ASA Adjudication on Abstract Games Ltd

Ad

Four scratch cards from Mediaprom: a. Text on the first scratch card stated "Scratch&Match £25k Jackpot! Reveal 2 identical Star Numbers and you can claim 1 of the awards under the silver Star Awards panel! Plus if you reveal a £ symbol, you can claim a cash amount - It could be £25,000!!" The scratched panel under the numbers stated "... You are GUARANTEED a Cash Amount, it could be £25,000 Other cash amounts are available, see game rules for cash and award details Security Code ..." or "Sorry, No match Unfortunately you can not claim 1 of these awards this time Nintendo Wii Games Console £125 Cash Prize Fridge Freezer £1,200 Cash Prize Family Holiday to Haven ..." or "... You have 2 identical Star Numbers & 1 of these awards is yours Sony 50" Plasma Television £25,000 Cash Prize Family Holiday to Haven ...". Text on the back stated "HOW TO CLAIM If you have matched 2 identical numbers call 0906 ... or text the word SCRATCH to ... If you have revealed a £ symbol call 0906 .... or text the word POUND to ...". Text underneath stated See Game Rules for postal claims ....". Small print underneath stated "Complete this Claim Form in BLOCK CAPITALS and send it to ... including 30p for return postage of your Claim Confirmation ... A new Claim Ref. Number is required for each new cash or award claim ... Scratch & Match Game Rules ... To claim by post, write to the claim address including 30p requesting a Claim Ref. Number, please allow 28 days for delivery. No purchase necessary ... Every card revealing a £ symbol is instantly guaranteed a cash award of £5 and could have won a further cash prize. Cash prizes limited to 1 x £25,000 ... £100 and 100 x £50. Award details for matching 2 identical numbers: 1 x £25,000, 5 x 50" Plasma TV, 10 x Nintendo Wii, 10 x £1200, 10 x Caribbean Cruises, 20k x Family Haven Holiday ... Customer Helpline: 0844 XXX XXXX ...". b. The second scratch card stated "Scratch & Match £50k Jackpot! Reveal 2 identical Treasure Numbers and you can claim 1 of the awards under the purple Treasure Chest! Plus if you reveal a £ symbol, you can claim a cash amount - It could be £50,000". The scratched panel under the numbers stated "... You are GUARANTEED a Cash Amount, it could be £50,000 Other cash amounts are available, see reverse for HOW TO CLAIM & cash game rules for cash and award details Security Code ..." or "No Match Unfortunately you can not claim 1 of these awards this time ..." or "... You have 2 identical numbers & 1 of these 5 awards is yours!! Sony 42" LCD Television £50,000 Cash Prize 1.3M Pixel Digital Camera ...". Text on the back stated "HOW TO CLAIM If you have matched 2 identical numbers call 0906 ... or text the word GOLD to ... If you have revealed a £ symbol call 0906 ... or text the word COIN to ...".Text underneath stated See Game Rules for postal claims ....". Small print underneath stated "Complete this Claim Form in BLOCK CAPITALS and send it to ... including 30p for return postage of your Claim Confirmation ... A new Claim Ref. Number is required for each new cash or award claim ... Scratch & Match Game Rules ... To claim by post, write to the claim address including 30p requesting a Claim Ref. Number, please allow 28 days for delivery. No purchase necessary ... Every card revealing a £ symbol is instantly guaranteed a cash award of £5 and could have won a further cash prize. Cash prizes limited to 1 x £50,000 ... £100 and 250 x £55. Award details for matching 2 identical numbers: 1 x £50,000 ... 1000 x Digital Camera ... Customer Helpline: 0844 XXX XXXX ...". c. The third scratch card stated "OVER £40,000 HAS ALREADY BEEN WON!* FAST CASH Match 3 £ symbols & you can claim a cash amount CLAIM UP TO £10,000 OR Match any other 3 symbols & you can claim 1 of these awards! £2500 42" PLASMA TV £100 WATCH SET CHAMPAGNE LAPTOP". Text on the back stated "... Matched 3 £ symbols? If you have call 0906 ... or text the word MONEY to ... to claim! Matched any other 3 symbols? If you have call ... or text the word AWARD to ... to claim!". Text underneath stated "See game rules for postal claims, no purchase necessary ...". Small print underneath stated "TO CLAIM, follow the details above and when you know which cash amount or award you can claim and you have your 6 digit Claim Number complete this Claim Form in BLOCK CAPITALS. Once complete send this card including 30p to ... Fast Cash, Terms of use ... To claim by post, write to the claim address including 30p requesting a claim number, please allow 28 days for delivery. No purchase necessary ... Customer Helpline 0844 XXX XXX ... Matching 3 £ symbols: Every card revealing three identical pound symbols is instantly guaranteed a cash award of £5 and could have won a further cash prize. Cash prizes limited to: 20 x £10,000, 5 x £1,000 ... Matching any other 3 symbols: Every card revealing three identical symbols is instantly guaranteed an award of a Ladies or Gents watch set and could have won a further prize. Prizes limited to: 1 x £2500, 5 x Plasma TV ... ". d. The fourth scratch card stated "£1MILLION FAST CASH Reveal 3 x £ symbols & you are GUARANTEED a cash amount 1000 x £1000 cash plus over £25,000 in other cash prizes! OR Reveal 3 x * symbols & you are GUARANTEED 1 of these 5 awards 1: £2500 2: 50" Plasma TV 3: MP3 Music Player 4: Nintendo Wii 5: £50". Text on the back stated "HOW TO CLAIM If you have revealed 3 X £ symbols call 0906 ... or text the word MILLION to ... If you have revealed 3 x * symbols call 0906 ... or text the word PRIZE to ...". Text underneath stated "See Game Rules for postal claims, no purchase necessary. Your Card Number refers to the cash amount or award you can claim ... IMPORTANT: before completing this Claim Form you MUST obtain a 6 digit Claim Ref. Number by following the HOW TO CLAIM details above ...". Small print underneath stated "... Fast Cash Game Rules ... To claim by post, write to the claim address including 30p requesting a Claim Ref. Number, please allow 28 days for delivery. No purchase necessary ... Award details for matching 3 x £ symbols: Every card revealing 3 identical pound symbols is instantly guaranteed a cash award of £5 and could have won a further cash prize. Cash prizes limited to: 1000 x £1000, 10 x £500 ... Award details for matching 3 x * symbols : Awards limited to: 5 x £2500, 10 x 50" Plasma TV ... 1500 X MP3 Player ... Customer Helpline: 0844 XXX XXXX ...".

