Beware of “Conditions Apply” clause in Commercial Ads

We are living in highly commercialised and competitive market conditions. Even God needs a sponsor during festival seasons. For instance, in India, many leading business firms invest money during the public celebrations of God Ganesha birthday. The richly embellished and large statue of the God brings higher turnout of devotees and larger coverage in the mass media. Any business tries to employ all possible methods and gimmicks to lure the gullible consumers. Announcing the attractive offers is one such marketing technique. However, all such offers do come with one or many conditions, which are always shown in small letters or by the familiar phrase 'Conditions apply.'

A popular pizza outlet guarantees its service for delivery in 30 minutes or providing free stuff. However, the offer carries conditions as 'Not applicable during special occasions like New Year Eve, Christmas and festivals. Not valid for the bulk and small orders. Restricted to the first barrier point such as Security guard, Reception desk, etc..'

A Jewelry firm offered a diamond necklace free of cost as part of its New year celebrations. However, the 'Conditions apply' indicated the offer is available only if the order value exceeds a threshold limit. Actually, the cost of the free necklace works out to less than 2% of the minimum order size insisted under the offer. 

A reputed builder offered residential apartments for sale at six locations in a city. Its advertisement read as 'Pick any property and select any offer.' The choice of offers is listed: No registration charges, Modular kitchen, Wardrobes and Air conditioner, Complete set of home appliances, 5% Cash back, and Furniture and light fittings. The usual 'Conditions apply' tag carried an asterisk, but nowhere these conditions are narrated. On enquiry over the phone, the said builder informed that only those bookings made for three-bedroom or bigger size flats are eligible for selecting the offers. How misleading is the ad, isn't it?

One textile show room announced a whooping 70% discount in large and bold letters. However, a closer look revealed that the said discount was for the old and out-of-fashion stocks. A famous shoe dealer presented the off-season sale with a flat 60% discount. Actually, the shop displayed old and limited stocks under that offer, but this fact was deliberately suppressed to attract the customers. A tutorial centre advertised 100% success of the students who joined it. Upon enquiry, it was found that only five persons studied there.

Many businesses come out with deep discounts on the costly products to woo the public. They play tricks in this also: offer the discount by inflating the original price or reducing the usual hefty profit margin by 20 to 50%. So buyers must be alert, not to get carried away by such misleading advertisements and offers. Moreover, Extra caution is required when the clause 'Conditions apply' appears in any of the ads.

Reasons for Frauds

To most people, Money means many things in life. They toil from dawn to dusk for earning and accumulating wealth. In the process, they fail to care for the vital health by ignoring the food and respite, but pursue all austerities to save the money. Ultimately, they leave an estate without enjoying the life. The heirs bury or burn the corpse, but not the corpus or wealth left by the dead. 

The aspirations of the people are varied and infinite. Each person wishes the possession of plenty of money and power to satiate his/her dreams and desires. It's a natural characteristic of the human beings, but conspicuous by its absence in the animals or birds. A tiger will not seek a prey when its tummy is full. A crow will not search for food unless it feels hungry. Only the man remains restless due to his ever-growing hunger for money and power. As hard work takes time, he embarks on the illegitimate and short cut methods to reach the goal quickly. Fraud happens to be the easiest mode for all times. Here, the eight major reasons and backgrounds that give rise to the frauds are discussed.

Selfishness remains the chief source of all frauds. When a person indulges in protecting the interests of the kith and kin, he resorts to the fraudulent practices. The head of a varsity reportedly got the post by paying a huge sum to a corrupt political leader. Imagine the fate of the education in that institution.

Non-adherence to the norms leads to the incidence of frauds.  Failure to follow the systems and procedures ended in the loss of lives and properties as the greedy officer issued a license for running a school in an unfit building. Substandard weapons were sourced to get personal favors.

Risk prone technology gives scope to commit frauds. The gullible people are cheated by the sophisticated digital routes like phishing, vishing, smishing and skimming. Softwares are used to gather the vital personal information from the vulnerable netizens when the latter log into the Internet.

Negligence causes even an innocent mind to oscillate. Careless handling of documents and disclosure of Credit card and bank details by the account holders result in the siphoning of funds by the fraudsters.

Insiders’ trick. The share prices are boosted artificially when a person of the business manipulates the demand or supply for the stock. The younger brother of a family fabricated a will to deprive his two siblings of the shares in his mother's estate.

