A Charlotte resident who thought she had won $5,000 on a flyer from a local Kia dealer felt deceived when she learned she had won nothing
- A Charlotte resident says she feels like she was deceived after receiving a “Match Game” flyer from a local retailer.
- The retailer says the flyer was not a scam, and mailers that appear to promise large prizes but in reality offer much smaller prizes are commonly used throughout the country.
- Some legal experts have tried to push back against the advertising tactic.
Dutch manufacturer Miller Kia is misleading some consumers after sending 50,000 flyers featuring a game called “Prize is Right” to people in Charlotte, North Carolina. Incomprehensibly modeled on “The Match Game,” another game show, the mailer appeared to promise recipients a prize if two sections on either side of the page matched once the removable tabs were removed.
This appeared to be a deception to Rachel Moran, who had recently received one of the flyers in her mailbox and believed she had $5,000 based on the game on the flyer. Unfortunately, when she arrived at the dealership, she discovered that the rules were a little different than she thought.
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She eventually figured out that the pull tabs and all the information underneath were more or less irrelevant, she told WSOC-TV. The only way to determine whether the recipient had won a prize was to compare the confirmation number on the flyer with that on the prize board at the retailer.
Although Moran said she was skeptical of the flyer and had read the fine print, she was still disappointed to learn she hadn’t won $5,000.
“I feel like I was taken advantage of and just deceived,” Moran said. She adds that the speed with which the dealer’s employees tried to sell her a new Kia only added to the feeling of being cheated.
Netherlands-based Miller Kia told WSOC-TV that it takes integrity very seriously and that its advertising has been checked by specialists to ensure it is not a scam. Whether deceptive or not, such leaflets are widespread as people in other parts of the country have reported being disappointed by similar tactics.
In one case, YouTuber Jen Doyle said she received a flyer that showed what looked like a scratch card. After playing, she thought she had won $5,000. In one video, she said she even called the hotline number on the ticket to confirm she had won and the person on the other end said she had won.
However, when she arrived at the retailer, she learned that she had only won $5 and the amounts in the scratch-off sections of the flyer did not determine the amount of the prize. Instead, a confirmation code determined her price and concealed the amount from her.
As she and her husband left the dealership, she said, “We just had this feeling of slime. You know, you feel like you’ve been taken advantage of and I felt so stupid. It’s so deceptive the way they did it.”
Some legal authorities agree. According to WRTV, Indiana’s attorney general filed a lawsuit in 2019 against a marketing company for using similar flyers. Despite this, they continue to be used throughout the country. So be warned next time you receive one in the mail.