Ad description
A radio ad, for a payment protection service, stated "Hundreds of people are getting cash in time for Christmas because they claimed back their PPI with Payment Protection Scotland". The ad then featured people describing their experience of reclaiming money and receiving it before Christmas. One person stated "All the information I needed to give really was just my name and address, and the name of the lender. Payment Protection Scotland did the rest". The other person stated "I've not ever had spare cash, three and half grand to spend on a family Christmas". The voice-over stated "See if you can claim before Christmas, just text payment to 78555".
Issue
The complainant challenged whether the ad was misleading because it did not make it clear that charges would apply.
Response
Payment Protection Scotland Ltd confirmed that they had a no win, no fee payment structure. They explained that their customers were only charged a fee if they won a claim-back case and customers only received an invoice after a successful claim. They said that, as a business, they ran the risk of being out of pocket when taking on clients because customers often believed that they had PPI (payment protection insurance) to reclaim when they did not. They pointed out that, in many cases, clients received the service free of charge because they were unable to recover any PPI. Payment Protection Scotland and Real and Smooth Radio Scotland said that the ad did not state that the service was free. They said that by texting the number, consumers were not committing to paying for their services, but simply engaging in a conversation about PPI. They explained that, before taking on a customer, they must speak to them or have a face-to-face meeting with them. They said that when potential customers contacted them, they informed them of their no win, no fee payment structure and that they were obligated by legal agreement to be upfront about fees. They said customers would then be given the option of proceeding with the services or discontinuing conversations with no charges applied.
The RACC said that they did not require PPI financial claims management companies to state their fees in ads. They said the ad simply highlighted, in a generic way, that people could claim their PPI back with the company. They said that the ad was not likely to mislead consumers.
Assessment
Not upheld
The ASA acknowledged that Payment Protection Scotland did not make reference to a free service in the ad. We also noted that they operated a no win no fee payment structure, and therefore, customers who did not successfully reclaim any PPI would not be charged. We considered that consumers would not interpret the ad to mean that the service was free and would expect that a fee would apply. Because we considered that consumers would understand that charges would apply, we concluded that the ad was not misleading.
We investigated the ad under BCAP Code rules
3.1
3.1
Advertisements must not materially mislead or be likely to do so.
3.2
3.2
Advertisements must not mislead consumers 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 consumers need in context to make informed decisions about whether or how to buy a product or service. Whether the omission or presentation of material information is likely to mislead consumers depends on the context, the medium and, if the medium of the advertisement is constrained by time or space, the measures that the advertiser takes to make that information available to consumers by other means.
and
3.3.1
3.3.1
the main characteristics of the product or service
(Misleading advertising), but did not find it in breach.
Action
No further action necessary.
