It’s a little known fact, but the Better Business Bureau (BBB) system was established in 1912 to correct advertising abuses, not handle complaints. At the time, the rise of fraudulent and misleading advertising and an absence of effective regulation left a great need for an organization like BBB to help promote truth in advertising.
Nearly one hundred years later, your BBB maintains its vision of a marketplace where buyers and sellers can trust each other…yet serious issues like misleading and fraudulent advertising continues in print, over the airwaves and since the invent of the world wide web, has exploded on the Internet.
The BBB Code of Advertising exists to provide a set of guidelines developed to aid advertisers in preparation and maintenance of truthful advertising. BBB is active in sharing its Code of Advertising to accredited and non accredited businesses. Additionally, BBB reviews advertisements free of charge to ensure truthful claims, and alerts businesses to ones that need substantiation or modification.
Whether the economy is booming or declining, it is important for buyers to understand the elements in an advertisement to protect their time, interest and wallets. The following are common advertising terms that require a watchful eye.
ASTERISKS (*)
Asterisks are usually placed used in advertisements to give more information. Yet, in some cases, the asterisk contains information in small print that changes the meaning of the statement. This is misleading to the buyer.
FREE
If a product or service is advertised as free, then it should be just that, free. If a purchase is required to get the free item, it must be disclosed clearly and conspicuously with the free offer and can not be explained with an asterisk. The free offer must also be temporary; otherwise it becomes a combination offer such as a “buy two, get one free”.
Relative to any type of vehicle dealer, at no time may anything be offered "free" and tied to the purchase or lease of a vehicle, according to the Federal Trade Commission, Arizona Attorney General advertising requirements and the Arizona BBB advertising guidelines.
LOWEST PRICE
If a company is claiming the lowest price in an ad, it must have proper substation to support the claim before publishing. In general these types of claims are often difficult to substantiate as prices in the marketplace fluctuate frequently.
NO CREDIT REJECTED
The claim “no credit rejected” implies that consumer credit will be extended to anyone regardless of the credit worthiness of the individual or their ability to pay. What is not disclosed are the lengths the company will go to get credit approval, which ranges from high interest rates to excessive length of the loan.
WARRANTIES
Warranties should have a disclosure that is clear and prominent so consumers can review it prior to the sale. It’s also acceptable to view the warranty online or by written request. If there are any satisfaction guarantee claims the conditions should be listed in the advertisement.
In today’s marketplace a common issue is “lifetime warranties”. Unfortunately one question that needs to be addressed is whether the lifetime warranty applies to the life of the buyer, the company or the product.
For more information on advertising claims visit arizonabbb.org. If your company would like BBB to review an advertisement before publication, call 602-264-1721 or 928-772-3410 in Northern Arizona.
About Matthew Fehling
Matthew Fehling is President and CEO of the BBB of Central, Northern and Western Arizona. BBB is a membership-based, non-profit organization funded by over 10,000 BBB Accredited Businesses and provides over a million instances of service each year. Before serving in Arizona, Matthew held positions with the BBB in Richmond, Denver and at the Council of Better Business Bureaus in Arlington, VA.