False Advertising and Accountability...

Recently I have taken part in some discussions regarding the selling of freebies. And while I am not entirely sure where I stand on that practice, one thing that I am very frustrated with is False Advertising. I noticed it first with advertised 'freebies'. But, as we all know, there are freebies and there are freebies. To be honest, I don't mind paying L$1 for a box of freebies, but I do get annoyed at the suprise of being asked to pay for something advertised as being free. In many cases it's a mixed bag and some items are free and others are not.

Now, this is really a minor annoyance. I've gotten used to the way things are with freebies and I have become more careful. But what I am beginning to notice is that this is not limited to freebies. Businesses are advertising things on a regular basis that have expired. And in some cases, it's difficult to tell whether the offer exists until actually handing over the money. In the last discussion I was in regarding freebies, someone claimed that, like in RL, one should be able to resell anything in their posession. Well, in RL False Advertising is not legal, and if a supermarket has a sticker on it's shelf with a lower price than the item is at the register, the customer gets that lower price.

So, someone please tell me: Why is it OK for an ad to tell me I will get a bonus for opening a bank account in SL, hand over my money and then not actually get that bonus?

Sure I can take my money out and go to another bank. But this is a business, is it not? That's what people keep telling me...

I'd like to hear your thoughts...

I hear ya buddy, I was at a weapon shop and they had dual desert eagles I REALLY wanted but they were 1500 L$ so I paid and it turns out it was a shit pistol, needless to say I got the mafia after the owner and things went on from there

there are banks in sl?

SL Banks = Ponzi Schemes

doesn't matter what the business is...

It doesn't????? It sure does to me before I hand my money to a business.

Do you even know what a Ponzi Scheme is? They are illegal in the United States. And for good reason.

Ginko?

actually, no. i hadn't heard the term. i just meant that it didn't matter whether it was a bank or another business.. it's still false advertising.

i took my money out of the bank anyway.

someone suggested to me today that SL should have some sort of better business bureau. i think that's maybe not such a bad idea.

I really hate false advertizing too

I meet a pretty girl whos really chesty and get her home and it was just prim boxes under that sweater.


=pPPpPPpP

(don't turn this into an SL bank thread please, there already is one active)


Some experiences with false advertizing and my thoughts:

In regards to the freebees that are $1L.... one could claim that the $1L is the gathering fee... or the box that is holding the freebees.... some also mark freebees as $1L so it registers in their transaction log. Basically I think someone advertizing freebees, and selling a box full of goodies for $1L is not false advertizing.

In regards to products or services that claim one thing, then you pay, and get something else... totally false advertizing. You can file an abuse report.

In regards to promises made in an advertizement and not following through. I feel it is false advertizing, however, the only thing that can really be done is negative word of mouth...

Some things I've noticed going on, which I'm suprised are not voiced more.... and I almost look at them as scams:

Casinos saying they are having a special payout rate, and do not. There really isn't a way to prove it, but basically I think all casino advertizements are false ads and a scam.

"Yard Sales" listed in events that really are perminant stores. This issue has been talked about before, and can be abuse reported. Usually when the owner of a store gets a LL warning they stop posting yard sale event posts.

Events that have promised payouts that are rigged. This one angers me the most. People go to events, hang out a long time, and think they have a shot at winning the contest, when in actuality the contest is rigged.. a secret employee wins the prize.... I've even seen an event that simply ends without even mentioning the winner or giving out the prize. I also have no idea if those money sploders or raffles are rigged or not either. The only thing that can be done is to never go back and tell everyone you know about the scamming practices of the event, the venue, and the host.

Events that claim to have a live DJ and in actuality they just have a netstream station playing. this one's pretty simple, when you hear the radio station ad play, laugh at the club, call em fakes and posers, and never go back. There's one very popular club that comes to mind that does this a lot. They are a total joke.

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but on a different note.... sometimes people simply forget they have some form of ad placed that is no longer in affect. I think this is simply due to users constantly taking on projects in SL, and forgetting about old ones. When this occurs, I think the best thing to do is contact the advertizer's owner and remind them they have an ad that is offering something that isn't legit. If they are purposely doing this, then report em.

Can you tell me where you saw such advertisement?

SLitch Nilsson's Rock N Roll-Arcade-Theatre
Hooper 187,252,58

Im standing here by on of ur ATMs with 2 signs above it saying Get 100L$ for opening a NEW Ginko account!!

The signs have been here a while i know that and also you were advertising that promotion, maybe someones forget to remove all the advertising material

Yes, those signs are old. Ginko no longer offers the 100 bonus for new accounts now the LL no long requires age verification. A full explaination is available at ginkofinancial.com.

Thats as maybe, however they still exist and will continue to cause bad feeling im sure and it doest look good on the bank, Nic asked where it was i just showed him one now its up to him to get them removed and unless theres a note on the atm etc. saying that the 100L$ has ended when people sign up for an account, then people will just assume that the bank/business is dodgy as they havent recieved theirs.

A bank here has to act whiter than white if it wishes to stay in business all i was doing was answering the question, where was an advert to be found.

How the bank now deal with this is up to them and the customer, but reputations are made and broken here with word of mouth but then im sure they are aware of that fact and always remember your L$'s are safer in your pocket unless youu wanna be a pioneer and take a few risks along the way

I prefer to travel the less used road

The signs do not belong to us. I have contacted their owner and asked him to remove them.