Telephone

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Verizon’s Trade In “Any Phone” Offer for a Free iPhone 16 Pro Questioned

Regular reader and commenter Joel V. recently caught a bit of nasty fine print by Verizon Wireless in a new TV commercial.


Most viewers would understand the ad to say that if you trade in any cellphone in any condition, Verizon will give you a free iPhone 16 Pro. It would be reasonable to assume that you have to buy a plan from the company because they are simply not just handing out free phones without any catches.

*MOUSE PRINT:

What our consumer caught was this tiny disclosure that was on the screen for about one-and-half seconds:

Verizon "any phone" fine print

Rather than the trade-in offer being good on “any” phone as the commercial explicitly states, it is only valid on these three brands: Apple, Google, and Samsung. What about people who own a phone from Motorola, LG, ZTE, OnePlus, or another brand? They’re out of luck apparently.

Additional terms of this offer are not orally stated in the commercial. But like a similar offer we dissected last December (see prior story), Verizon buries the full details in a three-second on-screen disclosure in tiny print toward the end of the commercial. Those terms include the requirement to purchase the iPhone 16 Pro for $999.99 (either pay upfront or be charged equal monthly payments) and get 1/36th of the purchase price back in a billing credit rebate each month for three years. You also have to sign up for Verizon’s most expensive plan, Unlimited Ultimate, for about $100 a month.

We asked the company why it advertised this trade-in offer as applying to “any” phone when in fact it only applies to three specific brands, why it doesn’t orally disclose other important requirements, and whether they are going to change the commercial. The company did not respond to multiple inquiries.

Consumer World has asked the National Advertising Division of BBB National Programs to take on this case because of the deceptive nature of the commercial.

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Can You Really Make Remote Satellite Calls on AT&T?

Last week was a bad week for AT&T. They had a massive data breach that affected all their ~110-million customers, exposing calling and texting records. (Here’s an FAQ about the incident.) Also last week, some of their advertising came under scrutiny by the Better Business Bureau.

The BBB case was about a commercial that began airing in April that shows Ben Stiller on the top of a mountain where his golf ball landed. He is shown making an urgent satellite call on his regular AT&T phone to a golf pro for advice.

T-Mobile filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau’s National Advertising Division (NAD) complaining that the service shown in the advertisement does not actually exist now and the commercial misleads people into believing that they can make calls even in really remote places.

*MOUSE PRINT:

This is the unreadable, faint, ambiguous, half-second disclosure that AT&T made in the commercial at the 47-second mark:

Evolving technology

NAD examined the facts of the case and decided that one message conveyed by the commercial was that this satellite service was currently available to AT&T customers when in fact it is a planned service for the future.

What was missing, NAD says, was a clear and conspicuous disclosure saying that the service was not currently available. And if AT&T didn’t want to do that, they should discontinue that claim, the BBB ruled.

Well, old Ma Bell didn’t agree, and it is appealing the decision to the National Advertising Review Board.

What do you think watching that commercial? Does it give the impression that this satellite service is available now?

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Home Depot Sued for Letting Google Secretly Listen to Customer Calls

The Home DepotA California consumer recently sued The Home Depot and Google for wiretapping and privacy law violations. See complaint. What did these companies allegedly do? Something you would never expect!

Apparently, sine 2021, The Home Depot has been utilizing a Google service called Cloud Contact Center AI. It monitors and analyzes customer service calls in real time, and based on the information being talked about in the call, Google provides suggestions to the live Home Depot agent of what to say to the consumer next.

*MOUSE PRINT:

The consumer says:

23. Plaintiff was not aware, and had no reason to believe, that his communications were simultaneously being disclosed to a third party: Google. Plaintiff was not informed at the beginning of his calls that Google would be monitoring and recording the calls.

24. When Plaintiff spoke with human Home Depot customer service representatives, he had a reasonable expectation that the conversation was only between himself and Home Depot.

It is unclear, if like most companies, The Home Depot announces that calls are being recorded. Even if it does, such a statement clearly does not disclose, that another company, Google, is also listening in.

Under the California Invasion of Privacy Act it is illegal for anyone without authorization who “reads, or attempts to read, or learn the contents or meaning of any message, report, or communication while the same is in transit or passing over any wire, line, or cable…”

The consumer’s lawyers are asking the court to grant injunctive relief to have the companies immediately stop the practices complained of unless all parties to the conversation have been informed of and agreed to the practice.

How do you feel about a company secretly using AI (artificial intelligence) to analyze customer service conversations?