Valore Books - & Deceptive Advertising Practices (FTC Laws Violated) Book was not as described: Damaged, taped up and didn't include Lab Access Card (chat rep said it would) Boston MA

Valore Books is violating the FTC Act by accepting my payment and/or receiving commission from a third party book seller/rental site/company, and not providing me with the product as advertised. 

I have pasted the product description at the end of this complaint.

According to the The Federal Trade Commission Act, the FTC will act in the interest of all consumers to prevent deceptive and unfair acts or practices. In interpreting Section 5 of the Act, the Commission has determined that a representation, omission or practice is deceptive if it is likely to:

• mislead consumers- descriptions in advertising must be clear and easy to find, so that the average consumer can understand exactly what he or she is purchasing.

• affect consumers' behavior or decisions about the product or service.

• All sellers are responsible for claims they make about their products and services. Third parties - such as advertising agencies or website designers and catalog marketers - also may be liable for making or disseminating deceptive representations if they participate in the preparation or distribution of the advertising, or know about the deceptive claims.

• Advertising agencies or websites are responsible for reviewing the information used to substantiate ad claims. They may not simply rely on an advertiser's assurance that the claims are substantiated. In determining whether an ad agency should be held liable, the FTC looks at the extent of the agency's participation in the preparation of the challenged ad, and whether the agency knew or should have known that the ad included false or deceptive claims.

Valore Books is participating in false advertising by not ensuring that I receive the product exactly as described. Valore books claims that a disclaimer appeared on the product description page. The only disclaimer that I read said that not all supplemental items are included in rental books. I saw this disclaimer and then clicked the "more information" link next to the book description. The link took me to customer service.

I elected to use chat, and the only reason I continued with my oreder is because the chat rep confirmed that the exact order that I was placing would include an online access card to My Psych Lab. For this reason I placed my order for a Semester book rental of ISBN: 9780205987757 for $91.58. 

First of all, the book was advertised as "very good" condition. The book I received is held together by packaging tape and not in good condition. Most importantly, the book does not contain any kind of online access card or e-text access as the chat rep promised.

For this reason, and since my class had already started, I had to obtain a code for a free limited trial for online access. Two weeks later my access has expired, and I still haven't received my access card as promised. Now in order to finish the assignment that I had already started, I need to pay Pierson Books $68.00 for the online access card. Next, a week after purchase the price of the rental book went down by 1/2.

I purchased through Valore Books and joined the VIP club for convenience and because of the great customer service that Valore claimed to offer. I have not received any great customer service, and since its past 30 days they won't help me. Its not convenient for me to have to get the access card from the third party seller. The 3rd party seller will not help me because Valore Books gets commission on the sale and they are responsible for the advertising.

Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood Plus NEW MyPsychLab with Pearson eText -- Access Card Package (5th Edition) by Jeffrey Arnett ISBN: 9780205987757 ConditionVery Good CommentsHigh-quality textbook rentals since 2006. We do not ship to Alaska, Hawaii or any off-shore territories. Rented byBookRenter