Hi there,
Just want to discuss about false advertising.
I've recently purchased(4/11/14) a mobile phone from Harvey Norman online store when they had mobile madness sale. But today I received an email below.
Thank you for shopping with Harvey Norman Online
We would like to apologize for not being able to fulfill your online order with Harvey Norman. The product you purchased is completely depleted and cannot be ordered in anymore due to lack of stock and end of line model. We will be processing your FULL REFUND asap.
Again we do apologize for the inconvenience
What I am curious about is that when they don't have enough stock normally other decent online stores post "Out of Stock" to let you know but in this case with "Harvey Norman" I was able to make the payment and receive a confirmation email that my order had been placed.
Isn's this false advertising and this is what i found on ACCC website
Bait advertising
Bait advertising takes place when an advertisement promotes certain (usually ‘sale’ prices) on products that are not available or available only in very limited quantities. It is not misleading if the business is upfront in a highly visible, clear and specific manner about the particular product ‘on sale’ being in short supply or on sale for a limited time.
completely dissatisfied with Harvey Norman online store and probably won't believe what they advert on TV nor online anymore.
What are your thoughts on this?
"Bait" advertising infers that they are pulling you in to sell you something else, usually with a higher price/ better margin, or just to attract you into their store.
They are offering you a full refund, and have apologised for being unable to fulfill your order, so they are not attempting to "Bait" you with anything at all… but they are showing typical aussie retail online incompetence, just like Dicky, JB and others.