ASA Adjudication on Elmbridge Heating & Plumbing

Ad

A regional press ad was headed "Elmbridge Heating & Plumbing." The company's website address followed. Body copy underneath stated "Boiler Servicing/Maintenance - Central Heating Repairs & Installation - Hot Water Cylinders - Burst Pipes - Water Tanks - ALL GENERAL PLUMBING." Further body copy stated the various locations in Surrey where the advertiser worked, followed by their telephone number. Text to either side of the body copy stated "1 HOUR CALLOUT;" "NO CALLOUT CHARGE" and "24 HR SERVICE."

Issue

A reader challenged whether the claim "NO CALLOUT CHARGE" was misleading.

CAP Code (Edition 11)

Response

Elmbridge Heating & Plumbing said they believed the "NO CALLOUT CHARGE" claim was justified. They said they routinely visited customers and spent time assessing a problem before providing an estimate of the cost of the work. They said that, if the customer then declined to have the work done, there would be no charge. They said that where more extensive and time-consuming work was required to diagnose a problem, they would charge a diagnostic fee, which would be deducted from the cost of the work if the customer subsequently went ahead with it.

Assessment

Upheld

We noted Elmbridge Heating & Plumbing's explanation of the circumstances in which a diagnostic charge was made. We also noted, however, that they had not provided documentary evidence (such as receipts, bills, invoices or similar) that showed there had been occasions where engineers had attended, assessed a problem and provided an estimate but where no charge was made when the customer subsequently declined to have the work done. Because Elmbridge Heating & Plumbing had not substantiated the claim, we concluded that the ad was misleading.

The ad breached CAP Code clauses 3.1 (Substantiation) and 7.1 (Truthfulness).

Action

The ad must not appear again in its current form. We told Elmbridge Heating & Plumbing to delete the claim "NO CALLOUT CHARGE" from their ad.

Adjudication of the ASA Council (Non-broadcast)