Edgar (aka MrConsumer) – Page 140

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RXBARs: Simple Ingredients, Simply Incomplete Ingredients List

February 26, 2018 by Edgar (aka MrConsumer)

Our friends at TruthinAdvertising.org discovered an interesting fine print issue that we want to share with you.

There are many “health” bars on the market that frankly look like glorified candy bars except they are made with healthier ingredients. On such product is called RXBAR:

They came up with a brilliant marketing gimmick to put a big and bold ingredients list on the front of each package to convey its contents. Their slogan is, “We tell you whatâ€™s on the inside on the outside.”

Shoppers may well grab this bar or one of the other varieties thinking that the four or five ingredients shown are the sum total of the contents.

*MOUSE PRINT:

The ingredients panel on the back of the package lists all the ingredients in the actual order of predominance:

Dates, Peanuts, Egg Whites, Natural Flavor, Sea Salt.

While the number of missing ingredients was minor for this flavor, the other bars that the company sells can have up to nine total ingredients while only four are shown on the front.

Even their television ad seems to acknowledge that prospective purchasers could be misled by the ingredients list on the face of the package because they inconspicuously make the following disclosure at the end of the commercial:

*MOUSE PRINT:

A company spokesperson told TruthinAdvertising:

â€œWe do not claim that the front of the packaging represents all ingredients in the product.â€

What do you think? Are the RXBAR packages potentially misleading?

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Don’t Bank on Higher Interest on Savings

February 20, 2018February 19, 2018 by Edgar (aka MrConsumer)

Have you noticed that interest rates on savings accounts have been creeping up over the past few months? A review of bank ads a couple of weeks ago from the Boston Globe reveals some of the rate hikes.

This is certainly much better than the fractions of one-percent that have been offered in recent years. But this bank has tucked a nasty provision in the fine print.

*MOUSE PRINT:

That’s right, to get the advertised rate you have to deposit a minimum of $200,000. Thanks for nothing, Admirals Bank.

Of course, this was not the only bank ad in the Globe. A few days earlier, HarborOne bank offered a higher rate with better terms.

*MOUSE PRINT:

This bank only requires one-eighth the minimum deposit of the first bank — $25,000 — to get a higher interest rate.

But we are not done. Another ad in the same paper as the Admirals Bank ad is even more generous.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Now we’re up to 1.50 percent with a $25,000 deposit. But one final ad in the same paper tops them all.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Bingo. One and a half percent on balances of only $10 or more from Belmont Savings Bank. But why hide that great fact in the fine print?

To the other banks: How about being upfront and posting your minimum deposit requirement right next to the advertised rate that grabbed the reader’s attention?

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L.L. Bean Cuts Their Lifetime Guarantee Short

February 12, 2018 by Edgar (aka MrConsumer)

Generations ago, Sears Roebuck & Company used to advertise, “Satisfaction Guaranteed or Your Money Back.” That policy disappeared long ago (along with many Sears stores). Now it’s L.L. Bean’s turn.

The famous Maine outdoor gear seller announced last week that it was dropping its “100% Satisfaction Guarantee” in part because of abuse by some customers.

Here are the old and new satisfaction guarantees:

LL new policy

They basically imposed a one-year limit on returns, but at the same time would consider remedies for defective goods after that. Totally reasonable in our view.

The company also amended its return policy with more provisions to protect against abusers:

*MOUSE PRINT:

This is not unlike Costco which a few years ago discontinued its unlimited return policy on electronics because abusers were buying HDTVs and exchanging them three years later for new, larger models.

One more thing that L.L. Bean had to change was the fine print under their logo because they also dropped completely free shipping:

*MOUSE PRINT:

What may hurt L.L. Bean more in sales is their doing away with free shipping with no minimum. It is now $50.

What do you think? Will the changes that L.L. Bean is making hurt their business?