Cellular One/Central advertised that if customers, new and existing, made a donation of $20 to Big Brothers/Big Sisters customers would receive 3 of 4 features and $30 worth of free accessories. The 4 features of which to select 3 were 1. Double plan minutes, 2. Free Nokia phone, 3.3000 Night and Weekends, and, 4. Free incoming calls. The advertisement of this "promotion" was presented on a flyer handed out at local grocery store.
Well, ready to donate $20 to the Big Brothers/Sisters, I cheerfully went to collect my 3 Free features and $30 in Free accessories. I was told I could not, get any free accessories nor 3 of the 4 free features unless I extended my already 2 year contract by another year. A non-existing customer was also not eligible to collect any of the free 3 of 4 features or accessories unless they also signed a contract.
It was my contention that the flyer was misleading and fraudulent in its promotion. It clearly mislead potential customers and existing customers into believing they were getting one thing whan in fact they would be getting something else The public was intentionally made to believe that one condition existed while clearly another set of circumstances existed in order to be given the items advertised. My contention is that the ad was misleading and fraudulent and therefore false advertising. All the information required to avoid the ad being false and misleading was not on the flyer.
The two employees whom I spoke with would not honor the advertisement as presented to them. They would not give me the 3 of 4 features I had selected. Nor would they give me the $30 in free accessories. As stated I am an existing customer with a two year contract. They stated that I needed to extend my contract another year. No where was that written on the flyer.
I was clearly mislead, as many others, to believe that I would receive certain products and services as advertised but simply denied those products and services because that "was simply the way it was because that was the way it was".
Needless to say, and it does not require an attorney to draw the following conclusion, an advertisement which leads the customer to believe a certain set of conditions exists, which in fact does not exist, and/or products and services promised but not delivered, and, those promises are made to mislead the customer so that they may be lured to that business under false pretenses, is a business practice which is clearly illegal. Cellular One/Cellular Central should be investigated and sanctioned for the unlawful practice of false advertisement.
And, another ad should be published, as the last ad, corrected and clarified, for current and potentially new customers (though new customers might wonder about signing up with this celular company) to obtain those goods and services promised in the older advertisement. Current customers should be given the option of cancellation of their current contract as is their due for having contracted with a business that is engaged in illegal business practices.
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