ASA Adjudication on WIN Investing LLP

Ad

A poster and a radio ad for WIN Investing.

a. The poster was headed "Making money in the stock market needn't be a gamble. Attend for FREE the UK's Top Stock Market Course" and stated "'Using only £2,000 I now make on average £400 per week' Mr Chaudhary (WIN graduate) … Book your FREE Stock Market tutorial today".

b. The radio ad stated "Would you spare two hours of your time if it could change your financial future for ever? Attend a free WIN Investing stock market tutorial and find out how you could earn a good income from investing". A man's voice stated "I started off with about £4,000. Within nine months I had paid off £30,000 of debt and now make more than enough to cover my mortgage every month, to have an income and we go on three very good holidays every year. I'd really recommend this course". A woman's voice stated "I turned £2,500 into £6,270 in just eight months using the techniques learnt at the WIN Investing course". The voice-over stated "What's more, at our award-winning tutorial you'll also receive a free power trading strategies DVD worth £149. For your free stock market tutorial tickets call now ..."

Issue

1. One complainant challenged whether the earnings claims in the testimonial in ad (a) were misleading and whether they could be substantiated;

2. another complainant challenged whether the testimonials in ad (b) were genuine; and

3. another complainant challenged whether ad (b) was misleading, because he believed the testimonials misrepresented the average profits people could make if they took the course.

4. The ASA challenged whether the claim "award-winning tutorial" in ad (b) could be substantiated.

CAP Code (Edition 11)

BCAP Radio Code

Response

WIN Investing LLP (WIN) said they had been advertising their seminars for seven years and over 100,000 people had responded to the ads.  They pointed out that only three complaints had been received, which they believed indicated that the vast majority of people who saw or heard their ads did not consider them misleading.  They said the vast majority of consumers who attended their free courses were very happy with them; 96.5% of people who had attended the free seminars rated the information covered as 'good' or 'excellent'.  

1. They said the testimonial used in the ad was genuine and they provided confirmation to that effect.  They said the person who gave the testimonial had attended their free course and achieved the results stated using information he had learnt there.  They pointed out that they taught strategies at the tutorial that could be used straightaway and they provided other testimonials from people who had used techniques from the course and achieved substantial investment returns.

2. & 3. WIN said all the testimonials used in ad (b) were genuine.  They said they had provided the Radio Advertising Clearance Centre (RACC) with signed forms from each client, which confirmed the authenticity of the testimonials.  WIN said the testimonials were typical of people who correctly applied what they had learnt from their free tutorial.  They highlighted again the numerous examples of other testimonials, which referred to similar earnings made from the investment techniques learnt.  WIN said the testimonials used in the ad were not the best that they had but instead represented more typical results that people could achieve.  They provided examples of other testimonials where the attendees had earned significantly more than the amounts claimed in the ad.

The RACC provided signed statements which confirmed that the testimonials in the ad were genuine.  They said they had also confirmed with WIN that the testimonials referred to money earned from investment techniques learnt during the free tutorial.

4. WIN provided an e-mail from Business Britain, which confirmed that WIN had been awarded 'Financial Investment Solutions Provider of the Year' in 2006 for their investment tutorials and training courses.

The RACC said, before clearing the ad for broadcast, they had seen evidence that the award was genuine.

Assessment

1. Upheld

The ASA noted WIN had demonstrated that the testimonial was genuine and that they had permission to use it.  We noted they had also provided several other testimonials from people who had attended the course.  They provided contact details for five people and we verified that their testimonials were also genuine.  We noted a few of the people who provided testimonials had paid to attend the two-day seminar and had not just attended the free introductory tutorial, which meant that the investment returns they had subsequently made might not have been as a result of techniques learnt at the free tutorial.

We considered that consumers were likely to infer from the testimonial that it reflected the average profits people could make if they attended the free tutorial, especially when it was read in the context of other claims in the ad such as "Generate 2nd income from working as little as 1hr a day" and "make money work for you and retire early".  We noted WIN had provided evidence in the form of testimonials but considered they were insufficient to support the implications of the testimonial in the ad.  We concluded that the ad was likely to mislead.

On this point, ad (a) breached CAP Code clauses 7.1 (Truthfulness), 14.1 and 14.3 (Testimonials and endorsements).

2. Not upheld

We noted WIN had provided signed and dated certificates which confirmed the authenticity of the testimonials in the ad.  We concluded that the testimonials were genuine.

On this point, we investigated ad (b) under CAP (Broadcast) Radio Advertising Standards Code rules section two rule 3  (Misleadingness) and 18 (Testimonials) but did not find it in breach.

3. Upheld

We noted WIN provided several other testimonials that contained similar claims about the investment returns achieved from their courses and that they believed the testimonials in the ads reflected the typical results people could achieve.  However, we noted one testimonial used in ad (b) and a few of the other testimonials WIN had provided came from people who had not only attended the free tutorial but had also paid to attend the two-day seminar.  We considered that listeners were likely to understand from the ad that the returns quoted were representative of the average profits people were able to make by attending the free tutorial.  We noted the other testimonials WIN Investing had provided referred to similar results, however, we considered that testimonials alone were not sufficient to demonstrate that the claimed investment returns were typical for people who attended the free tutorial. We concluded that the ad was likely to mislead.

On this point, ad (b) breached CAP (Broadcast) Radio Advertising Standards Code rules section two rule 3 (Misleadingness) and 18 (Testimonials).

4. Not upheld

We noted WIN had been awarded the Business Britain 'Financial Investment Solutions Provider of the Year' in 2006 and we therefore concluded that the claim "award winning tutorial" was unlikely to mislead.

On this point, we investigated ad (b) under CAP (Broadcast) Radio Advertising Standards Code rules section two rule 3  (Misleadingness) but did not find it in breach.

Action

Ad (b) should not be broadcast again in its current form.  We told WIN to remove the testimonial from ad (a) and to ensure that they had substantiation to support claims within their testimonials in future.  We advised them to seek guidance from the CAP Copy advice team for similar claims in their future non-broadcast advertising.

Adjudication of the ASA Council (Broadcast)

Adjudication of the ASA Council (Non-broadcast)