Long Island, NY – An angry Long Island consumer is out to take “truth in advertising” to a whole new level — demanding $300 million because he insists a retailer didn’t back up its price guarantee on a TV set.
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Attorney Warren S. Dank claims he was cheated out of $400 when he bought a flat-screen TV from Sears, because the retail giant didn’t match a competitor’s price.
Dank launched what he calls his “David and Goliath” battle two years ago when he went to Sears stores in Hicksville and Garden City to buy a 46-inch Sony Bravia flat screen.
He said the stores wouldn’t budge from their $3,600 price, even though he showed the salesmen the Sears published guarantee to match competitors’ prices — as well as competitors’ ads offering the set for hundreds of dollars less.
He was told it was up to a Sears store manager to decide whether to honor the ad and match a price.
“It’s a deceptive sales practice. It’s basically bait and switch,” Dank said. “I got pissed off because they were ripping the public off.”
Dank eventually bought his set at a Sears in Rego Park, Queens, where a salesman agreed to match the $2,800 price offered by J&R Music World — but not to match the $2,400 price advertised by another store, Price Mad.
Instead of counting the $800 he saved by buying the screen at $2,800, Dank felt he was cheated the extra $400 because he didn’t get the $2,400 price.
In May 2007, he filed a class-action suit against Sears on behalf of other Sears customers he claimed were defrauded — and sought a whopping $300 million, including punitive damages.
When the retailer tried to quash the suit, an appeals court in February agreed with Sears that the case didn’t qualify as a class action because Dank is both the plaintiff and the lawyer.
The Syosset attorney is appealing that decision and is hoping to find angry consumers who’ll join his suit, which would help him revive his $300 million case.
Attorney Loring Fenton, representing Sears, refused comment because the case is pending.
Dank acknowledged he’s been alone in his battle.
“I’m doing this single-handedly,” he said. “No one else pushed it this far to go on a crusade.”
He is alone on this because every one knows Sears is a very reputable company and this is a isolated case …
Go for it – Dank it!
Pres. Bush also tried to do it alone and even though he was right he didn’t get to far you just can’t do it alone.
What a loser. What a complete loser. I can only hope that he spends so much time on this (instead of real work) that he is bankrupt when he loses the case.
There are always conditions with price matching. Usually it requires that it be a local store that directly competes with them. Plenty of stores have this policy. This guy is just a complete ID-10T and I hope that everyone on Long Island realizes what a good-for-nothing attorney he is. He will destroy his credibility in his profession over $400.
This guy is going to force the government to spend tens of thousands of dollars to try his frivolous lawsuit. What a jerk!
Here we go again! Another out of control ambulance chaser abusing the legal system for personal gain. Did anyone ask him why he didn’t just buy the TV at the other store? Sears claims that they will match anyones regularly advertised price. Special promotions and limited time offers are excluded.
If the Price Mad price was legitimate, and a set in new condition was in stock and available from them for $2,400, then why didn’t he buy it from them? I have never heard of Price Mad before, so I can’t comment about them. I will say though that there are some retailers who have low prices but actually buying the item in new condition at the low price might be impossible. It might be permanently out of stock, or the low price might be for an open box or display item. Some smaller stores typically practice bait and switch and will quote a low price for an item they don’t have in stock(and won’t order for the consumer at that price).
I do have one negative comment about KMart, which is part of Sears Corp. I saw an item on their wqebsite at a low price and wanted to buy a bunch of them. I went to a KMart store, and was surprised at the checkout when the price was much higher than the internet price. When I complained to the manager, he said I should provide proof of their internet price. I told him to check the website himself and he refused. I did not go back to the store with a copy of the web page, as I felt that it wasn’t worth the bother, and that he probably would only let me buy one or two if any at their internet price. I would like to see a law requiring companies to match their internet pricing in their stores, and if a company wants to sell items at a lower price on the net, then they should be required to do so under a different company name to avoid consumer confusion.
I don’t run around pushing price matching to the last dollar BUT HE IS RIGHT!
Unless you have ever dealt with SEARS in the last few years you do not know that they are no longer the solid reliable SEARS you might remember.
I purchased a SONY boombox and paid extra for an extended warranty, they claimed their records showed no warranty and refused to honor their warranty. While the total was around $80 the lesson learned was very valuable, Sears-never again.
It is common practice to only honor the ads from reputable companies (j&r) and not fly by nights (mad). Also, the store doesn’t have to honor any add. The store is supposed to be within a certain mile radius to have it matched. If not, you can pull ads from Japan. This lawyer probably has nothing to do, especially now. Question is; why is this on VIN?
There is an old joke about a guy who goes into a store to buy a bagel with tuna and is told they are 5 dollars. He complains and says the store down the block is selling for 2 dollars. The storekeeper says, so why don’t you buy it there? He answers that they are all out. So the storekeeper says, look, if I was all out I would also sell them for 2 dollars.
While J&R has a good reputation, they are often not the lowest priced legitimate retailer in the NYC metro area. Quite often B&H has a lower price than them. On the net quite often Amazon or Newegg will have a lower price. There are also other legitimate low priced retailers on the net. I have found that the website resellerratings.com has rather accurately rated the dealers I have heard about, with those having a good reputation getting good ratings, and those I have heard have a bad reputation getting a low rating.
