Two computer manufacturers have agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that their computer lease advertisements on the Internet, television and in print violated federal laws.
The agency charges that Dell Computer Corp., Roundrock, TX, and Nampa, ID-based Micron, disseminated misleading ads for consumer leases by placing material cost information in “inconspicuous or unreadable fine print or omitting such information altogether,” according to a published statement released by the FTC. Both companies design, manufacture and market computer systems.
According to the terms of the consent agreements, released yesterday for public comment, the companies must provide consumers with clear, readable, and easily accessible information in their lease advertisements.
The FTC alleges that Dell advertised on the Internet that consumers could purchase a new computer system by making low monthly payments, but the payments actually applied to a lease and not to a purchase. The FTC complaint also alleges that Dell’s Internet Internet and television ads placed “important information about the terms of the lease…in inconspicuous … or unreadable print,” according to the statement. The agency made similar charges against Micron.
According to the FTC, the ads on the Internet buried the cost and agreement terms in such a way that “consumers would have to scroll diligently through a number of complicated, densely filled screens.” Also, consumers could have clicked on hyper-linked words placed in numerous places on the Web site, “bypassing important information.”
The consent agreements would settle the charges and prevent the companies from engaging in similar acts in the future. The companies must disclose “clearly and conspicuously” in a manner the average consumer could read or comprehend that any advertised terms pertain to a lease offer. Payments, schedules and terms must also be clearly spelled out, according to the agreements.
