Spark refusing to honour Sony TV Offer Promotion

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mattwnz

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#242096 10-Oct-2018 16:17

I tried to sign up to a new broadband connection today for a new home, enticed by their Sony TV offer promotion which is on their website at https://www.spark.co.nz/shop/internet/sony-tv-offer/

However I was shocked when I mentioned this to the phone sales person, that this offer had apparently ended a few days ago. Looking at the online promotion on the Spark website at https://www.spark.co.nz/shop/internet/sony-tv-offer/ which is still being advertised today, there is no end date specified on the offer, so I would expect them to still be honouring it up until the date they removed the advertising. They however refused to honour it saying that the offer had closed. When I gave them the link, they agreed that the advert was still showing online on the Spark website and the offer was still being advertised on their website today, but all they could do was apologise, and they will try to get the offer removed. At this stage I won't be signing up to Spark if they don't honour their own advertising.

Anyone know how I can get it honoured, as obviously something that is still being advertised on the Spark website with no specified end date, should still be honoured.?

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Lizard Networks

#2105703 10-Oct-2018 16:24

Hey Matt, Where are you seeing that link aside from direct browsing?

The link from the site was removed when our new plan went live.

i'd also point out the line from the site

This offer is not available online.

Limited time offer. Whilst stocks last.

#include <std_disclaimer>

Any comments made are personal opinion and do not reflect directly on the position my current or past employers may have.

yitz

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#2105705 10-Oct-2018 16:25

It does say in the last section of fine print

[..] promo period (07.08.18 – 04.09.18)

Limited time offer. Whilst stocks last

I guess they could claim stocks ran out either way.

mattwnz

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#2105706 10-Oct-2018 16:26

hio77:

Hey Matt, Where are you seeing that link aside from direct browsing?

The link from the site was removed when our new plan went live.

Google Spark TV offer, comes up as first link. But I also saved the link until I was ready to sign up as there was no specified end date on it.

rugrat

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#2105719 10-Oct-2018 16:26

“Effective 7th August 2018 – Limited time offer – Whilst stocks last”

I don’t know legally how much that covers them, but it would make sense to take it down if all the TV’s are gone.

mattwnz

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#2105721 10-Oct-2018 16:27

yitz: It does say in the last section of fine print [..] promo period (07.08.18 – 04.09.18) Limited time offer. Whilst stocks last I guess they could claim stocks ran out either way.

I don't think they could use that clause, because the person I spoke to said they ended it on a particular date 7/10, so the promotion ran for exactly two months, and not when stock ran out. The end date however wasn't mentioned in the terms.Also says that if they can't supply the TV model, they would supply one of equal or greater value.

Failure to supply TV

If you do not receive the television specified, Spark will work with Sony to determine a replacement TV of equal or greater value. If this occurs, we will contact you to advise of the details of the new Sony appliance. If you choose not to accept the replacement Sony TV, you can terminate the agreement without paying any exit fees.

hio77

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#2105723 10-Oct-2018 16:30

mattwnz:

hio77:

Hey Matt, Where are you seeing that link aside from direct browsing?

The link from the site was removed when our new plan went live.

Google Spark TV offer, comes up as first link. But I also saved the link until I was ready to sign up as there was no specified end date on it.

Right, that would explain how you landed on it... and others likely would do the same to be fair.

I'll have a chat with the product and content folk.

The reps are following through with the correct business rules for the new plans that they would have been offering to you.

#include <std_disclaimer>

Any comments made are personal opinion and do not reflect directly on the position my current or past employers may have.

mattwnz

20181 posts

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#2105730 10-Oct-2018 16:35

hio77:

mattwnz:

hio77:

Hey Matt, Where are you seeing that link aside from direct browsing?

The link from the site was removed when our new plan went live.

Google Spark TV offer, comes up as first link. But I also saved the link until I was ready to sign up as there was no specified end date on it.

Right, that would explain how you landed on it... and others likely would do the same to be fair.

I'll have a chat with the product and content folk.

The reps are following through with the correct business rules for the new plans that they would have been offering to you.

Thanks for that. If Spark had put an end date on the offer (which looks to have been a 2 month promotion from the end date was told), it would have been more fair, so at least I and others affected by this, could have known when to order the connection by. If the words limited time offer are used, then I would expect the advert to specify what that limited time is, and that the advert is then removed from the website, or at least updated specifying what the end date will be. Obviously the end date was known to Spark, but the offer was never updated. But currently the offer is still being advertised on the Spark website anyway, so one would expect it to still be honoured.

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hio77

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#2105748 10-Oct-2018 16:45

mattwnz:

Thanks for that. If Spark had put an end date on the offer (which looks to have been a 2 month promotion from the end date was told), it would have been more fair, so at least I and others affected by this, could have known when to order the connection by.

I can understand that, Looks like your case had already made it through to the marketing folk.

I have passed on your feedback to them.

