Is this fraud, theft, or maybe its legal? It's fucked up either way.
 

A guy I know drafts up complaint letters and sends them out in mass and gets free food coupons. He will draft up a letter stating that he had a terrible experience at a restaurant and mail it to their corporate head quarters. He sent out 40 letters last month and now has over $500 in free food coupons (T.G.I.Fridays sent him a $50 coupon!!!).

This has to be fraud. If he goes to a restaurant he will send a complaint letter (or even just complain to the manager when he's there) but the fraud part is that he doesn't even have to go to the restaurant and he will still send the letter.

This is the same guy from H.S. that would call Oakley and get a free pair of sunglasses. He would call to check up on a pair of glasses that he never sent (they had the lifetime warranty offer). They wouldn't be able to find the glasses he allegedly mailed in so they would just send him a free pair.

*I just ran into him at the grocery store and he reminded me about it by telling me the story that I posted above. That's the reason I posted about it.

Sounds like a plan

Damn, I just realized that I gave a bunch of deadbeats a gameplan.

I'm going to delete the thread.

It's perfectly legal but he is a scumbag for doing this.

Companies would rather spend $50 on a scumbag, even if he's entirely wrong than taking the risk of having further pr problems.

It is theft, and the sign of a true loser.

How is it legal?

I was getting upset when I was talking to him. I haven't seen him since H.S. and he's still up to his fucked up games.

I should turn the idiot in.

Why do I recall this from a movie that I can not place right now.

It's legal to complain while you're there or if you actually did dine at their restaurant. It's illegal if you haven't.

Writing a letter and bitching is legal.

I'm not saying that the guy is right for doing this, but I'm saying it's legal.

some people can get away with what they want--all in the name of "customer service."

So you're friends with Analhobit.

The problem is how to prove he hasn't? It's his word against theirs and the whole "the customer is always right" bullshit comes into play here.

Well I think thats pretty cool of TGI Fridays and I am going to eat there this week instead of chilis since they obviously they know how to treat their customers. Looks like they just made that $50 back. Great fucking marketing TGI.

If you keep your cusomters happy and go out of the way for them alot of times the word will get out such as it did in this case, TGI fridays just one a new customer (Ive never been there before) when all their millions of advertising was never able to get me there. Damn thats fucking powerful marketing. :thumbsup

Exactly and I think that's bullshit.

If I had a dollar for everytime someone threatened me with calling the Better Business Bureau for something that was clearly their fault...

Yeah, if he actually dined there, but if he did not go the the restaurant and said he did, then it is petty theft.

Is he one of those guys that doesn't like sitting on hold so he dials random numbers so he can get ahold of someone? I hate those guys. I usually transfer them to the end of the queue so they can wait and avoid doing that a second time.

Marketing is not always good when it shows that your company is a pushover. Out of the 100 customers they receive from publicity like this, they will receive 200 more people attempting to defraud them. :2 cents:

Just because you can't prove the guy was never there does not make it legal.

No it doesn't make it legal.

Just that the company is really dumb enough to cave to every letter they receive.

Its illegal. There was just a news story about 2 days ago about a 500 lbs guy who was arrested for scamming fast food places for going in and claiming there was hair in his food just to get it for free. Can't find the article..

i think you are giving people ideas lol