Ad description
A fax sent to a local authority on 10 May 2011 was headed "BOOKING ORDER" and featured a table with the headings "Vacancy", "Item" and "Cost". In the table, under the "Vacancy" heading, text stated "Family Outreach Service Worker", under the "Item" heading, text stated "1" and under the heading "Cost", text stated "£1,250". Text underneath the table stated "Please sign and return via the fax number on the top left of this form. Once signed you have confirmed our permission to publish this advert and also the copyright to the material contained in this advert". Text at the top of the page stated "Booking Reference No. XXXXXXXXX". The following page contained a job description for the vacancy.
Issue
Warwickshire Trading Standards challenged whether the ad, which appeared to be an invoice but was in fact an ad for recruitment services, was misleading.
Response
Rightstep Recruitment did not respond to the ASA's enquiries.
Assessment
Upheld
The ASA was concerned by Rightstep Recruitment's lack of response and apparent disregard for the Code, which was a breach of the CAP Code (Edition 12) rule 1.7 1.7 Any unreasonable delay in responding to the ASA's enquiries will normally be considered a breach of the Code. (Unreasonable delay). We reminded them of their responsibility to respond promptly to our enquiries and told them to do so in future.
We considered that although the ad was headed "BOOKING ORDER", it had a layout similar to an invoice since it contained a booking reference number, was itemised, stated "Total £1,250", requested a signature and to be returned via the fax number at the top of the form. We noted that the ad did not contain prominent text indicating that it was a marketing communication and considered that consumers were likely to infer that it related to a past booking which required payment. For these reasons, we concluded that the ad was misleading, because it appeared to be an invoice rather than an unsolicited mailing for recruitment services.
The ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules
1.7
1.7
Any unreasonable delay in responding to the ASA's enquiries will normally be considered a breach of the Code.
(Unreasonable delay),
2.1
2.1
Marketing communications must be obviously identifiable as such.
(Recognition of marketing communications),
3.1
3.1
Marketing communications must not materially mislead or be likely to do so.
and
3.3
3.3
Marketing communications must not mislead the consumer by omitting material information. They must not mislead by hiding material information or presenting it in an unclear, unintelligible, ambiguous or untimely manner.
Material information is information that the consumer needs to make informed decisions in relation to a product. Whether the omission or presentation of material information is likely to mislead the consumer depends on the context, the medium and, if the medium of the marketing communication is constrained by time or space, the measures that the marketer takes to make that information available to the consumer by other means.
(Misleading advertising) and 9.8 (Distance selling).
Action
The ad must not appear again in its current form. We told Rightstep Recruitment to ensure that their marketing communications are obviously identifiable as such in future and we reminded them of their responsibility to respond to ASA enquiries promptly in future.
