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Tonights show highlights the scam of advertising a cheap service to get a toe in the door then selling something else costing a lot more.
This was a carpet and upholstery cleaning business but it could equally apply to the no callout/free estimate boys in our own trade who as we all know have to make a buck somehow.
Well apparently its illegal to do this so where do these guys stand ?
Steve
Re: Watchdog bait and switch scam
To be fair, as someone offering free call out myself, I think there’s very clearly a difference between offering a “free” carpet clean, then trying to sell something expensive on top; to offering “free” call out where any reasonable customer will expect you to “sell” them a repair if you’re able to repair the machine.
For me, the free call out has always been an absolute no-brainer. I don’t need to spend anything on advertising with Yellow Pages etc, the magic “Free call out” on my van/website means I get approx four new customers every day, along with eight who are returning or recommended.
For almost all of these, I can fix the machine. If I can’t, almost all will buy a new machine, as I’m in an ideal position – they want a machine NOW, I have a machine in the van…
Yes, there will be some BER where I don’t make a sale… but in the end it’s surely the “cost” of the free advertising. I’m happy to pay a bit of diesel and my time for this – admittedly, as a sole trader I can afford this. If I was a big company then it may be a different story.
I appreciate a lot of you have strong views about not working for free – this is understandable. As I already said, I don’t see it as free work, just a cost of my business. Yes, there will always be rogues who use it as a tool to rip people off – but the reason why it works is because it’s quite clearly what customers, rightly or wrongly, want.
What’s needed is Trading Standards using common sense – if we all know the “rogues” in our areas, there’s no excuse for TS not knowing and shutting them down. Take Clive on Watchdog – thieving hundreds of pounds from scores of people before TS even take notice – AND he doesn’t offer free call out, he charges £55!
Don’t forget, we’re speaking from a site that gives free advice to consumers on how to fix their machines in order to get spares sales – far further than any “free call out” repair company would go. And good for UKWG too – it clearly works or they wouldn’t do it, and we’d be much poorer for loosing all the information on this forum.
Re: Watchdog bait and switch scam
odom wrote:
Don’t forget, we’re speaking from a site that gives free advice to consumers on how to fix their machines in order to get spares sales
Total bollocks. :rolls: 😈
I did put bo**ocks actually but the forum filter has altered it. 😉
Re: Watchdog bait and switch scam
iadom wrote:
odom wrote:
Don’t forget, we’re speaking from a site that gives free advice to consumers on how to fix their machines in order to get spares sales
Total horlicks. :rolls: 😈
I did put bo**ocks actually but the forum filter has altered it. 😉
Maybe I’m missing something, but why else does UKWG pay for this forum? It’s not a criticism, it’s evidently a very successful business model compared to those selling crappy pattern spares on eBay for pennies.Re: Watchdog bait and switch scam
Please, a moment of calm.
odom wrote:Don’t forget, we’re speaking from a site that gives free advice to consumers on how to fix their machines in order to get spares sales – far further than any “free call out” repair company would go. And good for UKWG too – it clearly works or they wouldn’t do it, and we’d be much poorer for loosing all the information on this forum.
On the first part of that statement, not true.
If you follow the history of UKW from the inception of the mailing list, which was the format until 2003, there were no spares sales.
The website went live in 2003, June 15th to be exact.
There wasn’t a single part sold by UKW until 2005/6-ish. All spares sales prior to this were made and payment collected by CES in Exeter.
UKW did not employ anyone to do spares until very, very late 2005.
So, UKW did not start selling spares and funding itself to help and promote the repairers until a mere four years ago.
I’d just like to make the point and, make it very clearly, that UKW was most certainly NOT set up to sell spare parts.
The sale of spares does fund much of what we do and, it’s how I make a living. I’m going to assume that me selling a few bits and filters etc. isn’t a problem to anyone as the only people I aim to compete with are other online retailers, not repairers.
And, there is one simple question that I ask when this subject crops up, as it does on occasion and I have to thank you odom for making it in a way in the second part of your statement I quoted, show me the other online retail spares supplier that ploughs as much back into helping the repairers in fact, show me one. Or even show me one that is even pro-repairer.
I have to fund what we do somehow. This is one way I do it.
If there’s a problem with that I’m more than happy to listen to the comments.
I’d also point out that there are very clear guidelines on what should be given to the public in the way of advice and there are several very good reasons for the policies in place. One is to protect the public from harm, one is to protect us from litigation and another is to try to put repair work back onto forum members that are repairers.
Again, if there’s a problem with that, I’m more than happy to debate it.
The problem is often, as I got on in a conversation today, is that many people on here (the majority) haven’t been here since the start and simply don’t know all this. That’s not their fault at all and I totally get that there’s an awful lot of information to take in about UKW, the history and all of what’s gone on over the past several years. However, I would ask that no-one jumps to conclusions not based in fact.
