ASA Adjudication on MyCityDeal Ltd
MyCityDeal Ltd t/a
Groupon UK
1 Liverpool Street
London
EC2M 7QD
Date:
8 June 2011
Media:
Internet (website content)
Sector:
Leisure
Number of complaints:
1
Complaint Ref:
150421
Ad
A sales promotion from Groupon, stated "Lengthen Those Lashes with Eyelash Extensions from Bo Chic for £24 instead of £90". Text under the heading "Fine Print" included"This Group is valid for 5 on 1 bud eyelash extensions only ....".
Issue
The complainant, who had taken advantage of the offer, challenged whether the advertised value of the treatment was exaggerated.
Response
MyCityDeal Ltd t/a Groupon (Groupon) stated that salons regularly charged between £65 and £89 for the same lash extension service and provided three examples of salons that offered that service within that price range. They believed the Bo Chic salon normally charged £90 for the eyelash extension service and provided an e-mail price list from the salon owner which confirmed that this was their charge for the service. However, they accepted that they were unable to provide documentary evidence to substantiate that this was the regular charge.
Assessment
Upheld
The ASA noted the charges for lash extensions at the three example salons varied between £65 and £89 and that the salon owner had stated that the lash extension service they offered cost £90. However, we also noted Groupon were unable to provide documentary evidence to substantiate the claim that the Bo Chic salon normally charged £90 for the eyelash extensions service. We therefore considered that the value of the treatment and subsequently the savings claim had been exaggerated and concluded that the ad was misleading.
The ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 3.1 (Misleading advertising), 3.7 (Substantiation) and 3.11 (Exaggeration).
Action
The ad should not appear again in its current form. We told Groupon to ensure that it held documentary evidence of its suppliers pre-discount prices.
Adjudication of the ASA Council (Non-broadcast)
