asterisks and fine print to disclose that additional payments for taxes and fees were required, along with the purchase of round-trip travel. United must pay a must pay a $75,000 civil penalty.

• May 2008. The New York Attorney General announced settlements with four New York car dealers that advertised various offers, disclosing important details in “fine print or untenable disclaimers.” For example, one Suzuki dealer’s radio ad offered consumers a trade-in price of 100 percent of their vehicles’ manufacturer’s suggested retail price, but left it to a fast-spoken disclaimer to reveal that it would deduct 35 cents per mile on the odometer and, for cars more than a year old, impose an unspecified reconditioning charge. The dealers collectively were required to pay $32,500 in fines and clean up their act.

• February 2008. As part of an ongoing investigation into sales practices within the wireless industry, the Florida Attorney General announced that AT&T Wireless agreed to pay $3 million to the state and provide consumer restitution in connection with advertising for free ring tones and other cell phone services. The attorney general said that those who responded to the promotions “were unknowingly billed for free cell phone content.” In one example, customers had to read the fine print to find out that they were enrolling in a paid subscription for additional services. In another case, the fine print revealed that customers were participating in a free trial that would convert to a paid subscription if they didn’t cancel after just two days.

• July 2006. In a case that drew wide attention, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit agreed with a lower court’s ruling that checks Cyberspace.com had sent to consumers violated the Federal Trade Commission Act, which prohibits “deceptive acts or practices in or affecting commerce." The court said that the overall impression from the mailed material was that the checks were for a refund or rebate, typically for $3.50. It didn’t matter that a small-print disclosure on the back of checks revealed that consumers who cashed them were signing up for $20 or $30-a-month Internet service that would be charged to their phone bills. Cyberspace was ordered to refund $17 million to consumers.

What to do. Clearly, advertisers sometimes break the rules. Don’t assume the big print come-ons are everything that they seem. Read or listen to all the disclosures. Make sure you have a readable copy, and don’t rely on verbiage that’s barely decipherable, too complicated, or passes by too quickly on your TV, computer monitor or radio. Don’t just give in if you believe you’ve been deceived because you didn’t get clear and conspicuous disclosure. Complain to state or federal regulators and the Better Business Bureau. If you paid by credit card, try disputing charges for products or services you believe you were tricked into ordering.–Anthony Giorgianni

Comments

[Peter J. Tilley]

The worst fine print extortion I have seen is with the two major satellite TV providers in our area of Michigan, Direct TV and Dish Network. You really need to read the fine printg carefully in order to compare pricing with your local cable. It's amazing how the extra's in fine print add up.