Ad description
The website www.theknowledgeacademy.com, the provider of online training courses, stated "PRINCE2 Online Training - PRINCE2 Elearning … Free unique Walk-in Clinics to interact face to face with tutors in one of our 45 training centres". Text under the heading "What's Included" stated "Invitation to attend Free Walk in Clinics in which you are able to meet our subject matter experts face to face to discuss progression (see FAQs for further information)".
Text on the FAQs page stated "What is the Walk in Clinic? - The Free Walk in Clinic provides you [sic] an opportunity to meet our highly qualified trainers, face to face, at one of our training centres. You can put together all your questions related to the subject and use this session to discuss them with the tutor. Due to high demand and volumes, the Walk-in Clinic sessions are required to be booked in advance. Please contact us on 01344 XXXXXX - Where are your Walk in Clinics located? - Currently the Walk in Clinics are based in the United Kingdom and Australia".
Issue
A complainant, who had studied with The Knowledge Academy, challenged whether the claims that they offered walk-in clinics were misleading and could be substantiated.
Response
The Knowledge Academy said demand for walk-in clinics among their online students tended to be low, because students who chose to study online did so because it was difficult for them to attend a training centre. They said they were not aware of any circumstances in which a request to attend a walk-in clinic would be refused. They supplied exchanges of correspondence between The Knowledge Academy and several students arranging appointments at walk-in clinics in Birmingham, Norwich and London.
Assessment
Not upheld
The ASA noted that the complainant maintained that she had been refused an appointment to attend a walk-in clinic. We appreciated her disappointment, but also noted The Knowledge Academy's statement to us about the availability of walk-in clinics and the correspondence exchanges they had supplied which showed that appointments at walk-in clinics had been available to those students. Because of that, we concluded that The Knowledge Academy had substantiated the claims and that they were not misleading.
We investigated the claims under 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), but did not find them in breach.
Action
No further action necessary.
