ASA Adjudication on Claim Management UK Ltd

Ad

An SMS text message, sent to private individuals' mobile telephones, stated "DUE TO NEW GOVERNMENT LEGISLATION YOU CAN NOW GET YOUR DEBT WIPED OUT. CALL CLAIM MANAGEMENT UK NOW ON 01792 462525."

Issue

1. One complainant challenged whether Claim Management UK Ltd could write off debt as the SMS text message implied.

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

3. The ASA challenged whether the SMS text message breached the Code because it did not give recipients an opportunity to opt out.

CAP Code

Response

1. Claim Management UK Ltd (Claim Management) acknowledged the problems with the SMS text messages they had sent to the complainants. They said there had been a failure involving the software they used when sending grouped text messages, which had allowed messages sent in older campaigns to be reactivated.  Claim Management maintained that they had subsequently changed their system to ensure such unacceptably worded text messages were not sent in future.

2. Claim Management said they were fully aware of their obligations in relation to database practice. They said, however, they were unable to trace the source of the data from which the complainants contact details were obtained. Claim Management said they suspected that that was due to the age of some of the data they had stored unintentionally on their system. They maintained, however, that they had previously sought assurances from their data suppliers that data was accurate, but acknowledged that that had not been the case. Claim Management said they had rectified the problems with their systems and sought firmer written assurances from third-party data suppliers to ensure the present problems did not occur again.

3. Claim Management acknowledged that the ASA had highlighted the absence of a means of opting-out in November 2008 and maintained that they had made the appropriate changes to their SMS text messages. They pointed out, however, that the opt-out wording was not included in the accidentally reactivated message sent to the complainants.

Assessment

1. Upheld

The ASA understood that claims management companies offered a service by which consumers with specific types of credit agreement could seek to have the debt written off through a legal process. We considered, however, that the text of the message was unconditional and did not feature appropriate qualifications or conditions that were likely to highlight the complex nature of the service offered. Consequently, we considered that recipients were likely to infer that the new government legislation offered a relatively straight forward way of writing off debts which was available to everyone. We acknowledged that Claim Management accepted that there were problems with the text of the message and noted they had not attempted to substantiate the claim. We concluded that the SMS text message was misleading.

On this point, the SMS text message breached CAP Code clauses 3.1 (Substantiation), 7.1 and 7.2 (Truthfulness).

2. Upheld

We noted Claim Management had not been able to demonstrate that the complainants had explicitly consented to receive the SMS text messages that they were sent. Furthermore, we noted they acknowledged the problem could have been due to the complainant's data being old and stored unintentionally. We were therefore concerned that Claim Management had failed to manage properly their marketing database as required by the Code. We concluded that Claim Management had breached the Code on Database Practice.

On this point, the SMS text message breached CAP Code clauses 43.4c, 43.8 and 43.13b (Database Practice).

3. Upheld

We noted the SMS text message did not feature a means for recipients to opt-out of receiving similar marketing communications for Claim Management as was required by the Code. We therefore concluded that the SMS text message was in breach of the Code.

On this point, the SMS text message breached CAP Code clause 43.4c (Database Practice).

Action

The SMS text message must not appear again in its current form.

We reminded Claim Management of their responsibility to comply with the CAP Code provisions on Database Practice. We advised them to consult the CAP Copy Advice team for guidance on future ads.

Adjudication of the ASA Council (Non-broadcast)