Ad description
A website, on 20 April 2011, for a Fratelli Onofri Imperial 90 cm Fuel Range Cooker. Text stated "Was £3370.19 You save £305.22" and advertised the cooker at £3064.97.
Issue
A complainant challenged whether the "was" price and saving were genuine and could be substantiated.
Response
Buy It Direct Ltd said the product had been advertised at £3,370.19 since May 2010, but that electrical products generally dropped in price and it was now down to £2,199. They said their system derived prices automatically and based the “was” price on the highest price that the product had been advertised at. They said the system did not contain a date field, but they were looking at putting one in place so they could provide a detailed price history in future.
Assessment
Upheld
The ASA welcomed Buy It Direct Ltd’s statement that they were looking to improve their system to include price history. However, because we were unable to verify if or when the product had been sold at £3,370.19, we considered the “was” price of £3,370.19 and saving price of £305.22 had not been substantiated, and concluded the claim 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), and 3.11 3.11 Marketing communications must not mislead consumers by exaggerating the capability or performance of a product. (Exaggeration).
Action
The ad must not appear in its current form again.
