What they did to me was give me the 80% off coupon automatically, then when I put in domain it said oh sorry all 80% is gone, take this 50% off coupon instead, then when I got to checkout the 50% had gone down to 20%--same coupon code. You don't think this is highly illegal? Darn right it is. Everyone report them to the FCC and the FBI. Screw them and don't let them get away with it. Teach them a lesson they will never forget.
What trolling. If you were really so pedantic, you'd WELL know that the FCC and FBI aren't who to report advertising complaints to. Your very mention of them, rather than the proper regulatory agency, shows that you have no idea what you're talking about and just want to get a rise out of people.
Anyway, it's legal, so don't expect any agency to even give you the courtesy of an FOAD response.
For the record:
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/guides/baitads-gd.htm
The US FTC (from a larger list of illegal bait-ad practices) said:
c) The failure to have available at all outlets listed in the advertisement a sufficient quantity of the advertised product to meet reasonably anticipated demands, unless the advertisement clearly and adequately discloses that supply is limited and/or the merchandise is available only at designated outlets,
The part I bolded was clearly and adequately disclosed. It's explicitly LEGAL. So eat it.
(a) Accepting a deposit for the advertised product, then switching the purchaser to a higher-priced product,
They didn't "accept a deposit" before their cart switched to the higher price. So, again, LEGAL.
And yes, the agency that regulates ads is the Federal TRADE Commission. Not the FCC (Fed. COMMUNICATIONS Commission, that oversees stuff like TV and radio and usually seems to have nothing better to do than care if someone swears on the air).
As someone who writes a lot of ads, I pay attention to this sort of thing so I don't get woken up one day by feds knocking my door down, and so losers who want to make themselves feel big will only end up wasting their money if they try to sue me.
"Ignorance of the law is no defense" so I make sure to check every time I think of writing some ad that can be considered on the black hat side. Usually the difference between fine-worthy and okay is a matter of 3 or 4 words.
The HostGator deal was a properly-executed black-hat offer that by the looks of it covers all their bases from legal liability.
aranoid:
