ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade Business Related Discussion Ad in phone book worded wrong

If you placed an ad in a phone book and the ad came out and was not what you were told it would say what would you do?
I did an ad in a local phone book and with all my info and stuff laid out well with the words " Electrical Contractor" in the middle of the ad like a banner. The ad came out and it just says " Electrical". I was mad as hell about it, I know it was only one word missing but it was eating away at me.

They should have sent you a proof to accept and sign for. If the proof was correct, but the ad came out wrong, then you do not have to pay for it. As a matter of fact if you want to get nasty you may be able to sue them if you can prove income loss from the wrong wording. If the proof was incorrect and you signed for it anyway, then your stuck. If they did not send you a proof then I would tell them that you are not paying for the ad if it was not what you sent to them.

I would think just electrical would be ok, isn'y your add in a section where everyone is a electrical contractor? like right after electric companies (utilities) and before electric service and supplies etc. seems to me you might of wasted letters even saying what you did, like joe joe's Electric (or whatever)and what you specialize in, name and numbers, maybe logo would be enough, the fact that you a electrical contractor should allready be estabished by the section of the book your in.

Yellow page contracts are written to limit their liability when things go wrong. Reading your contract may reveal that the resolution is a discount on further advertising or something like that...

Whoop! Whoop!

I had the same thing happen to me. I had my webite done just in time to advertise it with my 1/4 page ad in the yellow pages. However, the yellowpage company missed my website.

After consulting with 3 attornies they all said if your phone number is right and the message is there then you are only entitled to about 10% discount. If your phone # is incorrect you are entitled to 100% discount.

If the general message of your ad and your phone # is correct i would say negotiate with them to get a better percentage than 10% off the total. Do not try to take them to court if you loose (most probably the judge wil rule in their favor) then you will have to pay for court costs as well.

I know it is aggravating when you pay top dollars for your ad and it is not printed what you have approved.

In my case i setteled with them for 35% off of the total contract.

Good luck
Edward