On Saturday, December 10, 2005 the Kentucky Enquirer published a false and deceptive advertising for Finke Homes, Inc. in the “bluegrass HOMES” section. The advertisement was authored by a so-called free-lance writer by the name of Stephanie R. Holman. She should be writing fiction based on the propaganda that she wrote in that piece.
I have stated over and over again, that Finke Homes, Inc.
has no respect for the law or the truth. This piece written by a so-called free-lance writer in the
So you ask, what
truth-in-advertising rules apply to advertisers?
Under the Federal Trade Commission Act:
…advertising must be truthful and non-deceptive;
Specifically the FTC states the following as it relates to “Endorsements and Testimonials.”
“The FTC's Guides Concerning the Use of Testimonials and
Endorsements offer practical advice on endorsements by
consumers, celebrities, and experts. All endorsements must reflect the honest
experience or opinion of the endorser. Endorsements may not contain
representations that would be deceptive, or could not be substantiated, if the
advertiser made them directly.
Endorsements by consumers must reflect the typical experience of consumers who
use the product, not the experience of just a few satisfied customers. If an
endorsement doesn't reflect users' typical experience, the ad must clearly
disclose either what consumers can expect their results to be or the
limited applicability of the endorser's experience. Saying "Not all
consumers will get these results" or "Your results may vary" is
not enough.”
I contend that the so-called actions outlined
by the consumers in this article are not typical of most Finke victims.
Most importantly the FTC states that “Advertisers also must disclose any material connection between a person endorsing a product and the company selling the product. A "material connection" is defined as a relationship that might affect the weight or credibility of the endorsement. For example, if an endorser is an employee or relative of the advertiser, that fact must be disclosed because it is relevant to how much weight a consumer would give to the endorsement. Similarly, an advertiser must disclose if a consumer has been paid for giving an endorsement.
Did you read anywhere in the propaganda piece that Marcey Updike is Stephanie Finke’s sister? No, they don’t disclose that do they? Finke Homes had to resort to getting relatives to be a mouth piece about how happy they are with their experiences. It would appear from reading the FTC laws pertaining to truth in advertisement, that the piece would be a violation of federal law. Let’s look at another fact. The home in which the Updikes reside in was issued a permit for construction in March of 2002 and a final inspection was done in August 2002. The Updikes didn’t close on the home until March 2003.Finke apparently built this market or “speculative” home then pawned it off on a relative after the fact. It would appear that the Updikes never contracted Finke Homes to build a home. Finke Homes was listed as the owner on the permit as the owner. Finke Homes, Inc. couldn’t get real consumers so they tried to deceive us with relatives posing as customers. The article doesn’t mention that Mr. Loenhard is their neighbor and I suspect somehow he has a financial interest with Finke Homes. As far as the happy "homeowner" Laurie Hamilton. According to the Boone County Clerk's Office, there is no property transfer from Finke Homes to a Laurie Hamilton. In fact, according to official Boone County records, there is no "homeowner" by the name of Laurie Hamilton. Is this another lie from Finke Homes? We will have to see how they respond to the formal complaint to the Federal Trade Commission, to know the truth. You can be sure that whatever it is, it will be posted here for everyone to know.
As I indicated, I suspected that Jason Leonhard was not an "honest consumer" of Finke Homes, Inc. An examination of court records revealed a document filed in a Boone County Small Claims Court action (94-S-00012) listed "Teresa Finke" as Jason Leonhard's "Parent/Guardian." Teresa and Mark are the brother and sister-in-law of George Finke, Sr. Therefore, we have now established that Mr. Jason Leonhard from the false & deceptive advertisement is just another Finke minion. That should substantiate the fact that the Finke's are a bunch of liars and that their advertisement of so-called "customers" were in fact a bunch of Finke relatives misrepresenting themselves. The Federal Trade Commission complaint will be amended to reflect this family relationship in the ad, that they failed to disclose.
Here is a copy of the letter I sent to the Enquirer following the publication of the Finke propaganda trash.
Here is a copy of the formal complaint to the Federal Trade Commission on their false, misleading and deceptive advertising propaganda trash published in the Kentucky Enquirer.
Here is evidence to support my complaint to the Better Business Bureau on Finke Homes, Inc. illegal trademark infrigement and their false, misleading and deceptive advertising by using the Better Business Bureau logo on their website. Finke Homes, Inc. is not a member of the BBB, yet it displays the false and deceptive advertisement of the BBB on its website to pass it itself off as a "respectable" business.
Here is a copy of the formal complaint to the Better Business Bureau on their illegal trademark infrigement and their false, misleading and deceptive advertising.
A copy of the second formal complaint to the Federal Trade Commission on their false, misleading and deceptive advertising as well as the Trademark infingment of the Better Business logo in violation of federal law on their corporate website.
Update on Finke Homes, Inc. illegal trademark infringement and their continued false & deceptive advertisement. Click here to see how Finke was forced to removed the Better Business trademark from their corporate website.