PrepTest 144, Section 3, Question 6
Problem: The Thimble Corporation recently distributed rebate coupons(53 more words not shown)
The principle, if valid, most(12 more words not shown)
- AIf a customer(26 more words not shown)
- BBecause some customers(27 more words not shown)
- CIf there is(36 more words not shown)
- DBecause it cannot(30 more words not shown)
- EIf a customer(34 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
If the company's mistake kept customers from claiming money they were entitled to, the company needs to fix that result.
A rebate returns money after a purchase. Here, some coupons mistakenly show an expiration date that is too early. Imagine being eligible for the rebate but reading your coupon, thinking the deadline has passed, and deciding not to apply. The printed error has cost you an opportunity you should have had.
What we’re looking for
The passage calls that situation unfair. We don't need to debate whether the mistake is a big deal or whether the company meant to hurt anyone. The principle says whoever creates an unfair situation has an obligation to repair its unfair results. The question asks which judgment that principle supports, so look for Thimble taking action to make things right for the customers affected by its error.
Working the answers
- A
This removes an obligation instead of identifying how to repair the unfair result. The principle doesn't say that submitting an application despite believing the date had passed frees the company from any duty to that customer. Nor does the customer's belief establish that the actual rebate deadline had passed. A gives us no basis for denying the rebate.
- B
Someone knowingly choosing not to claim a rebate is different from someone being misled into not claiming it. Imagine one customer correctly understands the deadline but doesn't bother applying, while another stays away because of the wrong date. The first customer's choice didn't create the misleading coupon or cause the second customer's mistake. It doesn't shift responsibility for the unfair situation away from Thimble.
- CCorrect
This directs Thimble to identify customers who may have been deterred by the incorrect date and offer them the rebate. That connects the remedy to the harm: customers lost an opportunity because of the company's error, so the company should try to restore that opportunity. It applies the stated obligation to rectify the unfair result.
- D
Denying everyone a rebate doesn't repair the problem for the customers who were misled. It spreads the loss to customers who did apply. If some people missed an opportunity unfairly, taking that opportunity away from everyone else is not the same as making things right for those people.
- E
The principle gives one basis for an obligation; it doesn't say this coupon error is the only possible basis. A customer unaffected by the wrong date might still be entitled to a rebate for another reason, such as having submitted an eligible claim. We cannot infer that Thimble has no obligation merely because this particular unfair situation didn't affect that person.
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