Ad description
A website for a car dealer www.bigmotoringworld.co.uk, seen in August 2015, promoted used cars. The home page featured a number of models accompanied with their starting prices. These were linked to detailed product pages that again displayed the price of each model and other information. Text at the bottom of each page stated "All cars sold are subject to a buyers [sic] fee of £142.30".
Issue
The complainant challenged whether the pricing information on the website was misleading, because it did not make sufficiently clear that the mandatory buyer’s fee applied.
Response
Bapchild Motoring World (Kent) Ltd t/a Bigmotoringworld.co.uk stated that they worked closely with Trading Standards and their current form of advertising was done in consultation with them.
Assessment
Upheld
The ASA understood that, although Bigmotoringworld.co.uk had previously worked with their local Trading Standards, they had not been provided with advice on the issue raised by the complainant.
The CAP Code stipulated that quoted prices must include non-optional taxes, duties, fees and charges that apply to all or most buyers. Given that all cars purchased from Bigmotoringworld.co.uk were subject to a buyers’ fee, we considered that it was a non-optional charge that would be applicable to all buyers, and therefore should be included in the quoted prices on the Bigmotoringworld.co.uk website. However, because that was not the case, we concluded that the pricing information in the ad was misleading.
The ad breached under CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 3.1 3.1 Marketing communications must not materially mislead or be likely to do so. (Misleading advertising), 3.1 3.1 Marketing communications must not materially mislead or be likely to do so. and 3.18 3.18 Quoted prices must include non-optional taxes, duties, fees and charges that apply to all or most buyers. However, VAT-exclusive prices may be given if all those to whom the price claim is clearly addressed pay no VAT or can recover VAT. Such VAT-exclusive prices must be accompanied by a prominent statement of the amount or rate of VAT payable. (Prices).
Action
The ad must not appear again in its current form. We told Bigmotoringworld.co.uk to ensure that their quoted prices included their non-optional buyer’s fee.