Issue

Three complainants challenged whether all four scratch cards were misleading, because they did not state the cost of calling the helpline.

CAP Code (Edition 11)

Response

Mediaprom said their 0844 number was charged at 5p per minute from a BT landline on BT Option 1 and they understood that a geographic number was charged at 4p per minute from a BT landline on BT Option 1. They asserted that the average length of a call to their Customer Care Team was two minutes and therefore the difference between ringing their Customer Care Team via the 0844 number as opposed to a geographic number was just 1p per minute. They said they would include call charge information in future.

Assessment

THIS ADJUDICATION REPLACES THAT PUBLISHED ON 29th OCTOBER 2008.  THE COMPLAINT REMAINS UPHELD BUT CHALLENGES 2, 3 AND 4 HAVE BEEN WITHDRAWN.

Upheld

The ASA understood that calls to an 0844 telephone number were charged at different rates depending on the numbers that followed the first four digits. We understood that BT was the dominant call provider in the UK and a significant majority of their customers subscribed to BTs Unlimited Weekend Plan (previously BT Option 1).  We considered that, without any clarification, those customers would understand a call to the 0844 number quoted to be synonymous with the cost of calls to geographic numbers.  We therefore compared the cost of calls to the 0844 number quoted to the cost of calls to geographic numbers and noted, at the time the ad appeared, it was cheaper for BT Unlimited Weekend Plan customers to call a geographic number than it was to call the 0844 number in the ad, regardless of the time of day or day of the week the customer called. We also noted calls to the 0844 telephone number included a set-up cost of the call and a price per minute. We considered that, because the cost of a call to the 0844 telephone number quoted in the ad cost more than a call to a geographic number, the ads should have included pricing information for the number; that information should have included the set-up cost of the call and the price per minute. Because it did not, we concluded that the ads breached the Code.

The ads breached CAP Code clause 7.1 (Truthfulness).

Action

The ads must not appear again in their current form. We told Mediaprom to include the set up cost of the call and the price per minute for their 0844 telephone number.

Adjudication of the ASA Council (Non-broadcast)