Ad description
A regional press ad for Policy Payback Plus, seen on 15 June 2011, stated "You could be owed thousands without even knowing it! If you have Life policies or Investments taken out after April 1988 then call us now! Our business is winning compensation for holders of life policies and investments - whether or not you believe there is a problem with them and even if you have already surrendered them. We have many years of experience, and success, in knowing how to win the best compensation for you. Just call us to find out if we could help you. Call us urgently if you have taken out investments or policies with companies like: Abbey Life, Allied Dunbar, Canada Life, Lincoln Financial, MIG, Sun Life Financial of Canada, Zurich, all the major High Street Banks or Building Societies and many more. We can help with Savings Plans, Bonds & Lump Sum Investments, Whole of Life Plans, PEPs & ISAs, Pension Mortgages, Life Policies for Inheritance Tax and more. If you were single or you were investing redundancy or retirement money, we would especially like to hear from you. Just one example from our recent successes: Mrs S. from Yorkshire was paid over £14,000 compensation for her Legal & General investment arranged by Barclays".
Issue
Highclere Financial Services challenged whether the ad misleadingly implied that all life policies and investments were likely to have been mis-sold and exaggerated the likelihood of getting compensation.
Response
Policy Payback Plus said mis-selling was a major factor in them succeeding with their clients' compensation claims but that it was not the only reason. They said many of their clients had not been aware that there were problems with their policies or investments and so their ad focussed on that. They said their ad stated respondents "could" be owed compensation but made it clear, they believed, that they would not be able to help everyone. They said Financial Services Authority complaints data showed that, in the life, pensions and investment categories, approximately 41.3% of complaints made were upheld by the provider. Of the investments and pensions complaints made to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), approximately 50% were upheld. They said that, furthermore, only complaints that the provider could not resolve could be referred to the FOS. They believed their knowledge of the business enabled their clients to enjoy better than average success rates and that there was therefore a very real prospect of success for their clients. They did not believe they were over-stating the case. They said they worked on a no-win-no-fee basis and that it was therefore not in their interests to exaggerate or encourage enquiries from which they could earn nothing. They supplied copies of correspondence between various providers and clients for whom Policy Payback Plus had succeeded in obtaining compensation.
Assessment
Not upheld
The ASA noted that the ad did not refer specifically to mis-selling and did not make a specific claim that Policy Payback Plus could guarantee a successful compensation claim. We considered that the statements "... then call us now!" and "Call us urgently if you have taken out investments or policies with companies like ..." were a strong encouragement for readers to contact Policy Payback Plus. However, in the context of the claims in the ad which were phrased cautiously - "You could be owed thousands ..."; "We have many years of experience, and success, in knowing how to win the best compensation for you. Just call us to find out if we could help you" and "We can help with ..." - we considered that the ad was unlikely to be interpreted as making a guarantee about the types of claims that would be successful or as suggesting that all life policies and investments were likely to have been mis-sold.
We noted that the copies of correspondence Policy Payback Plus had supplied showed they had successfully obtained compensation for customers who had taken up the financial products listed in the ad with the providers identified, which included major High Street banks and building societies. Because of that, and because we considered that the overall impression of the ad was reasonably cautious, we considered that the ad did not suggest that all life policies and investments were likely to have been mis-sold and had not exaggerated the likelihood of being able to obtain compensation. We therefore concluded that it was not misleading.
We investigated the ad 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 it in breach.
Action
No further action necessary.