K.
Re: Watchdog bait and switch scam
bait and switch scam is operated in my area by the £10 off with this advert.
prove they have taken £10 off of a non fixed price item.
Re: Watchdog bait and switch scam
Getting back on topic.
So here’s the thing about bait and switch…
It’s extremely hard to prove. It’s widely used, even if it doesn’t seem as if it’s the case and, people sorta expect it to a degree.
You walk in to buy a car, it’s advertised at £8999 but, oh shoot, that model isn’t in stock and there’s a two month wait on it. But, we have this model sir, upgraded with this and that on it added but it’s £11999…
Bait and switch. Nicely done I grant, but still the same thing really. Problem is, you can order the cheaper model, you just have to wait and live without the bells and whistles.
Or, you could argue that this is a classic “selling up” technique. Depends on your point of view.
K.
Re: Watchdog bait and switch scam
yip i was trapped by this bait and wait thingly just the other day
drove into this fast food out-let with a voucher for a chesseburger , and ohh yeh once your in that line with cars behind you etc ( im pretty sure they have people to drive up behind you so you cant reverse)
they got me a goodn …not only did they sell me more food , but i also was led right up the ……
do you want to go large scam …
so watch out guys this technique is everywhere …
mmmmmmmmmm….lol
ally
Re: Watchdog bait and switch scam
Weren’t Finance Houses severely reprimanded for this a few years back, in the car trade anyway? I’m sure it was this scam that formed a major part in the FSE Regulations?
I.e… Radio add for local car dealer, offering 0{e5d1b7155a01ef1f3b9c9968eaba33524ee81600d00d4be2b4d93ac2e58cec2d} Finance etc etc etc, anyway, what they didn’t advertise, was that was based on credit score, so a high number of proposals that were put through to Finance Houses, came back as accepted, but at 4 or 5{e5d1b7155a01ef1f3b9c9968eaba33524ee81600d00d4be2b4d93ac2e58cec2d} Base minimum?
Just something I remember happening a lot when I was selling cars, people would still sign up and have the car, even though they initially came in for the 0{e5d1b7155a01ef1f3b9c9968eaba33524ee81600d00d4be2b4d93ac2e58cec2d} deal…
I remember suddenly, this all changed to now offering 0{e5d1b7155a01ef1f3b9c9968eaba33524ee81600d00d4be2b4d93ac2e58cec2d}, BUT new terms were introduced by the Finance Houses, like ‘Minimum Deposit 50{e5d1b7155a01ef1f3b9c9968eaba33524ee81600d00d4be2b4d93ac2e58cec2d}’ and ‘Maximum Loan Term’ of 2 years, if the consumer couldn’t fit within these terms, they were normal rated customers so something changed somewhere 😉
Ade
Re: Watchdog bait and switch scam
It would be nice one day if people took back responsibility for their actions, authority/regulation to disappear back into the back round.
After all thinking on ones toes becomes easier the more you do it as opposed to complaining to officials more interested in promoting new regs than enforcing the regulation all ready in place.
Watchdog is a prime example of how regulation simply does not work.
It promotes the very few scammer’s around as being a far bigger problem than it actually is for no other reason than TV time, yet every week there is another scam and next year the scam from the previous year is still active.
The amount of clients I seem to call on that have lost the ability to think and act is incredible, this week a cooker hood installed by Sigma 3, not at all level, the tiler grouted it to the tiles all completely oblivious to the fact it looked stupid and now nobody willing to change it free, yet they charged stupid money for the pleasure.
Its a mad world getting worse because simply people are stupid. :rolls:
Re: Watchdog bait and switch scam
funkyboogy wrote:yip i was trapped by this bait and wait thingly just the other day
drove into this fast food out-let with a voucher for a chesseburger
ally
Had you not heard…? that there’s no such thing as a free lunch ally 😉
Re: Watchdog bait and switch scam
No worse than PC World advertising so & so lap-top for £299 and when you get to the store sold out, but they can sell you the next one up.
Happens all the time.
Alex
Re: Watchdog bait and switch scam
tesco and argos do that as well advertising washing machines for £100 but they dont have any, but happen to have dearer machines.
Re: Watchdog bait and switch scam
suedehead1 wrote:bait and switch scam is operated in my area by the £10 off with this advert.
I can think of the best bait ‘n switch tactic employed all day long in this trade and nationwide too…….these ‘No Call Out’ merchants that’s who.:lesson:
Scammers to a man the lot of ’em. 👿
First foot in the door, check the job out, too risky to fix…better to simply BER, take the old one away and recon to some poor mug later….I tell you what!…FANCY A NEW WASHING MACHINE MADAM?….It so happens I’ve got one one the van funnily enough!……well I never! :rolls:
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