ASA Adjudication on J D Williams & Company Ltd

Ad

A catalogue, from House of Bath, included a page of advertising headed “Energy saving long life bulbs”. Several energy saving bulbs were offered, under headings such as “No Bigger Than a Standard Bulb”, “Replicates Natural Daylight”, “Great Value Only £2.50 each” and “Replaces Halogen Bulbs”.

Issue

The complainant challenged whether the catalogue was misleading, because it did not clarify that many energy saving light bulbs were incompatible with dimmer switches.

CAP Code (Edition 11)

Response

House of Bath explained that they had not tried to conceal information about energy saving lightbulbs in their ad and believed all significant information had been included.  They said, while they strove to give customers as accurate a description of goods as possible, they felt that the extent of information they could include to explain why any particular product might not be suitable for a buyer was limited.  In addition, they explained that all of their products were covered by a 28-day returns policy, which was stated in the catalogue. If a customer bought a product which turned out not to be suitable, they could return it for a full refund or replacement.  They said they were willing however, in the interests of ensuring that communication with all customers was as clear as possible, to incorporate text in future ads to state that energy saving lightbulbs might not be suitable for use with dimmer switches.

Assessment

Upheld

The ASA understood that it was not possible to use dimmer switches in conjunction with all energy saving lightbulbs and that none of the products featured in the catalogue were suitable for use with dimmer switches.  We noted the relevant page of advertising made several references to standard bulbs in comparison with energy saving light bulbs, for example in relation to their size, lumens output and lifespan, and considered that the impression consumers were likely to take from the ad was that the products offered were a direct alternative to the standard bulbs they currently used.  We considered that the products compatibility with dimmer switches was relevant information for consumers with those devices who were considering opting for energy saving bulbs over their standard product and concluded that the ad should have clarified this information.  We welcomed House of Baths intention to amend future ads.

The catalogue breached CAP Code clauses 7.1 and 7.2 (Truthfulness).

Action

The catalogue must not appear again in its current form.

Adjudication of the ASA Council (Non-broadcast)