Have a consumer gripe? Join the club!

Herb Weisbaum • Profile • E-mail

This week marks the one year anniversary of the ConsumerMan column. It’s been a great year!

Thanks to everyone who e-mailed comments, questions and words of encouragement.

In the past few months a number of readers have written to tell me about their pet peeves.

I have many of the same gripes. So I wanted to share them with you.

Gripe: Fine print
Lynette is upset about the paragraphs of fine print that flash on the TV screen during commercials. “It’s too small and on too quickly to read,” she says.

She’s right. This practice, which has gone on for years, is wrong. It’s not only annoying; in many cases it is deceptive. For instance, the fine print in car commercials might say that a substantial down payment is required to get that low-financing rate. With weight-loss ads, the fine print advises that you are not likely to lose as many pounds as the happy (and thin) customer on the screen.

I believe any words in a TV commercial should be big enough and on the screen long enough for the average viewer to read. It’s time federal regulators cracked down on these fine print shenanigans. If you agree with me, write the Federal Trade Commission and let them know how you feel.

Gripe: Risk-free trial
Chris in Redmond, Wash., bought a bed after seeing it advertised on TV. The infomercial offered a “30 night risk-free guarantee.” Chris says she knew right away she didn’t like the bed, so she contacted the store to take it back.

That’s when she learned it would cost $200 to have it picked up. That was on top of the $150 she paid to have the bed delivered and set up.

“So, this is costing me $350 for absolutely NOTHING,” she writes. “This is not a ‘30 night risk-free guarantee’ and it feels like deceptive advertising to me.”

As Chris learned the hard way, risk-free doesn’t mean cost-free. This marketing technique is used to reduce your normal resistance to making a purchase. It’s commonly used with mail-order or telephone purchases.

In most cases, if you don’t like what you ordered, you will not be reimbursed for the shipping and handling. And if you need to return the product to get a refund, chances are you’ll have to pay to send it back.

Gripe: Super packaging
Pam has a beef about the packing used on toys. “When we were little, you were able to immediately open your toys at birthdays and holidays and start playing right away. Now, kids have to pass their toy off to their parents to get them released from the gazillion twisties, excessive tape and plastic, etc.”

“I can appreciate wanting to market and make things look nice,” Pam says, “but I also know that I get irritated every time I have to take 20 minutes to break a Barbie or Little Pony from its packaging.”

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