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Had a lawn company send me and estimate for a yearly service which seemed reasonable. I called them to sign up and they pulled the old Bait & Switch; "Oh that is a computer generated mail listing, I'm looking the address up here and it looks like it's gonna be..." comes up with a figure almost twice the original amount.

Really, is it any different than a Credit Card offering a certain rate then trying to charge a different rate once you get the card or a contractor writing an estimate up then trying to charge more once the work is completed?

Had a lawn company send me and estimate for a yearly service which seemed reasonable. I called them to sign up and they pulled the old Bait & Switch; "Oh that is a computer generated mail listing, I'm looking the address up here and it looks like it's gonna be..." comes up with a figure almost twice the original amount. Really, is it any different than a Credit Card offering a certain rate then trying to charge a different rate once you get the card or a contractor writing an estimate up then trying to charge more once the work is completed?

(post is archived)

[–] • 2 pts

A shitty firm told you upfront they were a shitty firm, this is a good outcome for you

Go find a White kid looking to earn some cash

[–] • 2 pts

At best, they may be guilty of 'false advertising' which is a mostly toothless penalty. An add is not a contract. At best it is an offer to enter into a contractual agreement.

It all comes down to the 'Bake my Cake' problem. It is a free country. You want to force them to work and you want to dictate the terms? Not how this works. They can just say 'Yeah thats the rate but we refuse your business... or you can pay the new rate.' You can't force them to mow your lawn.

[–] [deleted] • 1 pt

An estimate is just that. Just like an estimate for auto or home repair. A CC company does not send estimates for interest rates that I'm aware of.

[–] • 3 pts

A CC company does not send estimates for interest rates that I'm aware of.

They actually sort of do. They will promo that they have a low interest rate but that is the lowest rate they offer based on perfect credit scores and reports. You will often see something like "Low 3.99% APR*" where the * has a fine print note that says something to the effect of that rate being for preferred credit customers and all other customers will have a higher rate. It's not really a bait-and-switch, but it is still a trick because they will only give the advertised low rate to a very small number of eligible customers with perfect credit. This also applies to car interest rates and leases.

[–] [deleted] • 2 pts

You are right, CC companies and loan adverts usually include the "for well qualified" as a stipulation. Most mailings that I've gotten from CC companies were more targeted but I'm sure the fine print was still there.