Technology “motor mouth” Ruslan Kogan may have a few problems with his latest online TV offer, with one retailer considering suing him and another claiming that the ACCC should take a look at his latest claims.
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In a new advertisment in today’s Australian newspaper he claims “Kogan beats Harvey Norman and JB Hi Fi or it’s free”. He goes on to say that Kogan are so certain that if a consumer finds a better advertised price for a LCD or LED TV at either Harvey Norman or JB Hi Fi Kogan will give you the equivalent TV for free.
A search today of the Kogan web site reveals that he is selling a 32″ Full HD 50Hz for $389. He goes on to claim that users can pause, rewind and record live TV via a “built in” capability.
JB Hi Fi claim that Kogan does not mention the need for a USB stick in the main body copy of their advertisment, however the need for a USB it is mentioned in the specification small print. There is alo an image of a USB stick with a + sign alonside a PVR and 1080P logo.
In our earlier version of our story today we indicated that Kogan did not mention that an additional USB or storage device was needed to use the PVR functionality other than in the “small print”
This conclusion was drawn when a web page on the Kogan site failed to render properly. Kogan has admitted that their web site was down at stages today due to increased traffic.
Daniel Beahan Operations Manager for Kogan told SmartHouse that every single Kogan TV available for sale on www.kogan.com.au is advertised with “built-in PVR” contains the following text ‘the built-in PVR function lets you Pause, Rewind & Record TV directly to any USB plug and play flash drive or powered hard drive! Simply insert your USB device into the TV to record or playback your favourite movies, TV shows and photos”.
To get the benefit that Kogan is promoting users will have to purchase a separate USB stick which can range in price from $36 for a 16GB stick to $54 for a 32GB stick.
In comparison JB Hi Fi is offering a 100Hz 32″ Edge LED TV for $399. Unlike Kogan JB Hi Fi actually tell consumer upfront that they need a USB to take advantage of the Soniq, USB recording, USB Movie Playback, USB Picture View and USB Music Playback capability.
When contacted JB Hi Fi said that they were investigating the Kogan advertising:
“Kogan advertising refers to “Built-IN PVR” but this is just USB recording in reality. Built In could be construed as misleading”.
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The Kogan TV offer is not shown on the front page of their website despite the national advertising campaign. Instead consumers have to go searching for the offer or type in “free” at the end of the Kogan URL.
A visit to the Kogan terms and conditions for the TV offer appear dubious on the basis that Kogan can withdraw the offer at any time.
Kogan claims that to get a free TV consumers have to find a TV that has the same features as his TV including the same size, panel type (LED or LCD), resolution and feature set, including HD, Full HD, and built-in DVD. Consumers can also only buy one TV.
Kogan claims to reserve the right to close the promotion at his discretion. It says customers should check the Kogan web site before making a claim to see if the offer is still open.
A visit to the Kogan website at 12.00 noon revealed that the site was down.
