Background
Summary of Council decision:
Two issues were investigated, both of which were Upheld.
Ad description
A website for Kitchen Units Cardiff, www.kitchenunits-cardiff.co.uk:
a. Text on the home page stated "Why choose us ... we even offer a totally free of charge delivery service".
b. A page showing a "CREAM KITCHEN WITH HIGH GLOSS", which appeared to feature solid oak worktops, included text which stated "On Sale! With solid oak worktops, this cream high gloss kitchen really is a bargain! At just £995 the stainless steel oven, hob, extractor and cabinets with doors are all included".
Issue
The complainant challenged whether:
1. the claim "we even offer a totally free of charge delivery service" in ad (a) was misleading, because they understood that there was a charge for delivery; and
2. the images of the kitchen and reference to "solid oak worktops" in ad (b) were misleading, because they understood that the worktops were laminate rather than solid oak.
Response
Kitchen Units Cardiff did not respond to the ASA's enquiries.
Assessment
The ASA was concerned by lack of substantive response and apparent disregard for the Code from Kitchen Units Cardiff, which was a breach of CAP Code rule 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). We reminded them of their responsibility to provide a substantive response to our enquiries and told them to do so in future.
1. & 2. Upheld
We had not seen any evidence to support the claims that Kitchen Units Cardiff's delivery was "free of charge", or that the worktops provided with the kitchen priced at £995 matched those pictured and were "solid oak". We therefore concluded the claims and images in the ads were misleading.
The ads breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 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 3.17 3.17 Price statements must not mislead by omission, undue emphasis or distortion. They must relate to the product featured in the marketing communication. (Prices).
Action
The ads must not appear again in their current form. We told Kitchen Units Cardiff not to claim their delivery was free of charge unless they could demonstrate that was the case, and to ensure that pictures of kitchens and their descriptions were accurate. We referred the matter to CAP's Compliance team.
