Ad description
A teleshopping presentation on Bid TV for a set of five Radiator Auto Bleed Valves included the claim by the presenter that "Now we've been trying to look for these, and you can't get them, they are exceptionally popular. Amazon, eBay places like that just haven't got them. We've got them".
Issue
The complainant, who believed the product was available from other retailers including those mentioned, challenged whether the claims "you can't get them" and "Amazon, eBay places like that just haven't got them" were misleading.
Response
sit-up Ltd t/a Bid TV (Bid TV) said the producers of the presentation had searched for the product on the two websites in question, and did not find any of the products available there. However, they had not searched using the product description word for word, missing the number 'five' out. They said that had the full product description been used, they may have found the product on the two sites. They said that since the presentation was shown their staff had undertaken extensive retraining. They had also withdrawn all product and price comparisons unless they had been approved by one of their Compliance Executives to safeguard against this happening again.
Assessment
Upheld
The ASA welcomed the actions Bid TV had taken to ensure that product comparisons were not misleading in future. However, they had not provided evidence to demonstrate that at the time the ad appeared, the product was not available for sale on Amazon and eBay. We were concerned that the claim could have the effect of discouraging consumers from considering purchasing the product from other retailers. We concluded the claims were misleading.
The ad breached BCAP Code rules 3.1 3.1 Advertisements must not materially mislead or be likely to do so. (Misleading advertising), 3.9 3.9 Broadcasters must hold documentary evidence to prove claims that the audience is 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) and 3.32 3.32 Advertisements must not mislead consumers about market conditions or the possibility of finding the product or service elsewhere to induce consumers to buy the product or service at conditions less favourable than normal market conditions. (Availability).
Action
The ad must not appear again in its current form.
