ASA Adjudication on Gary Hall

Ad

A regional press ad, for a company selling windows and conservatories, stated "Adding that touch of class. Established for over 15 years No salesmen Free estimates 10 year guarantee Gary Hall Windows & Conservatories. Tel xxxxx xxxxxxx. Gallowgate Buildings, 36 Laburnham Avenue, Blackhill, Consett, DH8 5UF".

Issue

The complainant objected that the claim "Established for 15 years" was misleading because he believed the claim referred to a company that had since gone into liquidation, whereas the ad related to a new company.

CAP Code (Edition 11)

Response

Gary Hall responded by telephone stating that as an individual, he had been established for 15 years and had evidence to support the claim in the ad. He did not supply any more information or evidence to support this claim but submitted a written response stating said that he had changed his ad to state "Over 15 years experience in the industry".

Assessment

Upheld

The ASA noted Gary Hall Conservatories and Windows Ltd had gone into liquidation. We also noted that Gary Hall had not provided documentary evidence in his response.  We considered that Gary Hall had not substantiated the claim that Gary Hall Windows and Conservatories or Gary Hall had been established for 15 years and concluded that the ad was likely to mislead.

On this point, the ad breached CAP Code clauses 3.1 (Substantiation) and 7.1 (Truthfulness).

Action

The ad should not appear again in its current form.

Adjudication of the ASA Council (Non-broadcast)