ASA Adjudication on Guardian News and Media Ltd

Ad

A national press ad for a utilities price comparison service had the headline "Who's the cheapest for home energy?" Text underneath next to an image of a light bulb stated "Save up to £660* on home energy bills". Further text stated "We know. Review Fixed Price Tariffs; Switch to all major suppliers; Find the best deal. A free and impartial service comparing all gas and electricity suppliers for Guardian and Observer readers". Footnoted text at the bottom of the ad stated "*Average savings of the top 10% of energy users: £660 (this is due to the effect of the recent price increases). Savings based on online savings quote provided to 20,100 users between 1st August and the 11th August 2008. Quotes are based on actual user data".

Issue

The complainant challenged whether:

1. the claim "Save up to £660 on home energy bills" was misleading and could be substantiated, and

2. the situation described in the footnoted text was relevant at the time the ad was published in November 2008.

CAP Code (Edition 11)

Response

Guardian News and Media Ltd (Guardian) explained that the ad, and data on which it was based, was prepared by the company who operated the utilities service on the Guardian's behalf, and they submitted a copy of that data. The Guardian said they had ceased publication of the ad in December 2008.

The Guardian said the data showed that the quoted saving for the period 1 to 11 August was £662 for the top 10% of energy users. They explained that quotes were based on information provided by consumers, which included details of their current energy supplier, the amount of energy used, their energy region and their current payment method.

Assessment

1. Upheld

The ASA noted the data provided by the Guardian. We understood from that data that £660 was the average amount saved by the top 10% of consumers who had used the price comparison service. We also understood, therefore, that some of those 10% of consumers would have saved less than the amount quoted in the ad. We considered that, in order to substantiate the "up to £660" claim, the Guardian would need to show that at least 10% of consumers who had used the service had actually saved £660 or more. We also noted from the data that some consumers who had used the price comparison service had not made any savings. We considered that the claim should have stated that consumers "could save up to £660", in order to reflect the fact that some consumers had saved nothing and to make it clear to consumers that savings were therefore conditional. Because it did not, and because at least 10% of consumers had not saved the headline amount stated in the ad, we concluded that the claim "save up to £660 on home energy bills" was misleading.

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

2. Upheld

We noted the ad stated that the savings claim was based on quotes provided to consumers between 1 and 11 August 2008.  We considered that the claim "Save up to £660 on home energy bills" implied that consumers who switched energy supplier at the time the ad appeared in November 2008 would make some savings, and possibly as much as £660. We understood that energy prices were subject to rapid change, and that some utility companies had amended their prices in the period after the data was collected and before the ad appeared. We considered that the Guardian had not demonstrated that the savings quotes made between 1 and 11 August 2008 were still representative of the savings likely to be made by consumers responding to the ad in November, and we therefore concluded that on this point the ad was misleading.

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

Action

The ad must not appear again in its current form.

Adjudication of the ASA Council (Non-broadcast)