ASA Adjudication on Vale Mill (Rochdale) Ltd

Ad

An internet sales promotion, for the Alfresia conservatory and garden furniture store, was headed "New England Patio Set Including Parasol and Cushions" above a photo of a table, two bench seats, two armchairs and a parasol. Below, text stated "Product Information. This quality set is made from Acacia hardwood and is finished in a super hardwearing white weather resistant finish. A complete set comprising from [sic] a hardwood table, two bench seats, two armchairs, all with co-ordinating cushions and parasol." Next to the picture, text stated "The New England Patio Set Including Parasol and Cushions has [sic] 10 IN STOCK and is usually delivered within 4 days. RRP £529.00 Today's Price £366.75 SAVE 25% OFF Garden Furniture Ends 09/09/08 23.55". At the top of the page a rapidly changing countdown timer stated "Save 25% OFF Garden Furniture" and gave the days, hours, minutes and seconds left until the end of the sale.

Issue

1. A customer believed the promotion was misleading because the parasol base, shown in the photo, was not included as part of the patio set.

2. The ASA challenged whether the text stating the sale end date, which appeared to change each day, and the rapidly changing countdown timer misleadingly implied a sense of urgency.

CAP Code (Edition 11)

Response

1. Vale Mill said they made every effort to ensure that their product information was correct and believed that the promotion accurately reflected the fact that the parasol base was not included within in the set but was an optional extra.  They said the promotion showed a lifestyle picture of the New England Patio Set in situ on a patio, with the product information underneath. They said there was no reference to a parasol base in the product description, which stated "... A complete set comprising from [sic] a hardwood table, two bench seats, two armchairs, all with co-ordinating cushions and parasol ...".  They said there was also no mention of the base in the pricing section, which stated "The New England Patio Set including Parasol and Cushions has 10 IN Stock ...", nor in the fabric section, which stated "Please choose a fabric option for the New England Patio Set including Parasol and Cushions".   They said, below the fabric selection section was, a "Related Products" section, which showed a parasol base as an optional extra.  They believed that, because the parasol base was not included in the product information, the pricing section or fabric selection, but listed in the related items section, it was clear that it was not part of the advertised set, just as it was clear that the plants shown in the picture were also not included.

2. Vale Mill said they used a countdown timer when offering time limited promotions.  They said the timer showed the period of time that the set was available on promotion and at the end of that time period the set would revert to normal selling price.  They believed it accurately reflected the remaining amount of time that the promotion had to run.

Assessment

1. Upheld

The ASA noted the parasol base was shown in the photo but understood that it was not included as part of the patio set.   We noted the product description did not refer specifically to the base, but had nonetheless noted that it stated "A complete set comprising ... co-ordinating cushions and parasol".  We considered that, combined with the photo, consumers were likely to expect the patio set to include the parasol base and not just the parasol umbrella.  We acknowledged that a parasol base was listed in the "Related Products" section, but as this section contained additional items or alternative options to the set on offer, we did not consider that it was sufficient to warn consumers that the base did not come with the patio set and had to be ordered separately.  Because the promotion did not explain that the base was not included with the set and had to be ordered separately, we considered that the photo gave a misleading impression of the patio set on offer.

On this point, the internet promotion breached CAP Code clause 7.1 (Truthfulness).

2. Upheld

We considered that, because the countdown timer consistently and rapidly changed, it was not possible to read how much time remained before the offer finished and therefore implied a sense of urgency that the offer was about to end.  We also noted the text, which gave the end date for the promotion, was extended each day.  We considered that, because the promotion end date was frequently extended, the promotion had given a misleading impression of when the offer finished and a false sense of urgency.

On this point, the internet promotion breached CAP Code clause 16.6 (Availability of products).

Action

The promotion must not appear again in its current form.  We told Vale Mill to ensure that future promotions stated clearly when an offer was due to end.   

Adjudication of the ASA Council (Non-broadcast)