Bond & Bond - Incompetent or bait advertising?

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Lupins

9 posts

Wannabe Geek

#59979 15-Apr-2010 22:59

Hi guys, a little fact finding mission.

As some may know Bond & Bond had a $599 PS3 package advertised in a flyer last month with God of War and a 250gig console.
So like many people I went in to my local store to pick this up. When I asked about it though the girl I was talking to claimed zero knowledge of the package, and even after I asked her to check told me it didn't exist. I asked for her to check the flyer and was told there wasn't one in store (huh?), the manager was apparently not available, and I must have mis-read the price. Left the store thinking there was a small chance I did mis-read, but behold, when i got home it was confirmed. Rang the store and was told, "must be a mis-print", "we can't sell for that price." Which ****ed me off (of course).

Anyway, I got really annoyed the next night when I found out here and elsewhere that other people had got the package at that price! Couldn't be bothered dealing with the store personally again (do you blame me?) so used the web contact to write a complaint, waited for a response for about a week, and then basically forgot about it until last week when I sent another email to follow-up since I hadn't had a response, and another this week after they still hadn't replied. Finally got a response back today which basically says, "well we supplied seven of these, so we were selling them. You must not have come in. You can buy one for $720" and after responding to that one "well we have no record of you contacting us, so we can't see any problem."

So, I'm wondering if anyone else who went it store/online and didn't manage to get one of these either?

Was this a case of a mis-print that they attempted to not honour (seems like it from my experience) but maybe supplied a few of either because the sales staff let them through or couldn't fob-off the customer? Or is this a case of just an incompetent store employee? Personally I think they should be supplying at the advertised price no matter what.

Thanks for your comments

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100 posts

Master Geek

#319125 15-Apr-2010 23:06

I had a mate who went in and managed to get this deal, the guy who sold it showed him something on the computer which showed how much they were losing on each one they sold. I suppose you could report them under the fair trading act? threaten them and see if they sell it for the same price lol

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NZCoderGuy

513 posts

Ultimate Geek

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Kiwi Dev Studios

#319127 15-Apr-2010 23:13

Personally i have had this happen before to me, so best idea was to print off the page on their website, or bring in the flyer. When they 'sight' it, they must honour the price. Otherwise you must see the manager and make a formal complaint - misleading the customer and whatnot.. any sign that you give about kicking up a fuss, alot of managers/staff with give in.. unless of course you hit a real prick of a manager. Then either go to another store and use the "well match the competition" type offer.. and most do that too..

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wreck90

780 posts

Ultimate Geek
Inactive user

#319153 16-Apr-2010 01:08

I'd put it more down to incompetence than any plan to deceive.

Bung

5433 posts

Uber Geek

Subscriber

#319173 16-Apr-2010 05:32

gtxboyracer: Personally i have had this happen before to me, so best idea was to print off the page on their website, or bring in the flyer. When they 'sight' it, they must honour the price. Otherwise you must see the manager and make a formal complaint - misleading the customer and whatnot.. any sign that you give about kicking up a fuss, alot of managers/staff with give in.. unless of course you hit a real prick of a manager. Then either go to another store and use the "well match the competition" type offer.. and most do that too..

They do not.

From the Consumer summary of the FTA

"
Pricing mistakes
If an item is advertised for sale at a particular price, but you get to the shop only to be told that there has been a mistake and the item is, in fact, more expensive, the trader doesn't have to sell you the item for the advertised price. They are entitled to claim if a genuine mistake was made.

The Act recognises a "reasonable mistake" which may have got through the checking system, or has perhaps been caused by the actions of a third party. However, if a particular trader is always claiming that a "genuine mistake" has been made, they may be in breach of the Act regardless of their plea."

Paulthagerous

698 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

#319195 16-Apr-2010 08:23

If I were you, I would try getting in touch with someone at the Citizens Advice Beureau, ComCom or what not. A letter/email from one of them saying that they believe it was misleading/unfair etc can go a long way in getting a remedy in my experience.

sbiddle

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Biddle Corp

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#319202 16-Apr-2010 08:40

They would have probably been required to sell at that price, but the reality is you're probably way too late to do anything about it. You really needed to escalate the issue at the time, not weeks after.

In your message from them I see you didn't make any reference to them saying it was a mistake. Do you have any evidence to suggest it was?

As for the person who said they were losing money the reality is store staff typically have no real idea of the cost of a product. Scan back deals where a company sells a product below "cost" and receives a rebate from the supplier are very common.

Bung

5433 posts

Uber Geek

Subscriber

#319212 16-Apr-2010 09:13

Good luck defeating the defence of incompetent advertising.

$599 is Bond&Bond and Noel leeming's current web price for a 120GB PS3 on its own. They show 250GB + GOW bundle at $729. Noel Leeming do the bundle at $699.

