ASA Adjudication on Claim Management UK Ltd

Ad

An SMS text message, sent to private individuals' mobile telephones, stated "CMUK. DO YOU HAVE DEBT ON CREDIT CARDS + LOANS? THE DEBT MAY BE UNENFORCEABLE! FOR INFO CALL 01792 473533. OPT OUT TEXT '0'".

Issue

1. A complainant, who understood that marketers required permission from recipients before sending text messages to them, objected that the text was sent unsolicited.

2.  The complainant also challenged whether the text had made sufficiently clear the identity of the advertiser.

3. The ASA challenged whether the claim exaggerated the likelihood of being able to write off the debts.

CAP Code (Edition 11)

Response

Claim Management UK Ltd (Claim Management) said they worked from a referral database on which they did not hold any key notes and could not specify from where the recipients details had been obtained. They said that they officially stopped using marketing text messages after several failed attempts to comply with the relevant authorities and had no intention of using text message advertising in the future because it was impossible to make this method of advertising work within the given parameters.

Assessment

1. Upheld

The ASA noted Claim Management had not provided evidence to demonstrate that the complainant had given permission for Claim Managements ads to be sent to them by SMS text message and concluded that the ad breached the Code on Database practice. .

On this point the ad breached CAP Code clause 43.4c (Database practices).

2. Upheld

We noted the abbreviation "CMUK" had been used in the SMS text message but reminded Claim Management that mobile marketing communications should contain the full name of the marketers concerned.  We concluded that the ad breached the CAP Code rules on identifying marketers. .

On this point the ad breached CAP Code clause 22.2 (Recognising marketing communications and identifying marketers).

3. Upheld

We noted Claim Management had not supplied evidence to show that recipients were likely to get debts wiped out.  Furthermore, we were concerned that the ASA had upheld a previous complaint due to Claim Managements failure to substantiate a similar claim. We concluded that the claim was misleading.

On this point the ad breached CAP Code clause 7.1 and 7.2 (Truthfulness).

Action

We reminded Claim Management of their responsibility to comply with the CAP Code provisions on Database Practice and told them not to use marketing text messages in the future unless they could prove they complied with the Code.  

Adjudication of the ASA Council (Non-broadcast)