ASA Adjudication on W. Edmunds Electrical Engineers

Ad

A directory ad, for an electricians, stated "1 HR RESPONSE".

Issue

The complainant challenged whether the claim "1 HR RESPONSE" was misleading and whether it could be substantiated.

CAP Code (Edition 11)

Response

W. Edmunds Electrical Engineers (W. Edmunds) did not respond to the ASA's enquiries in writing. During the course of a telephone conversation they claimed that they were able to respond to 99% of calls within one hour.  They said, however, they did not hold any evidence to support that claim.

Assessment

Upheld

The ASA was concerned by W. Edmunds' lack of written response and apparent disregard for the Code, which breached CAP Code clause 2.6 (Non-response). We reminded them of their responsibility to respond promptly to our enquiries and told them to do so in future.

Because W. Edmunds did not supply evidence to demonstrate that they were able to provide a one hour response in the vast majority of cases, we concluded that the ad was misleading.

The ad breached CAP Code clauses 2.6 (Non response), 3.1 (Substantiation) and 7.1 (Truthfulness).

Action

We told W. Edmunds not to repeat the claim and to ensure that they held documentary evidence for all their claims in future.  We advised them to seek guidance from the CAP Copy Advice team for help with their future ads.

Adjudication of the ASA Council (Non-broadcast)