ASA Adjudication on Pinnock Windows & Conservatories Ltd

Ad

A regional press ad, for Pinnock Windows & Conservatories, stated "27 YEARS OF EXCEPTIONAL CUSTOMER SERVICE BY EXPERIENCED, LONG-SERVING CRAFTSMEN ... pinnock 'The name you can trust' WINDOWS, DOORS & CONSERVATORIES ...".

Issue

John Williams Group Ltd thought the claim "27 YEARS OF ... SERVICE" was misleading, because the company that was set up under the Pinnock name in 1981, and its successors, had gone into liquidation and their guarantees had not been honoured by the existing Pinnock company.

CAP Code (Edition 11)

Response

Pinnock Windows & Conservatories did not respond in writing.  They said on the phone that they had acquired some but not all debts and liabilities of the previous Pinnock companies and they had been honouring all the guarantees of customers of the previous companies.

Assessment

Upheld

The ASA considered that readers of the ad would interpret the claim "27 YEARS OF ... SERVICE" to mean that Pinnock Windows & Conservatories Ltd had traded continuously for 27 years.  We considered that implication was reinforced by the claim "The name you can trust".  We understood that Pinnock Windows & Conservatories Ltd was formed on 13 August 2007 further to the liquidation of Pinnock Windows & Doors Ltd, which was incorporated in 1981, and Pinnock Windows Ltd, which was formed in 2004.  In order to be able to continue trading on the reputation of the Pinnock name, we considered that Pinnock Windows & Conservatories needed to show that they had purchased the goodwill and taken on the debts and liabilities of the previous Pinnock companies.  They also needed to show they had honoured any guarantees the previous companies had entered into with their customers.  Because Pinnock Windows & Conservatories had told us that they had not taken on all the debts and liabilities of the previous Pinnock Companies and because they had not sent any evidence to support their statement that they had been honouring all the guarantees of the previous companies, we concluded that the claim "27 YEARS OF ... SERVICE" had not been substantiated and could mislead readers by implying Pinnock Windows & Conservatories had a continuous trading history of 27 years.

The ad breached CAP Code clauses 3.1 (Substantiation) and 7.1 (Truthfulness).

Action

We told Pinnock Windows & Conservatories to remove the claim "27 YEARS OF ... SERVICE" from their advertising.  We reminded them of their obligation to hold evidence to substantiate claims made in their advertising and asked them to respond promptly in writing to us in future.

Adjudication of the ASA Council (Non-broadcast)