Ad description
The Interparcel.com website, seen on 2 November 2011, contained a page headed "OUR SERVICES". Text underneath stated "Parcel Delivery Services. Interparcel offer discount parcel delivery services from the best courier companies in the world. You can see our current list of services below ..." The webpage featured a list of courier services, grouped according to whether delivery was for the UK, Europe or Worldwide, and contained a short description for each service alongside the logo for the relevant courier company. One of the services was the "TNT UK Express". Text stated "Delivery by end of next working day to most of the UK mainland guaranteed ...".
A section of the website headed "Help & Advice - Frequently Asked Questions" featured text stating "Q. What compensation do I get if my package is not collected on time? A. Our only service that offers 'guaranteed collection or your money back' is the Interparcel Premium service, available to UK destinations. On all other services they are either non guaranteed or guaranteed delivery only, this guarantee will only apply once the package has been collected...".
Issue
The complainant challenged whether the claim "TNT UK Express Delivery by end of next working day to most of the UK mainland guaranteed" was misleading, because he understood that next day delivery was only guaranteed from the day on which the item was collected, not the day on which the booking was made, and that collection on the same day could be requested but was not guaranteed.
Response
Interparcel Ltd explained that they offered a range of courier services, with TNT UK Express being one of them. They said that delivery times were always quoted from the date on which the parcel was collected, not from the date of booking. They explained that the TNT UK Express service had a guaranteed delivery date but not a guaranteed collection date, so that if the parcel was not delivered on the following working day after it had been collected, they would offer the customer a refund. They pointed out that the website contained full terms and conditions and customers were required to tick a box stating they agreed to the terms and conditions prior to booking online. The terms and conditions stated "Guaranteed Delivery Service - means a service where either the delivery of a Consignment is guaranteed by a particular time and/or date once collected" and "The timescales for a Guaranteed Delivery Service depend upon the point at which collection is made. For example, if a 'next day' guaranteed service is ordered, the 'next day' will be calculated from the date that the Consignment is collected". They pointed out that the FAQ section of the website also made clear that guaranteed next-day delivery only applied from the date of collection.
Following receipt of the complaint, Interparcel made, or intended to make, certain changes to their website. They added text to the top of the "OUR SERVICES" page which stated "Available collection dates vary by service. Any delivery times quoted start once the package has been collected". They said they had also amended the booking confirmation e-mail that was sent to customers to make clear that delivery times were measured from collection and which would allow them to cancel their booking should the service selected not be appropriate. They said they were going to amend the "GET A QUOTE" page which had a pop-up box containing information for each of the services listed.
Assessment
Upheld
The ASA understood that although next-day delivery was guaranteed with the TNT UK Express service, the collection date was not guaranteed, and delivery times were measured from the date of collection. We noted Interparcel's comments that the terms and conditions page made clear that next-day delivery was from the date of collection which was not guaranteed, and that this was also iterated in the FAQs section. However, we considered that this was a significant term of the service and should have been included in the main description of the service on the "OUR SERVICES" page, rather than embedded in the terms and conditions or FAQs section. We considered that consumers were likely to interpret "Delivery by end of next working day ... guaranteed" to mean that delivery would be on the working day following the date on which they booked the courier, whereas this was not necessarily the case as it depended on the collection date. We welcomed the changes made by Interparcel to their website and booking confirmation e-mail but considered them insufficient. In particular, we considered that because the text on the "OUR SERVICES" page was not prominent or linked to the TNT UK Express listing, the claim "TNT UK Express Delivery by end of next working day to most of the UK mainland guaranteed" had not been qualified by the text. We considered the change to the confirmation e-mail insufficient because by that point, the customer had already booked the service. We therefore concluded that the claim "TNT UK Express Delivery by end of next working day to most of the UK mainland guaranteed" was misleading.
The claim 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),
3.11
3.11
Marketing communications must not mislead consumers by exaggerating the capability or performance of a product.
(Exaggeration) and
3.53
3.53
Marketing communications must not use the word "guarantee" in a way that could cause confusion about a consumer's rights.
(Guarantees and after-sales service).
Action
The claim must not appear again in its current form. We told Interparcel to suitably qualify the claim to make clear that delivery times are measured from the date of collection, and that collection dates are not guaranteed and may vary according to availability.
