Circuit City reserves right to change ads and coupons
The original ad. Circuit City had a flyer last month which promised to save you up to US$ 40 when you buy your Wii. They said that as long as you visited their website, printed the flyer, and went to their shop, they’d give you that discount.
The changed ad. Later on they said that they take it all back: they said the discount actually comes with the statement “Qualifying purchases exclude gaming hardware…” They later took down the coupon from their site completely.
But it was too late. People who could have bought the Wii elsewhere ended up trekking to Circuit City instead because they were counting on the discount. When they got to the shop, they were told “Sorry, but no-can-do.”
The complaints. Well, it annoyed enough people that Circuit City was reported to the Better Business Bureau for pulling something like the old bait-and-switch scam.
The response. One of those who reported them to the BBB happened to be a Destructoid regular, and the regular received a response which, besides being highly unsatisfactory, seems to some people to be a template response that they sent to the X number of complainants.
COMPANY’S RESPONSE:
February 15, 2006
Jennifer Durham
BBB Serving Central VA
701 E. Franklin St., Suite 712
Richmond, VA 23219
RE: Benjamin Hedrick
Dear Ms. Durham:
I am writing in response to your letter regarding Benjamin Hedrick’s complaint to the Better Business Bureau. Thank you for forwarding this matter to our attention. Mr. Hedrick complains that he has unable to use a $40 coupon for his purchases.
I have reviewed the information provided. I apologize for this situation. Unfortunately, we were unable to accept the coupon as the terms of usage had changed. (What?!! — Dtoid) We reserve the right to make changes to our advertisments, coupons, etc.
We regret any inconvenience Mr. Hedrick may have experienced.
Sincerely,
Marilyn Pando
Executive Assistant
Circuit City Stores, Inc
The original ad. Circuit City had a flyer last month which promised to save you up to US$ 40 when you buy your Wii. They said that as long as you visited their website, printed the flyer, and went to their shop, they’d give you that discount.
The changed ad. Later on they said that they take it all back: they said the discount actually comes with the statement “Qualifying purchases exclude gaming hardware…” They later took down the coupon from their site completely.
But it was too late. People who could have bought the Wii elsewhere ended up trekking to Circuit City instead because they were counting on the discount. When they got to the shop, they were told “Sorry, but no-can-do.”
The complaints. Well, it annoyed enough people that Circuit City was reported to the Better Business Bureau for pulling something like the old bait-and-switch scam.
The response. One of those who reported them to the BBB happened to be a Destructoid regular, and the regular received a response which, besides being highly unsatisfactory, seems to some people to be a template response that they sent to the X number of complainants.
COMPANY’S RESPONSE:
February 15, 2006
Jennifer Durham
BBB Serving Central VA
701 E. Franklin St., Suite 712
Richmond, VA 23219
RE: Benjamin Hedrick
Dear Ms. Durham:
I am writing in response to your letter regarding Benjamin Hedrick’s complaint to the Better Business Bureau. Thank you for forwarding this matter to our attention. Mr. Hedrick complains that he has unable to use a $40 coupon for his purchases.
I have reviewed the information provided. I apologize for this situation. Unfortunately, we were unable to accept the coupon as the terms of usage had changed. (What?!! — Dtoid) We reserve the right to make changes to our advertisments, coupons, etc.
We regret any inconvenience Mr. Hedrick may have experienced.
Sincerely,
Marilyn Pando
Executive Assistant
Circuit City Stores, Inc
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