Background
Ad description
A sales promotion on www.kgbdeals.co.uk stated "£79.99 for a TEAC SR2 DAB clock radio with iPod dock worth £149 from iQue - save 46% on waking up to quality sound!".
Issue
The complainant challenged whether the claim "worth £149" was misleading and could be substantiated.
Response
kgb (UK) Ltd (Kgbdeals) said that the merchant, iQue, did not sell the product directly to consumers and as a result of that, they were unable to provide evidence that they had sold the product at the higher price of £149. They stated the higher price advertised by kgbdeals was based upon the price at which the product was offered for sale by the manufacturer. They provided a link to the manufacturer's website.
Assessment
Upheld
The ASA acknowledged the product was for sale on the manufacturer's website for £149, however, we understood from the complainant that the product was available from several other retailers at a lower price. We considered consumers were likely to understand the claim to mean that £149 was the price at which the product was generally sold but noted we had not seen evidence to demonstrate that was the case. We therefore concluded that the ad was misleading.
The ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 3.1 3.1 Marketing communications must not materially mislead or be likely to do so. (Misleading advertising), 3.7 3.7 Before distributing or submitting a marketing communication for publication, marketers must hold documentary evidence to prove claims that consumers are likely to regard as objective and that are capable of objective substantiation. The ASA may regard claims as misleading in the absence of adequate substantiation. (Substantiation), 3.17 3.17 Price statements must not mislead by omission, undue emphasis or distortion. They must relate to the product featured in the marketing communication. (Prices) and 3.40 3.40 Price comparisons must not mislead by falsely claiming a price advantage. Comparisons with a recommended retail prices (RRPs) are likely to mislead if the RRP differs significantly from the price at which the product or service is generally sold. (Price comparisons).
Action
The ad must not appear in its current form again. We told kgbdeals to ensure that recommended retail prices reflected the price at which a product was generally sold in future.
