Consumer concern over ‘deceptive’ scratch and win promotion

Car dealerships are often very skilled at coming up with promotions designed to get potential buyers in the door, but a scratch and win promotion in Langley is raising some eyebrows.

Adrian Evans, who drives a 14-year-old van says he was excited when he received a scratch and win pamphlet offering what he thought was a chance to win a brand-new truck.

The game appeared simple. If you got four matching symbols, you instantly win.

When Evans scratched the pamphlet, he couldn’t believe his luck.

“I saw the four ram’s heads and I thought ‘yay, I won a truck,’”he said.

But when Evans went to the Willowbrook Chrysler dealership to claim his prize, a sales representative had bad news that was buried deep inside the fine print.

What Evans had really won was the chance to participate in an online contest to win the grand prize of $25,000 or a new Ram truck, and a chance to receive a discount on services or products worth up to $2,000. The fine print said a purchase may be required to claim the prize.

Steve Phillips, GM at Willowbrook Chrysler, said he’s “never given away a truck or $25,000,” but said the “odds are high” that it could happen.

Phillips admitted the scratch & win promotion is designed to get potential buyers onto the lot.

"Everybody does this. Langley Fiat does it, lots of Chrysler dealerships do it…if you can't beat ‘em, you got to join ‘em," he said.

But the promotion has caught the eye of the Vehicle Sales Authority of BC, which is investigating the promotion for potentially breaking advertising laws.  At the very least it’s confusing, said Doug Longhurst..

"They expect direct, clear information in advertising.  That's what the law is about.  I just don't think there's room for this," said Longhurst.

Steve Phillips insists he did nothing wrong. As a gesture of goodwill, the dealership general manager offered Evans a free service job on his van.

But Evans declined the free services offer.

"I think it's a very deceptive flyer and I really didn't get the answers I was looking for," said Evans.

In the car dealership's defense, the general manager claims that the customer should have read the fine print. He also told us that Chrysler Canada has given away 20 prizes across Canada, just not in B.C. CTV News couldn't confirm that information. Chrysler Canada told us the contest was a local dealership initiative and it was not involved.