Jaxson

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#319224 16-Apr-2010 09:37

Yeah sorry but you need to stand up for yourself. Deals like this do exist and are worth pushing for. You need to go armed with the relevant information and put your foot down then and there. If you snooze, you lose sorry.

semigeek

1604 posts

Uber Geek

#319245 16-Apr-2010 10:18

Here ya go, Harvey Norman has the bundle for $677
http://www.harveynorman.co.nz/sony-playstation-3-slim-250gb-with-god-of-war-iii-game.html

Lupins

9 posts

Wannabe Geek

#319453 16-Apr-2010 16:52

Honestly, it moved past the point of an explanation/apology when they failed to follw-up. Had they emailed the next day to say sorry it was a staff stuff-up/pricing error I probably would have forgotten about it altogether, instead they don't get back to me and when they did they basically said "not our problem" or worse implied that I can't have even asked for it (yeah, I've been following this up for a month for no reason).

Then either go to another store and use the "well match the competition" type offer.. and most do that too..

It was a "free-gift" type deal rather than a retail package, so no-one would price match with the game included (they would do the console only).

In your message from them I see you didn't make any reference to them saying it was a mistake. Do you have any evidence to suggest it was?

No the manager has only referred to it as a "promotion," the idea it was a misprint came from others online who were told it was by store staff.

Linuxluver

5824 posts

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#319462 16-Apr-2010 17:20

One lesson to be taken from this is that if you're after a special deal, best to take the flyer with you.
That helps everyone cut to the chase right from the start.

_____________________________________________________________________

I've been on Geekzone over 16 years..... Time flies....

Lupins

9 posts

Wannabe Geek

#319582 17-Apr-2010 01:38

Sorry but I totally disagree. It's up to stores to ensure that their staff are aware of promotions, know how to work the systems, and provide at least adequate customer service. No customer should have to chase-up any special price, offer, or anything else.

Anyway, it's not like we're talking a one day, super special, only found in some secret place special here, it was a nationally advertised/distributed flyer that lasted for over a week, and I went in on the final days of it. Not like I caught them by surprise.

Batman

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#319585 17-Apr-2010 02:21

Lupins: Sorry but I totally disagree. It's up to stores to ensure that their staff are aware of promotions, know how to work the systems, and provide at least adequate customer service. No customer should have to chase-up any special price, offer, or anything else.

Anyway, it's not like we're talking a one day, super special, only found in some secret place special here, it was a nationally advertised/distributed flyer that lasted for over a week, and I went in on the final days of it. Not like I caught them by surprise.

Totally agree, no customer should need to do any work to get the deals. But hey it's the customer that loses (or saves $599!) out at the end of the day. It's like turning right, crashing and getting brain damaged and saying hey it's that guy who should give way not me, 100% true but ... at the end of the day ...

wazzageek

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#319606 17-Apr-2010 09:21

joker97:
Lupins: Sorry but I totally disagree. It's up to stores to ensure that their staff are aware of promotions, know how to work the systems, and provide at least adequate customer service. No customer should have to chase-up any special price, offer, or anything else.

Anyway, it's not like we're talking a one day, super special, only found in some secret place special here, it was a nationally advertised/distributed flyer that lasted for over a week, and I went in on the final days of it. Not like I caught them by surprise.

Totally agree, no customer should need to do any work to get the deals. But hey it's the customer that loses (or saves $599!) out at the end of the day. It's like turning right, crashing and getting brain damaged and saying hey it's that guy who should give way not me, 100% true but ... at the end of the day ...

... lesson learned - take the flyer with you. It does assist in quelling any disagreements. And I don't see why taking a flyer in with you is "work".

Lupins

9 posts

Wannabe Geek

#319903 18-Apr-2010 14:27

So you carry around a stack of retail flyers and news clippings in case you want to buy something advertised then?

What next? should we start recording TV and radio adverts in case we hear or see something that we might want to have a look at?

I think quite clearly this isn't a case of what might be "work" on a customers part, but what stores should, and in fact are legally obligated, to do when they have advertised products at ANY price.

Frankly it's that sort of attitude that ensures that companies in NZ keep getting away with misleading advertising, even is cases where they are clearly breaching the Fair Trading Act.

Take for example around 8 years ago when I brought (funnily enough) my PS2, also from Bond and Bond (I'd forgotten that till just now). I went in there because they were offering 20% off all Sony, only to be told once in store that actually Playstation wasn't included as "Sony Entertainment aren't the same company as Sony." As it happens I was working as a advertising proofer at the time, and part of my job was to check the legality of specials/deals under the FTA, so knew exactly what was fair and not. When I brought this up with the sales person they tried to wiggle out of it, but ultimately said they couldn't do 20% off, but they'd give me a half price game and memory card, so I was happy with that, however still contacted their (at the time) head office to let them know their advertising was illegal under the FTA. HOWEVER, compare that with today, when they are STILL running the exact same type of special, still in a way that is in breach of the FTA.

Now, don't you think that if even twenty people complained about this to the ASA or Commerce Commission it would stop? Probably, but most people in NZ aren't aware of their rights, or worse, they just accept it.

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