Misleading

A big part of our role is ensuring that ads don’t mislead. In fact, just over 70% of our work involves responding to and tackling concerns about misleading ads.

We should all be able to trust the ads we see and hear. And, in the majority of cases, we can. UK advertisers, by and large, stick to the rules. We only step in on occasions where an advertiser over-exaggerates, omits key information, or makes ambiguous or unclear claims in a way that’s likely to confuse or mislead us into making a purchase we wouldn’t otherwise have made.

The kind of complaints we receive about misleading ads often concern pricing and issues such as hidden costs like booking fees and credit card charges. We also receive complaints about exaggerated savings claims, significant terms and conditions not being made clear, promotions that aren’t run fairly, and health claims that discourage potentially vulnerable people from seeking professional medical advice or treatment.

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Latest rulings

ATR Brands Ltd t/a Antler
- Upheld
- 02 September 2026
Two emails and a website page for a luggage retailer misleadingly implied a promotion included all products they sold, by stating a promotion related to “everything” or applied “sitewide” when this was not the case.
Frasers Group Trading Ltd t/a Sports Direct
- Upheld
- Website (own site)
- 02 September 2026
A product page on the Sports Direct website made misleading claims about reference price and associated savings.
Kind Patches Ltd
- Upheld
- Social media (paid ad)
- 02 September 2026
A paid-for Instagram ad for a supplement company, misleadingly implied their products had health benefits without supporting evidence and irresponsibly trivialised and condoned an act of anti-social behaviour.
Hotpoint UK Appliances Ltd
- Upheld
- Website (own site)
- 26 August 2026
A website for Hotpoint made misleading comparative claims.

View all rulings

Misleading

A big part of our role is ensuring that ads don’t mislead. In fact, just over 70% of our work involves responding to and tackling concerns about misleading ads.

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