MetroPCS has been advertising a “$29 for All Sale” where “All 4G phones on our nationwide 4G LTE network are now just $29.”
MrConsumer thought what a great way to get a high-end 4G-LTE cellphone like the Samsung Galaxy S 4 for only $29 since MetroPCS does not require contracts. And, it might be able to be used on T-Mobile’s network.
Upon clicking the “Shop 4G Phones” button, one gets a surprise.
*MOUSE PRINT:
Only three phones are listed, and not one of them is a high-end 4G-LTE phone. But all 4G phones are supposed to be $29, no?
Well, apparently, MetroPCS makes a distinction between a “4G” phone and a “4G-LTE” phone. (LTE refers to the newest fastest, network protocol for data.) But the advertisement specifically says that all their $29 4G phones run on their 4G-LTE network. How can that possibly be true, because only an LTE phone can run on an LTE network. A conventional 4G phone, as all the ones above are, cannot run on an LTE network.
MetroPCS has exactly one phone for $29 that runs on their 4G-LTE network, but it is not shown on the above page. It is that ultra famous, Huawei Vitria.
We asked MetroPCS for an explanation, and the PR firm representing them responded:
“While we believe that our website describing our $29 phone offer was fair and appropriate, it’s always important to us that we are as clear as possible in our marketing and advertising. As such, even though this promotion ends on April 9th, we have made some changes to the way we describe this on our homepage and elsewhere on our website.”
Lo and behold, the advertisement that proclaimed that all the 4G phones that run on their 4G-LTE network are $29 has mysteriously changed, including noting that the $29 price was “after rebate”:
No longer do they claim that the $29 phones operate on their LTE network. Don’t you just love a company that denies anything is wrong, but then, just coincidentally, changes its offending advertisement.
Until that change was made, only one letter separated a “phone” sale from a “phony” sale.
This is a really good catch. A prime example of reading the fine print. Sometimes advertisements lack clarity by accident, but this seems like a purposely misleading advertisement since MetroPCS intentionally added the LTE part and did not indicate that it was a rebate sale rather than an upfront sale.
At least they were willing to change the wording of the ad after they were called out on the clarity.