Samsung - 'bait and switch' in free gift promotion

Philip_S

powerful_Rogue wrote: »

Just to clarify though, when you made your purchase, they were advertising on the website the 7' Galaxy Tab. Before you even looked at the T&C's you was expecting and happy with the 7' Galaxy Tab offer?

No, because the PDF AO linked to said: "Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 8.0 (Wi-Fi)", there is a Google cache of that;

webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:6LnWzoWWCRAJ:ao.com/pdf/samsungFreeGift.pdf+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=uk

(I do not know how long it will last. It already doesn't match the proper PDF and it's only a matter of time before it changes.)

"Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 8.0 (Wi-Fi)" is how it's written on Samsung's website;

samsung.com/uk/consumer/mobile-devices/tablets/tablets/SM-T3100ZWABTU

So I went to Samsung expecting the 8" version, and didn't notice the error because I was looking for the T&C, and not errors. I always go to the T&C because that's the legal stuff.

Philip

powerful_Rogue

Philip_S wrote: »

No, because the PDF AO linked to said: "Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 8.0 (Wi-Fi)", there is a Google cache of that;

webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:6LnWzoWWCRAJ:ao.com/pdf/samsungFreeGift.pdf+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=uk

(I do not know how long it will last. It already doesn't match the proper PDF and it's only a matter of time before it changes.)

"Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 8.0 (Wi-Fi)" is how it's written on Samsung's website;

samsung.com/uk/consumer/mobile-devices/tablets/tablets/SM-T3100ZWABTU

So I went to Samsung expecting the 8" version, and didn't notice the error because I was looking for the T&C, and not errors. I always go to the T&C because that's the legal stuff.

Philip

But what did the website say BEFORE you went to read the T&C's? You must have seen something advertised on the website for you to go and look at the T&C's.

wealdroam

Philip_S wrote: »

...the PDF AO linked to said: "Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 8.0 (Wi-Fi)", there is a Google cache of that;

webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:6LnWzoWWCRAJ:ao.com/pdf/samsungFreeGift.pdf+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=uk

(I do not know how long it will last. It already doesn't match the proper PDF and it's only a matter of time before it changes.)

Might be a good idea to save a copy of that webpage before it does change.

Don't know which browser you're using, but in Firefox right click the page and choose 'save page as...'. In Chrome, right click and choose 'save as...'.

Philip_S

powerful_Rogue wrote: »

But what did the website say BEFORE you went to read the T&C's? You must have seen something advertised on the website for you to go and look at the T&C's.

As I said, I read first it in the PDF claim form that AO linked to. When I went to Samsung's website (from the link in the claim form AO linked to) I went straight to the T&C and didn't notice the error.

To me: the claim form said 8" Galaxy Tab, the T&C said 8" and I assumed everything else said 8". It was only later I noticed the error. That's my bad, though it doesn't change the fact the T&C said 8" at the time of purchase, and the T&C are supposed to be the legal agreement?

wealdroam wrote: »

Might be a good idea to save a copy of that webpage before it does change.

Don't know which browser you're using, but in Firefox right click the page and choose 'save page as...'. In Chrome, right click and choose 'save as...'.

I saved a copy of the original AO claim form PDF, and I saved a copy of the original T&C PDF from Samsung's site.

Philip

bod1467

Philip_S wrote: »

the T&C said 8" at the time of purchase, and the T&C are supposed to be the legal agreement?

Bingo. Anything else is merely an offer to treat ... the T&Cs agreed at the time of contract are what form the contract. If the T&Cs said '8" tablet' (and the model number correlates to that) then that is what you are entitled to. (Or equivalent ... a 7" tablet is not equivalent).

Gloria_Steeth

Hello Philip,

I know you bought your items online but electrical stores usually have leaflets about these Samsung promotions, maybe worth a look to find out what it says on the instore leaflet?

I applied for a similar offer several weeks ago: buy a Samsung washing machine and get a free Galaxy Tab 2 7" (That promo's now expired but this was the link: www.samsung.com/uk/homeappliancerewardyourself/) It did say "Limited offer, while stocks last" so as the weeks went by and I still hadn't heard anything I just assumed I'd missed the boat as I'd bought the washing machine very close to the expiry date. However, just last week I received an unannounced parcel from them with a Galaxy Tab 3 7" (Model number SM-T210) inside. I was very happy indeed to be given a newer version than the advertised Tab 2, but they were both 7" models and your case is totally different if they're downgrading your promo offer from an 8 to a 7.

I hope it will all work out all right for you - just give them time to sort it.

Philip_S

bod1467 wrote: »

Bingo. Anything else is merely an offer to treat ... the T&Cs agreed at the time of contract are what form the contract. If the T&Cs said '8" tablet' (and the model number correlates to that) then that is what you are entitled to. (Or equivalent ... a 7" tablet is not equivalent).

That's my thoughts too. Though getting the evidence of what was the original agreement my prove tricky...

On the plus side I recovered an AO email from my junk folder that acknowledges the error.

Also, I had a chat with John from AO yesterday, and I explained things to him, and about why I contacted Trading Standards so early (because of the PDF swapping). He agreed with me and said AO has the original PDF showing the error, and that the error was logged. He said he would chase it up with Samsung for me.

Good stuff.

Gloria_Steeth wrote: »

I know you bought your items online but electrical stores usually have leaflets about these Samsung promotions, maybe worth a look to find out what it says on the instore leaflet?

I'll check it out if everything continues to go sideways! Though I'm not sure it will be relevant to my case, but it might prove there has been an error (circumstantial evidence).

Gloria_Steeth wrote: »

I hope it will all work out all right for you - just give them time to sort it.

I will, and I hope the next time I hear from them it will be good news. Either way, I will post back here to let everyone who commented on this thread know the outcome.

One thing I will do in the future when going for a promotion is 'Wayback Machine' the web pages and PDF (assuming they do not block WBM with robots.txt).

Philip

Philip_S

Hi all,

An update for anyone who is still interested.

Today I received an email from the 'Citizens Advice consumer service', saying they have passed the case to Trading Standards for consideration due to the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008.

I have not heard anything from Samsung, their 3-5 working day 'call back' window they gave me ends today. I'll see what they say tomorrow.

Philip

Philip_S

Yesterday I contacted Samsung to let them know their promotions team had not contacted me in the 3-5 day time frame they specified.

Today they replied and asked me to phone the promotions team! So I did. Turns out the promotions team have nothing to do with the T&C and it's all down to Samsung. The lady I spoke to was polite and said I should contact Samsung.

I feel like I'm getting the run-around here :mad:

So I sent another email off to Samsung informing them this is their mistake, and to confirm I will receive the 8" Galaxy Tab 3.

Philip