Friday, July 16, 2010

Toshiba in Hot Water Over Free Laptops Offer

Toshiba's latest ad campaign has resulted in a lot of unhappy customers.

In an effort to capitalize off of the World Cup, Toshiba ran an advertising campaign offering customers in several European countries full rebates on purchases if their country won.
The deal was advertised in Spain, Germany, England, Portugal and Italy and offered customers purchasing Toshiba Core i5 laptops or Toshiba TVs a full refund if their country of origin was victorious. However, it seems Spanish customers are having trouble getting their money back and consumer association, Facua, is taking issue with how Toshiba organized the special offer.
Toshiba's promotional materials included fine print that directed customers to the Toshiba Website for full details. However, not all customers checked the site before buying and were surprised to learn that they're not eligible for a refund because they didn't register their product before June 17. Engadget cites Facua as saying such a huge condition to availing of the offer should not have been hidden away on the website, but clearly marked on the promotional materials. The group is arguing that because of this oversight, Toshiba should have to honor every single customer's rebate regardless.
While it's definitely an underhanded move on Toshiba's part, it's hard to believe people wouldn't look at the terms and conditions of a deal offering a free laptop or TV before jumping in with both feet.

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