Unreasonable targets breed frauds. The field staff engages the intermediaries and brokers to secure more business by diluting the norms and the purpose. Family planning numbers were achieved by listing the aged and dead.

Imitation effects. People forgetting their capabilities and income level copy the lifestyle of others living in the neighborhood. It is seen as a prestige issue affecting one's status in the society. To cope with the increased financial needs, an individual resort to heavy borrowing or frauds like misappropriation of office funds and seeking bribes for office work.

Politics pollute the society. To stay in power and fill the coffers of the party, most of the politicians use the corruption and fraud as the major strategy. Money and muscle power dominate not only during the election times, but also when forming the governments. Booth-capturing and casting the fake votes are the usual fraudulent tactics adopted for getting the desired poll results.

Behind all frauds, two aspects are common: the opportunity and desire for getting more of money and power. Every day, frauds do take place at all levels of family, society, business, and government. However, these frauds get exposed certainly and belatedly. Very few people do not succumb to the evils of money and power as they know the real happiness lies in sharing the love and affection.

New Year occurs daily

New Year' means diverse things to various segments of the society. For a layman, it's the commencement of another year. An office-goer feels it as one more holiday to relax. Rich people get a chance to spend lavishly, and display their status. The elders hope for their dreams to materialize. Manufacturers of calendars, diaries, gifts, etc., seize this occasion to spruce up their profits. Whatever the prospects a New Year holds, its basics never change.

Our Earth takes 365 days to complete one revolution around the Sun. To achieve this task, it works hard and rotates on its axis uninterrupted for 8760 hours, and proceeds on its endless journey. Just when the Earth has finished one revolution, we say one year is over. The moment it starts another trip the next year begins. It's a Happy New Year, thanks to the Mother Planet. Going by the same logic, we can also wish a person 'Happy New Year' in addition to the traditional 'Happy Birth Day' on completing one year from his last birthday. 

New year described above pertains to the Gregorian calendar accepted all over the world. However, several parts of the world and diverse cultures within a territory have their own calendars and New years. For instance, different states of India celebrate it on distinct dates. It starts in Chithirai month (April) for the people of Tamilnadu while it falls on the first day of Chaitra month (March) in Maharashtra. Jews have their New year in September. To Muslims, the same comes in October. Chinese New year falls between 21st January and 20th February.

People celebrate this special occasion in a variety of ways, but exchange of greetings, online and offline, remains to be the simplest and easiest. One interesting greeting received through SMS reads as '31st December of the calendar says, 'Turn me.' Time says, 'Plan me.' Future says, 'Win me.' Money says, 'Earn me.' God says, 'Remember Me.' 

The past is past only. Nobody can compensate for the loss, and damages suffered. However, the past enables to introspect and identify the lapses and take corrective steps while planning for a better future.  The rapid developments of industrialization and consumerism during the last four centuries have certainly led to the rise in the standard of living and life expectancy. Nonetheless, the remarkable progress came at a heavy cost: the ecological imbalance.

Whatever be the developments, it's the individuals of the society that make the difference by adhering to the discipline and common sense. Without the involvement of the citizens, nothing is possible and achievable. The conflicts and contradictions arising from the race for material welfare should be axed by sharing the available resources for a joyful coexistence.

Making resolutions is a customary practice when a New year starts. In a recent online poll conducted by a Newspaper in India, it was found that 56% of the participants did not make any resolution for the New year, and 65% of the remaining participants didn't stick to their resolutions. Any New year resolution by a sensible person will ensure the safety and happiness of lives on the Mother Earth. The same should aim at living in harmony with the Nature is the only solution for enduring happiness and prosperity. However, the following resolutions will definitely produce contentment and happiness to all.

N ever harm others in any manner.

E xchange, even the negativism, in a positive way.

W ork hard to benefit self and others.

Y earn for peaceful and happy life.

E liminate anything that spoils and affects the environment.

A lways help others though in a small way, and

R eview the progress and take action to improve.

Why don't we make it a habit to celebrate every day as New Year to have an inspiration and a sense of positivism? Just think of how the whole world will be if each one of us is bubbling with cheers and happiness all through the year. The pomp and spirit of New year celebrations should not end on the first day itself. New Year is the only event celebrated on a grand scale all over the world, though it is not a festival. We can call it as a Secular festival. The United Nations can think of naming First January as Unity Day.