Carey

July 16, 2010 at 9:25pm

I agree 100%. For something like that you HAVE to read the fine print, you can't think that the company was just going to give out free money like it grows on trees. Really people, you don't follow the rules (no matter how small they're typed), you don't get. Simple as that.

thetechchild

July 16, 2010 at 7:53pm

Toshiba didn't do anything illegal, and it may be controversial in that the fine print was only online -- but still, if you spent that kind of money, you could at least spend the five minutes it takes to check the fine print, online or otherwise. If you were spent hundreds of dollars for a product and expect to get that all back, a few minutes of your time wouldn't have been too much to expect, I think.

duncansil

July 16, 2010 at 3:26pm

If it's too good to be true ....

jgrimoldy

July 16, 2010 at 10:43am

C'mon, for a high-priced item like a TV or laptop, why would someone *NOT* read the fine print??  Maybe the culture in Spain is a little different than in the U.S., in terms of wiggly, predatory, misleading promotions, but I think not.  Most folks should know that there's no free lunch, and ya gotta read the fine print if when things sound too good to be true.

Do these same folks really belive it when they get an email from a National in Nigeria that needs help liberating $30 Million?  Yah, I didn't think so..

Dunimas

July 16, 2010 at 10:06am

It's the consumers fault. Plain and simple. If you were dumb enough to go spend money you didn't have for something you didn't need because you expected it for free, that's your fault. A failure (to read) on your part does not constitute an emergency (giving you free shit) on a companies part. This is all part of the entitlement generation that we live in. Men and Women no longer believe in earning anything. Instead they expect to be given it, so it does not surprise me people are pissed off.

At the end of the day people need to take responsibility for themselves. Most likely the individuals who are upset are the ones that used their credit to purchase a laptop or TV that they didn't need because they thought they could get it for free. How is that the companies fault?

If someone told you that they had a gold-brick shitting goose and that you could have some if you gave them your kidney, would you not make sure the goose was actually shitting gold before forking over your precious organs? People should be intelligent enough to read the details before spending money they don't have. I don't think Toshiba should reimburse anyone who didn't fill out the registration within the specified time frame.

::.Dunimas.::

Biceps

July 16, 2010 at 9:49am

I love Toshiba and their products; in my life I have owned two of their high-end laptops and was very happy with both of them.  It looks that like in this situation, though, someone in Toshiba's marketing department made a HUGE, well, f*ckup.

Toshiba needs to do the customer-oriented thing here and bite the bullet.  By refunding the money of anyone who can prove they purchased their laptop before start of the world-cup final in Spain, they would be generating good will, and - most likely - avoiding a lawsuit they are sure to lose.

Drug makers don't get to put the warnings on their website, contracts have to include all the fine print IN the contract, and puting deal-breaking "see website for more details*" requirements on an ad is either devious (hard to believe Toshiba would do this intentionally) or a serious oversight (more believeable).

Toshiba, you will lose a lot of face by screwing over your customers on this one.  Fess up to your mistake, or it will be interpreted by most (including me, a currently loyal customer of your brand) as an intentional con.  That won't sit well with anyone.

Mark17

July 16, 2010 at 10:49am

To me, what Toshiba did was misleading and disingenuous. Of course they put that in the fine print intentionally, and I can assure that they did that because they know many people don't read the fine print even though they probably should. I think what they did was wrong, but rules are rules.

Michael Ellis

July 16, 2010 at 8:10am

I hope that whatever happens, there is a fair and even-handed trial. If Spanish law supports Toshiba, so be it. Then....boycott the hell out of them! 

 

HP Pavilion Elite e9280t  AW020AV-ABA

iinweed

July 16, 2010 at 7:56am

Any company that uses the fine print to get out of doing something like this are a bunch of shysters.

Arrowdodger

July 16, 2010 at 7:35am

How were they supposed to refund your money if you didn't register? Sometimes I get the feeling that I'm the only one who actually reads all the documentation that comes with things I buy...

mike2060

July 16, 2010 at 6:58am

At least the officials don't fix matches like they do in the NBA...

johnnyathm1

July 16, 2010 at 6:26am

   When it comes to high dollar items like big screen tv's and CPU's, the fine print is everything. Consumers really need to start taking some responsibility. Granted, it sounds like your classic bait and switch routine; But if people took the time to read through all the glitz and glamour of an ad that really sounds to good to be true...truth would have been revealed.

 

John Garn

SGT, United States Army

Blues22475

July 16, 2010 at 6:11am

Companies expect you to see the itty bitty print and expect you to read the stipulations. As a matter of fact, I read another article in which the same thing happened except it was a warranty issue. Either way, Toshiba hopes to get by with "Oh but we put a notice that you have to register!" Realistically speaking, no one reads fine print because it's that: fine print. Can't see it.

Although I suppose you can't really take that as an excuse. I mean they tell you to read the fine print on contracts you sign (or any legal binding document in general).

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Ignorance is man's greatest enemy.