ASA Adjudication on Halfords Ltd

Ad

Two national press ads for a bike sale.

a. One ad was headlined "UP TO 50% OFF ALL BIKES". An adjacent text box said "HURRY! OFFER ENDS MONDAY!" and text below stated "OUR BIGGEST EVER BIKE EVENT IN-STORE NOW!". The ad contained a series of images of bikes and details of their specification. Each image was labelled with "50% OFF" above and had prices below. The price detail below the Raleigh Krush girl's bike stated "NOW £114.99 WAS £229.99+". A footnote stated "+HIGHER PRICE CHARGED BETWEEN 06/05/08 AND 20/05/08".

b. A second ad was headlined "UP TO 50% OFF BIKES". This ad also showed a series of images of bikes and details of their specification. The majority of bikes were labelled "50% OFF". Text below one of the bikes stated "RALEIGH Trixy … Was £119.99€ NOW £59.99". A box was headlined "FREE BUILD & SAFETY CHECK ON ALL BIKES WORTH £24.98… ONLY AVAILABLE AT HALFORDS".

The symbols were linked to footnotes, which stated "…ALL BIKES ARE BUILT AND INSPECTED FREE, PLUS GIVEN A SIX WEEK SAFETY CHECK AS WELL - NORMAL BUILD FOR NON-HALFORDS BIKES IS £9.99. CURRENT BIKE SAFETY CHECK IS £14.99"; "€HIGHER PRICE CHARGED BETWEEN 10/6/08 - 30/6/08".

Issue

1. One complainant objected that the claim of 50% off the price of £229.99 for the Raleigh Krush in ad (a) was misleading because he believed the recommended retail price (RRP) was £139.99.  He stated that the price had only recently been increased from £124.99 by Halfords and he had not previously seen it priced at more than £139.99.  

2. A second complainant challenged whether the was price of £119.99 for the Raleigh Trixy in ad (b) was misleading because he believed bikes the same size were generally sold at between £60 and £80.

3. One of the complainants also challenged whether the claim in ad (b) that a free build and safety check was available only at Halfords was misleading.  He stated that all cycle shops offered this service.

CAP Code (Edition 11)

Response

Halfords Ltd (Halfords) said they did everything to ensure promotions were in accordance with the appropriate regulations and guidance and sought regular advice from their local Trading Standards department.  

They stated that, to comply with Department of Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) guidance, at least 10% of the bikes in the promotions had a 50% saving, and all bikes had some saving.  

1. Halfords said most of the was prices were established, having been charged for at least 28 days in the previous six months.  They said where they could not establish the price for 28 days the basis of the discount had been stated, in line with BERR guidance.

Halfords said they rarely compared their offer prices with RRPs because of the constraints of competition law and they had not charged £124.99 for the Raleigh Krush since July 2007.  They said, since the bike had been in stock in 2005, the price had fluctuated between £90.99 and £229.99 and was often part of promotional offers; they stated their sales records showed the price of £229.99 to be a genuine retail price at which they reasonably expected to sell significant number and a significant number were on sale at that price.  Halfords said this price had been activated on 2 May 2008 but because of a system error, the Raleigh Krush was sold between 3 and 5 May 2008 at £129.99.  They said the correct price of £229.99 resumed on 6 May 2008 and therefore the period 6 May to 20 May 2008 was stated as the basis of the comparison in the small-print of ad (a).   

Halfords provided records for the Raleigh Krush, which showed that, from the beginning of 2008 until the promotion started, the price had been either £129.99 or £90.99.  The records also showed that, in addition to 3 to 5 May 2008, the Raleigh Krush had been priced at £129.99 for approximately three months preceding the offer.  

They advised they had not received any other complaints regarding this promotion and had voluntarily taken the BERR guidance into account.

2. Halfords said the Raleigh Trixy was exclusive to their stores and therefore an RRP could not be quoted.  They provided details of the pricing history and said the product had not generally been sold between £60 and £80.  The records showed the price for most of the year to date had been £119.99 but £139.99 was charged between 13 and 26 May 2008; the records showed £119.99 had been charged for approximately one month preceding the offer.

3. Halfords said the "ONLY AVAILABLE AT HALFORDS" stamp was intended as a generic message related to the offer prices and did not specifically relate to the free build and safety check.  They stated they were unaware of any other major retailer that offered the free six-week safety check in addition to the build but said the stamp would not be displayed in close proximity to this statement until they had completed more research.

Assessment

1. Upheld

The ASA noted Halfords had stated the price period for which the 50% off the Raleigh Krush claim was based.  We also noted the ad clearly stated "UP TO 50% OFF"; that at least 10% of the bikes were available with a 50% discount; and the price of the bike had fluctuated since 2005 and was often part of promotional activity.  We acknowledged it had been on sale for at £229.99 for two weeks preceding the offer and this was stated in the ad as the basis of the discount, in line with BERR guidance.  

Nevertheless, we were concerned that Halfords were unable to show that £229.99 was a price at which the Raleigh Krush was generally sold, or anything other than a notional price at which the product was rarely sold.  Because Halfords had not shown that the advertised price did not differ significantly from the price at which the product was generally sold, we concluded that ad (a) was misleading.

On this point, the ad breached CAP Code clauses 3.1 (Substantiation), 7.1 (Truthfulness), 15.1 (Prices) and 15.5 (Price comparisons).

2. Not upheld

The ASA noted the Raleigh Trixy was exclusive to Halfords and they had therefore not used an RRP as the basis of the comparison.  We also noted they had shown that they had charged £119.99 for at least 28 days in the previous six months; this was also the price immediately preceding the offer and was the price at which the product was generally sold.  We therefore concluded the was price of £119.99 in the ad was not misleading.   

On this point, we investigated the ad under CAP Code clauses 3.1 (Substantiation), 7.1 (Truthfulness), 15.1 (Prices) and 15.5 (Price comparisons) but did not find it in breach.

3. Upheld

We noted Halfords had not intended the "ONLY AVAILABLE AT HALFORDS" claim to relate specifically to the free build and safety check offered.  We considered however the placement of the stamp suggested the free build and safety check was not available elsewhere.  We welcomed Halfords assurance they would not repeat the claim without further research but concluded that, because the placement of the claim made it ambiguous, ad (b) was misleading.

On this point the ad breached CAP Code clauses 3.1 (Substantiation) and 7.1 (Truthfulness).

Action

Ad (a) must not appear again in its current form.  We told Halfords to ensure a price used as a basis of comparison does not differ significantly from the price at which the product is generally sold.  

Ad (b) must not appear again in its current form.

Adjudication of the ASA Council (Non-broadcast)