Randall Reed Prestige Ford is notorious for their BAIT & SWITCH TECHNIQUIES! I bought a truck from Prestige Ford around 2003, brought in THEIR advertisement that stated the NEW truck was selling for a certain price. When I asked about the Ranger Truck sale and advised I wanted to buy a Ranger for that price. They told me it was a misprint; however, they'd make me a great deal on a different one. I insisted I wanted to test drive any truck except red, but they would only bring up a red one. The sales man had 3 other men standing over me the entire time. They told me if I wanted to test drive one it had to be the red one they brought out. I kept telling them I didn't want a red truck, but I felt pressured into buying that color because the sales guy and his 3 associates were standing around me like gangsters refusing to allow me to drive any other color. They told me if I wanted a truck that I'd have to buy the red one at the new higher price. I was stupid and ended up purchasing the red truck at the higher price.
Not only do they "Bait & Switch" as well as bully you in person, but they also take advantage of you when they send the promotions in the mail. You know the ones. They state you've won a great prize! Last year, I received two of these horrible fake, bait and switch promotions. They lure you in with the ruse that you've won something great to turn around and tell you that the prize isn't actually determined by the "promotional paperwork" or a different manner!
There last promotion I received last year stated I won $500. I arrived and the "special promotion staff" tried to hand me a lottery ticket. I had actually read the small print (as you should always do) and no lottery ticket was EVER mentioned anywhere on the promotion. Apparently there were a couple of promotions going at the same time, so they "mixed" them up. I ended up speaking with the "Sales Manager" of Randall Reed Ford, Suzanne Baker. She went over the promotion with me and finally figured out. I was actually suppose to "spin a virtual computerized wheel" to find out what I won. I spun the "virtual computerized wheel" and surprise....I won $2. I refused to accept that prize so after going back and forth, I finally took my complaint to the BBB.
The Better Business Bureau as usual sided with the company - no surprise there! I NEVER received any type of prize! No surprise there either! I told Suzanne Baker to remove everyone in my household from their "Bait & Switch" fake promotional mails as I didn't want to ever do business with them again. She agreed to remove us from their "mailing" list; however, somehow we got back onto it.
Guess what I received in the mail Monday? Another great promotion from Randall Reed Prestige Ford! This one has a pull tab type lottery ticket that is called "Cash is King". Each side has 4 pull tabs. If your right side of the pull tab has 3 of a kind and matches the 3 of a kind on the left side YOU WIN!! If you have 3 Bars, you win $20,0000 Cash, 3 "7"s and you win $500, 3 oranges and you win an iPad and finally 3 cherries wins you $100. Under each of the prize amounts it states: "1 out of 50,000 written prize notifications verifiable retail value XXX". (XXX stands for the specific prize amount - $20,000, $500, iPad = $499 & $100). Now to the normal person aka in layman terms that would be understood as 1 out of every 50,000 sent will match the 3 of a kind, so if you matched - you won. I matched 3 "7"s so it appeared that I won the $500.
NOPE! What it actually means is there were 50,000 "fake winning tickets" sent out and only 1 will actually win. It depends on what "reservation" number you received. I actually won a $2 Texas Lottery ticket. The rules are written in white across an area that is covered in dark blue, white and light blue. Please allow me to state that in Texas they broke a couple of rules relating to this particular "promotion":
Sec. 621.105. PROHIBITED ACTS RELATING TO MATCHED CONTEST. A person engaged in the preparation, promotion, sale, distribution, or use of a matched contest may not:
(1) use the term "prize" or a similar term in a false, misleading, or deceptive manner;
(2) represent in soliciting a person to enter or participate in the contest that the person is a "finalist," "major award winner," "grand prize recipient," or "winner" or that a person has "won," "will win," or "will be awarded" or use words or phrases of similar meaning unless the representation is true;
(3) represent that a prize has a sponsor, approval, characteristic, ingredient, use, benefit, quantity, status, affiliation, connection, or identity that the prize does not have;
(4) represent that a prize is of a particular standard, quality, grade, style, or model if the prize is of another;
(5) misrepresent the odds of winning a prize;
(6) misrepresent the rules or terms of participation in the contest;
(7) represent that:
(A) a number, ticket, coupon, symbol, or entry form confers or will confer an advantage on a person that another person does not have or has a value that other entries do not have; or
(B) a person is more likely to win a prize than another person;
(8) fail to obtain a person's express written consent before using that person's name for a promotional purpose;
(9) use or distribute simulated checks or currency or other simulated items of value unless the words "SPECIMEN--NON-NEGOTIABLE" are clearly and conspicuously printed on those items in at least 18-point type; or
(10) use a word or phrase that:
(A) simulates or causes confusion with a document issued by an officer of a court or with the seal or name of a real or fictitious governmental entity; or
(B) implies that the offeror is sending a court document or legal document or that the offeror is a governmental entity.
Added by Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch. 885 (H.B. 2278), Sec. 2.01, eff. April 1, 2009.
