Mortgage-Speak Confusion - Intentional?
- By Doug Coleman
- Published 02/6/2008
Doug Coleman
I like simplicity. I write about simple things like easy (simple) time management and customer service without slogans, just good sense. I enjoy auto racing, opera, jazz, puppies, and sunsets. There's nothing better than a glass of wine watching a brilliant sunset listening to Oscar Peterson's piano. Life is good.
I listen to CNN news during my drive to work. For several weeks, I've heard one major mortgage lender's commercial in which a charming voice states the current interest rate as "...around five and three quarter percent." My reaction each morning varies between saying out loud, "OK. So what IS your interest rate?" and quiet disgust with the deception going on in front of my ears. What does "around" mean? Does "around" mean "is?" I doubt it.
At the end of each playing of this commercial, I'm left with a feeling of annoyance that a major corporation could have so little respect for my intelligence that they openly set up a "Bait and Switch" play when a potential borrower applies for a loan at 5.75%.
As I write this, I don't have a clue as to the exact interest rate this lender charges. I don't have a clue to their meaning of "around." I suppose to understand the meaning of the word "around," you have to know the neighborhood. Is New Jersey
"around" New York? Is the moon "around" the earth? Is 7% around 5.75%? How am I to know?
When I'm asked how far some destination is from a starting point, I've been known to reply, "It's around five miles or so." That I can understand. In this sense, "around," as I used it, means "about" or "close to" but even my use of the word leaves much wiggle-room for error. In the mortgage industry, "around" could mean anything. The press has recently reported that their use of language has fooled a lot of people who now wish they had asked more questions.
I dislike anything in advertising that smacks of deception, whether it is or not. This commercial rings my bell and makes me wonder why CNN hasn't asked the advertiser to be a little more clear. Perhaps they have, and CNN decided the intent of the commercial was "around" ethical. I once had a rancher friend say of a business deal, "Let me see the other side of that cow, just to be sure there is one." Around five and three quarter percent? How much is it, really?
At the end of each playing of this commercial, I'm left with a feeling of annoyance that a major corporation could have so little respect for my intelligence that they openly set up a "Bait and Switch" play when a potential borrower applies for a loan at 5.75%.
As I write this, I don't have a clue as to the exact interest rate this lender charges. I don't have a clue to their meaning of "around." I suppose to understand the meaning of the word "around," you have to know the neighborhood. Is New Jersey
When I'm asked how far some destination is from a starting point, I've been known to reply, "It's around five miles or so." That I can understand. In this sense, "around," as I used it, means "about" or "close to" but even my use of the word leaves much wiggle-room for error. In the mortgage industry, "around" could mean anything. The press has recently reported that their use of language has fooled a lot of people who now wish they had asked more questions.
I dislike anything in advertising that smacks of deception, whether it is or not. This commercial rings my bell and makes me wonder why CNN hasn't asked the advertiser to be a little more clear. Perhaps they have, and CNN decided the intent of the commercial was "around" ethical. I once had a rancher friend say of a business deal, "Let me see the other side of that cow, just to be sure there is one." Around five and three quarter percent? How much is it, really?
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