ASA Adjudication on Consumer Guide

Ad

A circular, for a secure lock for homes, was headlined "HOME SECURITY WARNING!"; text underneath stated "USING THESE 'BUMP KEYS' A BURGLAR CAN OPEN YOUR DOOR IN 10 SECONDS …". The ad went on to describe the method used by burglars to break into homes with bump keys, and detailed where those keys could be purchased.

Issue

The complainant objected that the ad was irresponsible, because it gave details of how to gain entry to properties with certain types of locks, which could be used by potential burglars.

CAP Code (Edition 11)

Response

Consumer Guide said bumping locks had been a known method of gaining entry to doors with certain types of lock for at least 30 years.  They said the expertise was common among locksmiths but, in the last few years, had become widely available on the internet and had inevitably been used by criminals.  Consumer Guide maintained that that had lead, for instance, to bodies such as local authorities raising awareness of the issue among social housing tenants.  They maintained that a Council they knew of had offered to install the Pickbuster device in all their tenants' properties.  Consumer Guide believed that it was unfair to single them out for highlighting this problem when other bodies were doing so on a wider scale.  On a related issue, they pointed out that the police in their area had recently distributed an information leaflet on burglary and home security, which gave a demonstration of how to break into uPVC doors.  Consumer Guide maintained that their ad featured no information that was not readily available in the public domain and pointed out that most locksmiths now stocked bump proof locks.

Assessment

Not upheld

The ASA noted the ad explained what 'bump keys' were and that  Consumer Guide intended to raise awareness of the threat they posed to householders.  We considered, however, that the ad did not feature anything that was likely to be useful to burglars, such as a detailed guide of how to use a bump key to break into a property, or anything that was not already generally available.  Although we noted the ad referred to bump keys being available on the internet, we noted that such information was readily available in the public domain and, in the context of an ad selling a product designed to counter bump keys, we considered that it was a reasonable point to make in highlighting the nature of the problem posed to householders.   We therefore concluded that the ad was not in breach of the Code.

We investigated the ad under CAP Code clause 2.2 (Responsible advertising) but did not find it in breach.

Action

No further action necessary.

Adjudication of the ASA Council (Non-broadcast)