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

Brighton & Hove City Council
- Upheld
- Poster (digital static image)
- 03 June 2026
A digital poster misleadingly implied there was a direct causal link between the use of wood burners and open fires and an increase in particle pollution, without having suitable evidence to back this claim up.
DUSK (Retail) Ltd t/a DUSK
- Upheld
- Website (own site)
- 03 June 2026
Four webpages for an online bed retailer made misleading savings claims.
Wowcher Ltd t/a Wowcher
- Upheld
- Website (commercial classified)
- 03 June 2026
A promotion on the Wowcher website wasn’t administered fairly and caused unnecessary disappointment.
Guangzhoushi Yingyi Maoyi Youxiangongsi t/a LANPN
- Upheld
- Social media (influencer or affiliate ad)
- 27 May 2026
An Instagram post on Gemma Markland’s account wasn’t obviously identifiable as an ad.

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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