#include <std_disclaimer>

Any comments made are personal opinion and do not reflect directly on the position my current or past employers may have.

tripp

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#2105749 10-Oct-2018 16:51

This reminds me of the issue 2d had last year with their free tv with a note 8 purchase, they never put a start date on it so everyone ended up with a tv if they purchased it from pre-order - end date from a NZ retailer that offered it. They did not make the same mistake this year however.

mattwnz

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#2105752 10-Oct-2018 16:55

Thanks. I hope they will honour the offer in good faith.

tripp

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#2105802 10-Oct-2018 17:36

mattwnz:

Thanks. I hope they will honour the offer in good faith.

I have found spark good in the past, I won a phone a few years ago (online game thing they had). They did not have a record of the win on their system but I have a habit of taking screen shots etc of things like that. After supplying the info and explaining to them that it was their system issue not mine they sent out a phone (around $499 phone), it ended up being faulty (sim card reader issue) and had a marketing manager come out to albany mall and gave me the pick of a new phone between a new sony or a lumia 1020 (both over 1k at the time). I took the lumia LOL.

mattwnz

20181 posts

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#2105883 10-Oct-2018 20:34

tripp:

mattwnz:

Thanks. I hope they will honour the offer in good faith.

I have found spark good in the past, I won a phone a few years ago (online game thing they had). They did not have a record of the win on their system but I have a habit of taking screen shots etc of things like that. After supplying the info and explaining to them that it was their system issue not mine they sent out a phone (around $499 phone), it ended up being faulty (sim card reader issue) and had a marketing manager come out to albany mall and gave me the pick of a new phone between a new sony or a lumia 1020 (both over 1k at the time). I took the lumia LOL.

Thanks, I hope so. Although the supervisor we escalated it to was adamant they wouldn't be honouring it, and that was their bottom line. So we asked for it to be forwarded to their complaints team to come back to us. I see they have now removed the TV offer page from their website after we informed them of the problem, but I have made a copy of the page so still have all the details.

mattwnz

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#2106213 11-Oct-2018 13:24

Update: After contacting Sparks complaints person, we didn't get this resolved. They just kept saying they wouldn't honour it due to the promotion having ended, even though the offer was still being advertised on their website. It sounded like they had been given a particular line to follow which they couldn't deviate from. It wasn't a good customer experience at all. All they would offer is ones months free broadband to make up for it, which obviously isn't comparable. Anyone know how to take this further? At the moment I wouldn't ever sign up to Spark after this treatment, if they won't honour an offer with no specified end date, that was still being advertised on their website at the time I applied.

scuwp

3888 posts

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#2106235 11-Oct-2018 13:46

mattwnz:

Update: After contacting Sparks complaints person, we didn't get this resolved. They just kept saying they wouldn't honour it due to the promotion having ended, even though the offer was still being advertised on their website. It wasn't a good customer experience at all. All they would offer is ones months free broadband, which obviously isn't comparable. Anyone know how to take this further. At the moment I wouldn't ever sign up to Spark after this treatment.

Sorry but I think you need to accept that you missed out. My understanding is that a company is under no obligation to honor an advertised deal or price if there has been a genuine error made (e.g. someone forgot to take the website advert down), even less so where there appears to be a disclaimer that the deal had a limited lifespan.

Your only argument would be a moral one, not legal. You can make a complaint that they are being deliberately deceitful...but personally don't like your chances, and you can only claim compensation (actual loss) so you still couldn't force them to give you the TV deal, you can't lose what you never had.

This relates to price errors, but you can draw a parallel conclusion on any kind of deal:

If a retailer tells me a price for goods but it turns out it’s an incorrect price, do I have to pay the higher correct price?

Yes, you have to pay the correct higher price if you still wish to buy the goods. A consumer can’t insist on buying the goods at the advertised or displayed price. The law allows a retailer to make a genuine mistake but if you think that you have been deliberately misled or the trader continues to advertise the goods at an incorrect price then you might be able to claim compensation under the Fair Trading Act (see our Complaints and Disputes pages for more about this).

Lazy is such an ugly word, I prefer to call it selective participation

mattwnz

20181 posts

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#2106237 11-Oct-2018 13:49

scuwp:

mattwnz:

Update: After contacting Sparks complaints person, we didn't get this resolved. They just kept saying they wouldn't honour it due to the promotion having ended, even though the offer was still being advertised on their website. It wasn't a good customer experience at all. All they would offer is ones months free broadband, which obviously isn't comparable. Anyone know how to take this further. At the moment I wouldn't ever sign up to Spark after this treatment.

Sorry but I think you need to accept that you missed out. My understanding is that a company is under no obligation to honor an advertised deal or price if there has been an error made (e.g. someone forgot to take the website advert down), even less so where there appears to be a disclaimer that the deal had a limited lifespan.

Your only argument would be a moral one, not legal.

I would agree if there was an end date on the offer. But there was no end date on the offer,just a start date, so it was an open ended offer. The terms say they can change the offer, which they should have done when they knew the actual end date, to be fair to potential customers. They knew the end date, but it wasn't communicated in the offer.

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