Background
Summary of Council decision:
Two issues were investigated, both of which were Upheld.
Ad description
A direct mailing from Private Investors, a betting tipster, was headed "Would YOU Like To Be One Of A Small Group Of Private Investors, Who Are Making Realistic Returns Of £200 to £500+ PER Day ...". Further text stated "Hugely Successful U.K. Investor Reveals ... How You Can Make A Fortune From His Mix Of Proven Statistics, Investor Minded Philosophy And Genuine Highly Paid Insiders Who Ensure We Win ... You will Make A Minimum of £47,000 in 90 Days."
The letter went on to state "Dear Friend, I have sent this letter to you on the understanding that all clients who choose to follow my advice are Guaranteed to make at least £47,000 within 90 Days. Yes, forget everything else you have ever been told regarding Betting, Tipsters, Racing Clubs etc. This is very different. Guaranteed profits of at least £47,000 within 90 Days ... Well, obviously, not everyone can make these kinds of amounts, as there wouldn't be a bookmaker in the land that could handle the liabilities. But my clients do ...". Further on, text stated "Most of my clients earn thousands of pounds tax-Free per week, every week. That is a very significant tax-free income. But I know you have heard all this before ... The big difference with my operation is that clients and I bet to specific targets. I can now provide YOU with a totally unrivalled ... Guarantee of Success ...
Conclusion ... It is, in many ways, a far less risky investment option than the conventional ones such as Equities, Property and Gold. Just take a look at our returns ... Profit to advised prices £136,000.00. Profit to starting prices £95,292. Private Investors INVESTMENT SERVICE PROFIT & LOSS stats for the last 72 MONTHS = Total profit £95,292. The Investment Service has now made major Profits in 67 of the last 72 months. That's 4 Years & 8 months if [sic] investment advice and profits, as of March 1st 2008 up to and including the present date, Thursday 21st March 2013. Therefore, 67 profitable months from 72, that equates to a profitable 93% of all months proving as highly profitable. £25 per point in the above timescale he/she would have made a profit of over £23,823.00. £50 per point in the above timescale he/she would have made a profit of over £47,646.00. £100 per point in the above timescale he/she would have made a profit of over £95,292.00. So few losing or negative months, sure does boost your betting/investing confidence, but nothing builds confidence quite like profits. Therefore any private client staking just £100 per point since March 1st 2008 up to and including Friday 15th March would have made a magnificent Profit of £95,292 during this time scale! A SENSATIONAL £95,292 to £100 stakes ...".
Issue
The complainant challenged whether the:
1. winnings claims; and
2. claims of guaranteed success were misleading and could be substantiated.
Response
Private Investors did not respond to the ASA's enquiries.
Assessment
1. & 2. Upheld
The ASA was concerned by Private Investors' lack of response and apparent disregard for the Code, which was a breach of CAP Code (Edition 12) rule 1.7 1.7 Any unreasonable delay in responding to the ASA's enquiries will normally be considered a breach of the Code. (Unreasonably delay). We reminded them of their responsibility to respond promptly to our enquiries and told them to do so in future.
We had not seen evidence to support any of the winnings claims or evidence which demonstrated how Private Investors guaranteed those who followed their tips would win a specific amount or a particular amount within a specified time. In the absence of such evidence or a response from Private Investors, we concluded the winnings claims and claims of guaranteed success had not been substantiated and were misleading.
The ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 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), 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 again in its current form. We told Private Investors not to make winnings or guaranteed success claims unless they held substantiation. We asked CAP to inform its members of the problem with Private Investors.