I looked up Price Mad. You should read their reviews. Plenty of customers never got the merchandise they ordered. Price Mad can sell the TV for 2400 if they do not deliver the merchandise. That’s 2400 in profit. No wonder this crackpot lawyer didn’t buy from Price Mad. All he had to do was go to J & R and get it. Sheesh.
Any yutz can start a website and put a low price for an item and then go to a store and demand they match it.
I would like to buy such a TV for $50.
I pay $7 to register a website, put a picture of the TV, make a price for $50 and then make a printout and tell Sears they have to match it.
Price Mad is not even real. I tried their website, and it does not exist anymore. They have been out of business (if they even ever were in business).
Another thing to watch out for when price matching is that frequently the manufacturers and the stores will assign unique model numbers to each store, so if you go to say, Sears, and ask for a Frizblat X123 at a price you got from J&R, they’ll say “No, we only carry the Frizblat X127”, which will have the identical specs, but because it’s a different model number, they won’t price match.
It is common practice in many stores that internet prices do not match in-store prices. (Childrens Place is the first that comes to mind, but i’ve noticed it in Target too.) I see it all the time, and in the better staffed stores, they will direct you to the price policy on the website or in the store itself.
Often a manufacturer will not let their items be sold for less than a certain price. The reason being is that a customer can go to a store with a large sales floor and many sales people and check out all the products, then go and order the item online. As the overhead for an online store is much lower than the overhead of a large department store the item can be sold for much less.
Supposedly certain manufacturers will not supply inventory to merchants who do not follow their policies.
I once saw a video camera on sale at Dell for $320. I called a local store with a price match guarantee and asked if they were willing to match it. They said that they can’t because Canon does not let them sell if for less than $400.
I wouldn’t be surprised if SONY had that policy. Mad Price might have been an online merchant who sold the product for less than SONY allowed. When SONY severed the relationship they could have just closed down and opened under another name.
This guy has no credibility. Why didn’t he just buy it from the cheapest place? I’ll tell you why. I looked up reviews for pricemad.com on google. I found many complaints about this company on several websites that review online retailers. One site said that they found 175 fictitious positive reviews. All the rest of the reviews spoke about bait and switch, misrepresenting used for new, sending broken items, waiting weeks for delivery, eventually receiving partial refunds, lies and deception etc. He wanted the cheater’s price but the reliabe customer service that Sears is known for.
For all you crazies defending this nutbag… here is some information for you taken right from the clearly documented Sears Price Match Plus Policy. You will notice that the last item below is clearly the reason why he did not get his price. What a moron. I hope he goes bankrupt while wasting tax payer money on a frivolous lawsuit. What a pig!
“If you find a lower price on an identical branded item with the same features (in Home Electronics identical brand and model number) currently available for sale at another LOCAL COMPETITOR retail store, Sears will match that price…”
Exclusions:
Sears will not price match competitors’ items that are limited in quantity, offered for sale for less than six hours during a day, or offered for sale during the day after Thanksgiving. Sears will not price match competitors´ bonus or free offers, special offers, bundled offers, rebates, financing offers, coupons, clearance or closeout prices, or prices on used, damaged, returned, open box or display merchandise. Sears will not price match services. Sears will not match typographical errors or competitors’ prices that result from a price match. Photo copies of advertisements or receipts will not be accepted as verification of competitor pricing.
From the FAQ on the same page:
Q: What if the local competitor’s item is not listed as being limited quantity, but the item is not in stock?
A: If a local competitor is out of stock of the particular item, we will not match the local competitor’s price. “In stock” means that the item is available for same day pickup or a scheduled delivery by the competitor. We reserve the right to call the local competitor to verify if the item is in stock.
AND NOW HERE IS THE KICKER:
Q: Does Sears match prices of Internet retailers?
A: Sears will match prices of an Internet retailer with a local retail store honoring its own online prices. Sears WILL NOT match prices of Internet-only retailers. Web-exclusive prices are also exempt from price matching. Eligible items must be the same brand and model, and currently in stock at the local competitor’s store. For purchases made online at Sears.com, please email the information to [email protected]
Sears will win. J&R physical store is in Manhattan,NY. For Sears to price match the TV he would have had to go to a Sears in Manhattan,NY. Instead he originally went to Hicksville, NY and got a partial price match in a store in Queens,NY (per Sears policy this store didn’t have to price match it either). Sears, and many other retailers, will only price match stores that are “Local” to them. So if he really wanted the TV J&R would have shipped it to his home (if they really had it in stock) for free via UPS. Read the policy at the Sears internet page, its been basically the same for many many years.
if he doesn’t find other people, he can still bring the case as the plaintiff, bit he’ll have to drop the class-action title and the damages that go with it. he can still make a pretty penny.
Dank has been a lawyer for less then four years. He attended Cooley law school in MI, which is only 35 years old, but is the largest law school in the country. Read: mass production model T lawyers. Did Mr. Dank check the tution of all law schools before he enrolled? Maybe he should he sue his law school too.
Here’s the decision denying Sears motion to quash:
http://www.courts.state.ny.us/reporter/3dseries/2009/2009_01188.htm