ASA Adjudication on British Sky Broadcasting Ltd

Ad

A mailing, a magazine ad and an online promotion for Sky HD.

a. The front of the mailing stated "Sky+ HD box half price When you join, or upgrade to, Sky TV with the HD Mix Now just £75 Normally £150 ... Call 08442 XXX XXX or visit sky.com/hd"; small print stated "£15 credit when you buy online. Free standard set-up for new customers or existing customers taking multiroom (otherwise £30)". The back of the mailing stated " ... Experience it for yourself with a Sky+ HD box - now half price at just £75 when you join, or upgrade to, Sky TV with the HD Mix ... Sky TV with the HD Mix from £27 a month ...". Small print at the bottom stated "Free standard set-up for new customers or existing customers taking Multiroom (otherwise £30). Offer ends 1 November 2008 ... £15 credit: We will credit £15 to your account if you join Sky TV online or upgrade your existing Sky box online. Offer ends 02.01.2009 ...".

b. The magazine ad stated "... To celebrate the launch of our 6 new HD movie channels, we're offering you a half price Sky+ HD box for just £75, when you take the HD Mix* (£10 extra a month) ... Now only £75, call 08422 XXX XXX or visit sky.com/hd. Half price HD box offer ends 31 October 2008"; small print stated "Standard set-up £30 for existing customers until 31 October 2008 ... Sky+ HD: To get Sky+ HD you need Sky TV, a Sky+ HD box and the HD Mix. A Sky+ HD box is £75 (usually £150) when you take Sky TV and the HD Mix (£10 extra a month) before the end of 31 October 2008 ...".

c. The online promotion stated "£15 credit when you upgrade online Get a £15 credit when you upgrade your existing box online ...".

Issue

1. Four complainants challenged the availability of the £15 online discount, because when they tried to take advantage of the offer the website was not working and, on calling Sky, they were told that although there were problems with the site they could not offer the credit over the telephone.

2. One complainant challenged the closing date of the Sky+ HD box half-price offer, because he was unable to take advantage of it on 30 October.

3. One complainant challenged the closing date of the £15 online discount offer, because he had been unable to take advantage of it on 30 October.

CAP Code (Edition 11)

Response

Sky asserted that the ads were not misleading, because all pricing and offer information contained within them was correct.  They believed the complainants were unable to take up the relevant price and offer due to technical reasons.  They said that a large number of customers had been able to take advantage of the £75 box offer online and online discount.

1. Sky said the ads were accurate and a £15 credit was available for customers completing an order online.  They believed, however, there might have been instances when customers could not complete their Sky order online due to issues with their own computer system or with the connection through their internet provider.  They said there had also been short periods when parts of the Sky website would have been down because of IT updates, server or systems issues.

Sky said they had not made the £15 credit available to Sky call centre agents for customers stating they had had technical issues, because they had often been unable to identify if the customer had had a genuine issue with Sky's online process, or if it was an issue with their own system or connection.  They also said most of Sky's IT issues were resolved within a short period of time and therefore a customer could go back online to complete their order.  They said, as a result of the complaints they had received, they were currently implementing a new system for customers experiencing problems purchasing online which would enable a Sky customer services agent to contact the customer knowing they had a genuine issue with purchasing Sky online.

2. Sky said the £75 offer was available, as advertised, on www.sky.com/hd until 3 November 2008.  They said the customer had used one of their affiliate websites which directed him to a new £99 offer on a different page of the sky.com website.  They said they had raised the matter with the relevant affiliate and were working with them to ensure all links to their website were to the correct pages on sky.com.

3. Sky said the ad was accurate and that the offer was still live and available for the customer to take up online.  They said they had re-briefed their call centre operatives that the offer was still live to avoid any further misunderstandings.

Assessment

1. Upheld

The ASA noted Sky believed the complainants could have had problems with their own computer system, or had been trying to access the Sky website at a time when it was down due to IT updates, server or systems issues.  We also noted a large number of customers had been able to take advantage of the offer online and the online discount.  We acknowledged that, although Sky had chosen not to offer customers the discount over the telephone, they were implementing a new system to address that issue.

We noted four complainants had not been able to take advantage of the online discount because they could not complete the online purchase via the Sky website, despite trying on several occasions; we also noted the website had directed them to call Sky via a telephone number but the offer had not been credited to them when they called that number.  We noted Sky's assertion that the problem with the website might not have been their fault and that the ads made clear the offer was for online purchases only.  However, we also noted the complainants had experienced problems with the website several times over several days and the website had directed them to call the Sky helpline; some of the complainants stated that, on calling the number, the Sky staff member had conceded that they had problems with the website.  We considered that, because customers were unable to take advantage of the promotion due to technical difficulties, they would expect the offer to be fulfilled over the telephone.  We considered that, by failing to administer the promotion adequately, Sky had caused unnecessary disappointment to some customers who had been unable to take advantage of the promotion.

On this point, the ads breached CAP Code clauses 27.4 (Sales promotion rules - Introduction) and 31.1 (Sales promotion rules - Administration).

2. Not upheld

We noted Sky's comments and that the complainant had used one of their affiliate websites that directed him to a new £99 offer on a different page of the sky.com website.  We also noted Sky had taken action to ensure all links to their website were to the correct pages on sky.com.  Because the offer could be found on the Sky websites stated in the ads, we considered they were unlikely to mislead.

On this point, we investigated the ads under CAP Code clauses 7.1 (Truthfulness), 27.4 (Sales promotion rules - Introduction) and 31.1 (Sales promotion rules - Administration) but did not find them in breach.

3. Not upheld

We noted the offer was still available at the time the complainant contacted Sky and that a large number of customers had taken advantage of the offer. We also noted the complainant had been informed over the telephone on 30 October that the offer was no longer available. We considered that that was likely to have been the result of an error of customer service but, because the offer was still available via the website as advertised, we considered that the closing date was correct and the ads were not misleading.

On this point, we investigated the ads under CAP Code clauses 27.4 (Sales promotion rules - Introduction) and 31.1 (Sales promotion rules - Administration) but did not find them in breach.

Action

We told Sky to ensure promotions did not cause unnecessary disappointment in future.

Adjudication of the ASA Council (Non-broadcast)