Here's the TX Link: statutes.legis.state.tx.us/Docs/BC/htm/BC.621.htm
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THE MISREPRESENTATION, MISLEADING AND INCONSPICUOUS PRINT .... NOT TO MENTION - I S/W John Reeves who claims to be the Floor Manager in charge of the Promotion, he shared that they have the approval of the Truth in Advertising and all Agencies to send this out.
The rules and regulations/disclosures on this promotions start out very large when they say NO PURCHASE NECESSARY then it gets smaller. This is WHITE print that goes across VARIOUS COLORS OF BACKGROUND FROM Dark Blue, Blue, White and Light Blue. Needless to say, the wording hard to understand and extremely hard to make out because WHITE PRINT ON WHITE BACKGROUND or WHITE PRINT ON A VERY LIGHT BLUE blends in so well it almost disappears. Here's what the FTC has to say about that:
Disclosures and Disclaimers Does FTC law specify how disclaimers or disclosures must appear in ads?
Some laws and regulations enforced by the FTC, such as the 900 Number Rule, the Truth in Lending Act, and the Consumer Leasing Act, have specific requirements that apply to advertising, including that certain information must be "clearly and conspicuously" disclosed. For more information, ask the FTC for the publications Complying with the 900 Number Rule and Advertising Consumer Leases.
How prominent does a disclaimer or disclosure have to be in other kinds of ads?
When the disclosure of qualifying information is necessary to prevent an ad from being deceptive, the information should be presented clearly and conspicuously so that consumers can actually notice and understand it. A fine-print disclosure at the bottom of a print ad, a disclaimer buried in a body of text unrelated to the claim being qualified, a brief video superscript in a television ad, or a disclaimer that is easily missed on a website are not likely to be effective. Nor can advertisers use fine print to contradict other statements in an ad or to clear up misimpressions that the ad would leave otherwise. For example, if an ad for a diet product claims "Lose 10 pounds in one week without dieting," the fine-print statement "Diet and exercise required" is insufficient to remedy the deceptive claim in the ad. To ensure that disclosures are effective, advertisers should use clear and unambiguous language, place any qualifying information close to the claim being qualified, and avoid using small type or any distracting elements that could undercut the disclosure. Although there is no hard-and-fast rule about the size of type in a print ad or the length of time a disclosure must appear on TV, the FTC often has taken action when a disclaimer or disclosure is too small, flashes across the screen too quickly, is buried in other information, or is otherwise hard for consumers to understand. Most importantly, if you are concerned that a disclaimer or disclosure may be necessary to clarify a claim, evaluate your ad copy and substantiation carefully to ensure that you are not misleading consumers.
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I won't post the entire section; however, in my opinion their contest pretty much falls under this section due to the fact they say one thing, but in reality they mean another. Nowhere on the prior one did it state I had to spin a virtual wheel and this one makes it sound like you have the 1 in 50,000. The promotions have very deceptive wording and their rules are confusing and hidden behind pictures. Some of their sales information is also hidden BLACK letters on BLACK BACKGROUND!
statutes.legis.state.tx.us/SOTWDocs/BC/htm/BC.17.htm
SUBCHAPTER E. DECEPTIVE TRADE PRACTICES AND CONSUMER PROTECTION
Sec. 17.46. DECEPTIVE TRADE PRACTICES UNLAWFUL.
I think this is enough information to show their ways are questionable. Not only do they hide a ton of important information in the text matching background, they information is not anywhere clear and precise not to mention their "promotion" directions aren't always what they say they are. This business is very questionable to say the least!
Perry Mason
United States#2Consumer Comment
Fri, February 16, 2018
Forget about trying to write your version of "War and Peace" because nobody has time to read it. If you want somebody to actually read what you wrote, use the Readers Digest version! Nobody but nobody forced you into this deal! YOU have no backbone and you very willingly played the role of doormat. The signs you gave them were all they needed to play their game and you went along perfectly! YOU are the customer. They need you, not the other way around. You saw they were not willing to listen to you, at which point, you should have walked out. Instead, you played your doormat role perfectly and now you have buyer's remorse.
Here's what you also need to learn about the BBB... 1. The BBB is NOT part of ANY government body. 2. The BBB has ZERO power to enforce anything. 3. The BBB will SELL their PHONY ratings to ANYBODY who wants to buy one. 4. The BBB has a well deserved reputation as a SHAKEDOWN operation. 5. The BBB will NEVER take the consumer's side in a dispute with one of their customers. 6. The BBB dog and pony "mediation" show is conducted by a "mediator" who is a BBB employee. 7. The BBB phony mediator will NEVER rule against any BBB customer. Just remember, a BBB "member" is a BBB customer who has PURCHASED their PHONY rating and PHONY "accreditation". There are MANY examples of the pure CON GAME being conducted by the BBB. Just search "BBB SCAM" in a search engine and even You Tube. Get out the puke bucket because the BBB is nothing more than BBB-BS!