ASA Adjudication on kgb (UK) Ltd
kgb (UK) Ltd t/a
kgbdeals
Sterling House
Malthouse Avenue
Cardiff Gate Business Centre
Cardiff
CF23 8RA
Date:
23 May 2012
Media:
Internet (sales promotion)
Sector:
Retail
Number of complaints:
1
Complaint Ref:
A12-191153
Ad
An ad for a digital camera on www.kgbdeals.co.uk, seen on 14 February 2012, was headed "Disney iPad digital camera £49". Text below stated "value: £139.99 discount: 65%". Further text stated "£49 for a Disney iPad digital camera worth £139.99 from Sonic UK - save 65%".
Issue
The complainant challenged whether the savings claim could be substantiated.
CAP Code (Edition 12)
Response
kgb (UK) Ltd (kgbdeals) said the value and savings claims made in the ad were based on the suggested retail price on the merchant's website, on behalf of whom they advertised the product. They said it appeared that the merchant did not sell directly to the public and, as a result, they were unable to confirm that they had sold the product for £139.99.
Assessment
Upheld
The ASA noted the ad stated the original price of the camera was £139.99, and that consumers would therefore expect that the product was usually sold at this price. We noted kgbdeals confirmed it was not possible to purchase the camera directly from the merchant and that they had not provided evidence that the product was usually sold for £139.99. We therefore concluded that, because kgbdeals had not substantiated the savings claim, the offer in the ad was misleading.
The ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 3.1 (Misleading advertising), 3.7 (Substantiation) and 3.17 (Prices).
Action
The ad must not appear again in its current form. We told kgbdeals to ensure they held robust evidence to support savings claims when advertising offers.
