This goes to show that the old bait and switch is not limited to the retail world where its most popular and a form of fraud. We do have laws around it, in Canada under the Competition act, in England under the CPFURR, and in the US they sue under the false advertising banner if they don't put limited supply, and don't offer rain checks.
The questions you may be asking yourself right now is if a bait and switch did happen to you, what was the negative consequences of it, and did I loose any money? Why is this relevant to my day to day life?
First to identify these scenarios you have to think of yourself as a little fish. I do love metaphors but this is where the name does come from after all so please indulge me. There are fisherman on the banks and they want to eat you for dinner, from a hot frying pan with some garlic, Italian spices, and some butter. They are thinking one thing: WHAT WILL MAKE YOU BITE. Rather if you think you are a big fish in the big ocean, you may have seen Finding Nemo where Dory saw the big beautiful light to look at, and started to swim towards it. Then only realized after that it was attached to a big mouth full of teeth looking for a snack.
After you are captivated by the :
- Bright lights
- Free Beer
- low flight costs
- low hotel rates
- cheap carpet cleaner, Air Conditions, Security system
- lowest mortgage rate
- cheap 55' OLED with cinema 3D
You might realize that:
- Bright lights - ITS ATTACHED TO A MOUTH that is going to EAT YOU!
- Free Beer - The Fine Print says free A/C and Beer from around the world.
- low flight costs - There are taxes, fees, other add-ons.
- low hotel rates - They add on the resort fees.
- cheap carpet cleaner, Air Conditions, Security system- They change the price when they get to your house.
- Lowest mortgage rate - You don't qualify because its not closing in 30 days, or your credit is not perfect, so they cant use that lender.
- cheap 55' OLED with cinema 3D - you get there and they offer you the more expensive brand with that is not what you wanted.
Grabbing your attention is one thing, as that is what marketing and advertising is all about, but when you see something that is too good to be true, you have to ask yourself: Is it?
When I was a boy, we got a scratch card in the mail. It said we could win a family vacation to Disney Land and all expenses were paid. I scratched it, and ran around with my arms flailing while screaming, "I WON, I WON, DISNEY LAND, DISNEY LAND!!!! HERE I COME!!!!" I could not have been happier as I wanted to go see the huge castle and have the time of my life. When my Dad got home from work he looked at the card, saw my face, and tried to tell me we did not win, sorry. Then he threw it in the garbage. I almost cried and ran to the garbage to double check. My father tried to stop me, but I was RELENTLESS! I got to that garbage after wearing him out. He eventually conceded that we had won, he wanted to teach me a lesson about advertising.
He foretold me what was about to happen. They would come to the house, sell us the vacuum cleaner after a high pressure sales pitch and for some reason we would not get the trip. Two days later they were in the house, and showing us how great their vacuum was. Dad was a smart and new from the beggining that he was not buying so every sales trick which had me excited about the vacuum he showed him up. The sales person left and said, get in touch with our head office for the trip, and when we tried it was not possible. Maybe I cried myself to sleep that night, I was 8 years old afterall.
When you spot something that is too good to be true, and you explore that option. Just be ready to run, as it wont hurt at that point just to check and see what else is available. If they used the bait and switch they might try to stick you with a product that is counter productive to your goals.
In the case of a mortgage broker, make sure you trust and have open communication with them. If you have questions, call or text me, my team or myself are always around to help.
