From Mr Marc Wells
Sir, I am writing to warn your readers of a sleight of hand that the Alliance & Leicester is playing to entice people to sign up for its credit card. A few months ago, I received an A&L mailshot offering a “free Olympus APS Camera, worth (RRP) £49.99”. I quite fancied the sleek APS camera illustrated, so signed up and my account was opened.
The small print says that “the gift will be sent within 28 days from the first transaction date on your account”, and so it did. Imagine my surprise, then, when I opened the box to discover not a sleek APS camera, but one that resembled the advert in only the colour and manufacturer’s name.
I called A&L to inform it that it had contravened its own small print, which states: “We reserve the right to offer an alternative gift of equivalent or greater value.” The camera I received was an Olympus Trip AF50, RRP £37.99, including case, film and album (mine came with none of these).
Two weeks later I was curtly informed that although the cameras had different RRPs, A&L bought them for the same price and therefore the substitute was of an equivalent value. I commented that with this rationale A&L could send me a disposable camera if it had paid the same as it had for the original advertised product. This fell on deaf ears.
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I feel this behaviour is not the way to start off a relationship with a new customer. And as A&L would not do anything to rectify the situation, I immediately closed my account.
Yours faithfully,
MARC WELLS,
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34 Elstead Lane,
Blackfordby,
Derbyshire, DE11 8AJ.