ASA Adjudication on Abbey Events

Abbey Events

8th Floor Gresham House
Clarenden Road
Watford
Hertfordshire
WD17 1LA

Date:

25 January 2012

Media:

Direct mail

Sector:

Leisure

Number of complaints:

Complaint Ref:

A11-172419

A direct mailing, for Abbey Events, offered a VIP corporate package and stated "British Grand Prix Silverstone ... DRIVERS CLUB RESTAURANT ... Luxury Dining ... the Drivers Club Restaurant, located adjacent to Woodcote Corner & the Pits Straight offers the finest Cuisine ... With its private dining rooms and luxury open plan restaurant, this high demand Restaurant with private garden area only holds 200 places per day ...".

Issue

The complainant, who had booked the event, challenged whether:

1. the claim that the Drivers Club Restaurant was "located adjacent to Woodcote Corner & the Pits Straight" was misleading, because it was not located within the Grand Prix circuit; and

2. the claim "private dining rooms and luxury open plan restaurant, this high demand Restaurant with private garden area ..." misleadingly exaggerated the facility and could be substantiated, because she said the restaurant was a marquee in a field.

CAP Code (Edition 12)

3.13.113.7

Response

1. & 2. Abbey Events said they had been operating the Silverstone facility for the past three years and the quality was such that clients frequently re-booked. They said clients were notified of the exact location of the facility as well as the package details months before the event took place. They sent photos of the facility as evidence of the quality of the venue. Abbey Events said the majority of corporate hospitality was provided within purpose built marquee structures and therefore their clients were likely to expect that type of facility.

Assessment

1. Upheld

We noted Abbey Events' argument that the location was given to a client sometime before the event took place, but also noted that we had seen no evidence to support the claim that the Drivers Club Restaurant was "located adjacent to Woodcote Corner & the Pits Straight" as claimed in the mailing. We noted the complainant said the facility had not been located within the Grand Prix circuit and, without any evidence to the contrary, considered that the claim had not been substantiated and therefore concluded that the claim was misleading.

On this point the direct mailing breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 3.1 (Misleading advertising) and 3.7 (Substantiation).

2. Upheld

We noted from the photographic evidence Abbey Events provided that the facility was a marquee. However, we considered that the claim "private dining rooms and luxury open plan restaurant, this high demand Restaurant with private garden area ..." gave the impression that the venue was a permanent structure, which was not the case. We noted we had not seen photos of the private dining 'rooms' and we were therefore unable to determine whether that claim was substantiated. We considered that the claim had exaggerated the nature of the facility and was likely to disappoint consumers. We therefore concluded that the claim was misleading.

On this point the direct mailing breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 3.1 (Misleading advertising), 3.7 (Substantiation) and 3.11 (Exaggeration).

Action

The direct mailing must not appear again in its current form. We told Abbey Events to ensure that they did not exaggerate their service in order to avoid disappointment.