Ad description

An e-mail from rentalcars.com stated "Exclusive email - only deals - Just for you! ... Worldwide care hire Car rentals in over 6000 locations ... Italy from £8 per day". Footnote text stated "Car hire offers and prices displayed are daily ’From’ rates based on real searches during the last two weeks and include current special offers. Prices are subject to change.  Standard terms and conditions apply to all reservations ...".

Issue

The complainant challenged the availability of car hire in Italy at the advertised "from" price.

Response

Travel Jigsaw Ltd pointed out that their rental rates were listed as 'from' prices and explained that quoted prices were based on real searches.  They sent data to demonstrate the results of customer searches for car hire in Italy conducted in April.

Assessment

Upheld

The ASA noted the ad stated the rates quoted were based on customer searches in the two-week period leading up to the e-mail's circulation.  The evidence submitted, however, showed that only one result was returned in that period and the cost on that occasion equated to £8.42 per day.

We concluded that the claim for Travel Jigsaw to source car rental in Italy from £8 per day had not been substantiated and the ad was likely to mislead as a result.

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) and  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).

Action

The ad must not appear again in its current form.  We told Travel Jigsaw Ltd to withdraw the claim "Italy from £8 per day" from future marketing material and to ensure that robust evidence is held to match all pricing claims.

CAP Code (Edition 12)

3.1     3.7    


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