What do traffic ticket attorney advertising and the DOT have in common?
At first glance, the new rules recently inacted by the DOT regulating how the airlines can advertise their prices wouldn't appear to have anything in common with traffic ticket advertising. But, alas, they do. And as someone who believes in being open and honest when it comes to advertising, I only wish the Florida Bar would be more like the DOT. Let me explain. . .
If you are not aware, up until a week ago, airlines would advertise seats on flights for as little as $9 or $29 and that sounded great until you actually booked it and they tacked on so many hidden fees that it ends up being more expensive than some of the other airline prices you were looking at, but thought were too expensive at $199.00. Many times, you realized it too late that your "bargain" fare, after adding on the online booking fee, the baggage fee, the fuel surcharge, the window seat, the emergency row, the departure fee and the arrival fee was no "bargain" at all. I for one, am glad that when I see an advertised airline fee, will now know that it's pretty close to what I'm going to end up paying if I book it. At least that way, I can make a judgment based on all the other factors that are important to me and not be misled on price.
I almost felt bad for some of the airlines who refused to play that game and "dupe" prospective flyers. How much business did they lose as a result of another carrier misleading someone about the actual price? We'll never know, but those days appear to be over. It will be interesting to see what happens to some of these discount airlines' bottom line.
So how does that relate to traffic ticket attorney advertising you ask? Well, if you've ever gotten a traffic ticket, you know, very soon after, your mailbox fills up with advertisements. Being a traffic attorney who advertises, I always found it deceptive and misleading that other attorneys were advertising prices that said "from $5.00" or "fees starting at $19.00" when the actual fee for the ticket the person received was closer to $59-$99. Hold on, you say, but maybe they do only charge $5 or $19 for certain tickets, why is that wrong? Here's why.
First of all, before that advertisement gets sent in the mail, the attorney knows exactly the kind of ticket you received. It's public record. So, if you only received a speeding ticket, and the attorney charges $89.00 to defend a speeding ticket, the advertisement should say $89.00
In my book, it's wrong to advertise a price for a service you know someone doesn't need or want, solely to get them to pick up the phone and call so you can upsell them on a more expensive service you know they need.
Imagine if the airlines advertised like this "Our flights start as low as $1." When you inquire, they informed you that those flights are from one end of the airport to the other. Obviously, that's not where you need to go or the best way to travel around the airport. Or when car dealers advertise on the radio for a "toy yoda" for $10.00 and when you go to the dealer, they hand you a Star Wars action figure of yoda. Again, deceptive and unfair and let's be honest, just plain wrong.
So, when the attorney advertises $5 for traffic ticket defense, and you find out that it's only if you pay full price for one ticket ($59-$99) and happen to have a non-moving violation (seat belt, failure to carry documentation, etc. . . ) I would think you would feel a certain violation of trust occurred and you would consider going elsewhere. I can only hope.
Of course all this nonsense could be eliminated if only the DOT took over for the Florida Bar.
