Ad description

The website www.justcloud.com promoted cloud storage. Text stated "Store All Your Files In The Cloud Access Your Files From Anywhere At Anytime, From Any Device ... Cloud will automatically backup the documents, photos, music and videos stored on your computer, to the cloud so you are never without files again ... Unlimited Cloud Storage".

The text "Unlimited Cloud Storage" contained a link which led to a pop-up window which stated "JustCloud's Unlimited Offering. Can I get Unlimited Storage Space? Yes! At JustCloud we have unlimited plans if you wish to upgrade your free account to a paid unlimited account. We want you to have the resources you need to store all your photos, files, financials and music. That being said, our unlimited plan is for home users only and not available for business users. We do require all customers to be fully compliant with our Terms of Service and use it for home personal use only and not for business purposes. If you have a question about whether your usage will fall into the business use category, feel free to contact our team. We'll be happy to talk about your specific needs before you purchase your storage plan".

Claims on www.justcloud.com/cloud-features stated "We won't be beaten on features, see the full list" and stated "Overview: Devices Per User - Unlimited; Cloud Storage Space - Unlimited" and "Features: File Versioning - Unlimited; Sync Computers - Unlimited; File Sharing - Unlimited; Folder Sharing - Unlimited".

Issue

The complainant, who understood that a fair usage policy applied to the service, challenged whether the claim "Unlimited Cloud Storage" was misleading and could be substantiated.

Response

JDI Backup Ltd t/a JustCloud.com stated that they offered an unlimited plan which allowed users to store all the files from their computer in their online cloud account. They considered they had the same fair use policy as other companies that offered unlimited services. They stated they did not allow a user to store billions of files as they considered that was beyond normal use.

Assessment

Upheld

The ASA considered that the claim "unlimited" would be interpreted by readers to mean that they would be able to use the service to store as many "documents, photos, music and videos" as they wished at any time without limit or penalty.

We understood, however, that the complainant had been informed that he had exceeded a fair usage limit, and had been re-classed as a "business user", for which he was subject to an additional monthly charge. Alternatively, he could remove some files and be granted a refund. The complainant maintained that he was a home user, who used the service to store files such as home movie footage, music, websites and films.

Although the website stated, in a pop-up window, that the service should be used for home personal use only and not for business purposes, we noted it did not state that a restriction would be applied if users exceeded a specified limit, but invited consumers to contact the team for further information about business use. We did not consider that the qualification was clearly presented.

Moreover, because the service was restricted for the complainant, a home user, we considered that the service was not "unlimited" and that the pop-up qualification contradicted the "unlimited" claim. As a result, we concluded that the claim "unlimited" 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.  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),  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),  3.9 3.9 Marketing communications must state significant limitations and qualifications. Qualifications may clarify but must not contradict the claims that they qualify.  (Qualification) and  3.11 3.11 Marketing communications must not mislead consumers by exaggerating the capability or performance of a product.  (Exaggeration).

Action

We told the advertisers not to claim they offered an "unlimited" service to all users.

CAP Code (Edition 12)

3.1     3.11     3.3     3.7     3.9    


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