Ad description
A competition to win a Henry Hoover, seen on Raigins Cleaning Service's Facebook page in February 2017.
Issue
The complainant challenged whether the promotion had been administered fairly, because she was informed that she had won, but had not been awarded her prize.
Response
Raigins Cleaning Services did not respond to the ASA's enquiries.
Assessment
Upheld
The ASA was concerned by Raigins Cleaning Services' lack of response and apparent disregard for the Code, which was a breach of CAP Code rule 1.7 1.7 Any unreasonable delay in responding to the ASA's enquiries will normally be considered a breach of the Code. (Unreasonable delay). We reminded them of their responsibility to provide a response to our enquiries and told them to do so in future.
The CAP Code required promoters to award the prizes as described in their marketing communications or reasonable equivalents, and normally within 30 days after the closing date of the competition, unless the terms of the promotion specified a later date. The Code also stated that withholding prizes was only justified if participants had not met the qualifying criteria set out clearly in the rules of the promotion.
We understood that the complainant was informed that she had won the prize on 20 February 2017 and that she had still not received the prize several months later. We were not aware of any circumstances in which the promoter could have justifiably withheld the prize and we considered that because the prize promotion did not specify a date by which the prize would be awarded, the advertiser should have awarded the prize within 30 days.
We concluded that because Raigins Cleaning Services had not awarded the prize within 30 days, or subsequently, the promotion had not been administered fairly and therefore breached the Code.
The promotion breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 8.1 8.1 Promoters are responsible for all aspects and all stages of their promotions. and 8.2 8.2 Promoters must conduct their promotions equitably, promptly and efficiently and be seen to deal fairly and honourably with participants and potential participants. Promoters must avoid causing unnecessary disappointment. (Promotional marketing), 8.14 8.14 Promoters must ensure that their promotions are conducted under proper supervision and make adequate resources available to administer them. Promoters, agencies and intermediaries should not give consumers justifiable grounds for complaint. and 8.15.1 8.15.1 Promoters must award the prizes as described in their marketing communications or reasonable equivalents, normally within 30 days. (Administration), 8.27 8.27 Withholding prizes (see rules 8.1 8.1 Promoters are responsible for all aspects and all stages of their promotions. .1 and 8.2 8.2 Promoters must conduct their promotions equitably, promptly and efficiently and be seen to deal fairly and honourably with participants and potential participants. Promoters must avoid causing unnecessary disappointment. .2) is justified only if participants have not met the qualifying criteria set out clearly in the rules of the promotion. and 8.28.3 8.28.3 if more than 30 days after the closing date, the date by which prizewinners will receive their prizes (Prize promotions).
Action
We told Raigins Cleaning Services to award the prize to the complainant and to ensure that future competitions were conducted fairly.
CAP Code (Edition 12)
1.7 8.1 8.14 8.15.1 8.2 8.27 8.28.3
