ASA Adjudication on Pat Adams

Ad

A mailing invited recipients to a marketing seminar hosted by a business man who described himself as being in business for 20 years and as an internet and direct marketing expert. The ad stated "... I'm slashing the cost of attending from £3,997 plus Vat per day (my normal fee) to FREE, ZERO, ZILCH, NADA [all underlined] ..." and made several other claims that the seminar was "free". The ad gave a website address for registration for the seminar and encouraged recipients to act quickly because places were limited. The ad stated "To make sure no seats are wasted I'm going to ask you to pay £47 per person, per day, registration fee - The full £47 will be refunded to you on the day of the seminar."

Issue

A recipient, who had attended the seminar but whose request for a refund on the day was refused, challenged whether the claims that the seminar was "free" and that the registration fee would be refunded were misleading and could be substantiated.

CAP Code (Edition 11)

Response

Pat Adams said they would respond to the ASA's enquiries.  They then said they believed they had provided all the information the ASA required.  They said they did not intend to offer a free seminar again in the future.

Assessment

Upheld

The ASA acknowledged that Pat Adams had contacted us about our investigation.  However, in the absence of any evidence to substantiate the claims that the seminar was "free" and that the registration fee would be refunded, we concluded that the claims were misleading.  We told Pat Adams not to repeat the claims.

The ad breached CAP Code clauses 3.1 (Substantiation), 6.1 (Honesty) and 7.1 and 7.2 (Truthfulness).

Action

The ad must not appear again in its current form.

Adjudication of the ASA Council (Non-broadcast)