Background
Summary of Council decision:
Three issues were investigated, all of which were Upheld.
Ad description
Two websites and a sponsored link for deed poll services:
(a) The first website, www.ukofficialdeedpoll.com, was headed "UK OFFICIAL DEED POLL SERVICE", this was repeated in the small print. Further text stated "Our Deed Poll document allows you to officially change all or any part of your name".
(b) The second website, www.officialdeeds.co.uk, was headed "OFFICIAL DEEDS CHANGING NAMES LEGALLY" and the small print stated "UK Official Deeds". Additional text stated "At Official Deeds we take pride in providing excellent customer service".
(c) A sponsored link for the same advertiser stated "www.ukofficialdeedpoll.com ... Official Deed Poll Service".
Issue
Deed Poll Office Ltd challenged whether:
1. ad a
2. ad b; and
3. ad c
were misleading, because they believed they implied government association or endorsement.
Response
Mohammed Saghir Anwar t/a UK Official Deed Poll Service/Official Deeds (Mohammed Saghir Anwar) responded to the ASA's initial enquiries, but did not provide a substantive response to the complaint.
Assessment
1. Upheld
The ASA noted that ad (a) included text such as "If you wish to legally change your name" and "Our Deed Poll document allows you to officially change ... your name" which highlighted that the documents produced would be considered legally binding, but did not necessarily imply that the advertiser was associated with the government. Although it included statements such as "Changing names is our business - trust our experience" and "... we take pride in excellent customer service", and referred to a 30-day money back guarantee if the documents produced were rejected by a UK organisation, we considered that the overall impression of the website, and in particular the prominent use of the word "official" in the URL and headline claim "UK Official Deed Poll Service", was ambiguous and was likely to lead consumers to understand that the advertiser was connected with the UK Government, and that they would be using an official government deed poll service. Because we had not seen evidence that that was the case, we concluded that the website was misleading.
Ad (a) breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules
3.1
3.1
Marketing communications must not materially mislead or be likely to do so.
and
3.3
3.3
Marketing communications must not mislead the consumer 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 the consumer needs to make informed decisions in relation to a product. Whether the omission or presentation of material information is likely to mislead the consumer depends on the context, the medium and, if the medium of the marketing communication is constrained by time or space, the measures that the marketer takes to make that information available to the consumer by other means.
(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
3.50
3.50
Marketing communications must not display a trust mark, quality mark or equivalent without the necessary authorisation. Marketing communications must not claim that the marketer (or any other entity referred to), the marketing communication or the advertised product has been approved, endorsed or authorised by any public or other body if it has not or without complying with the terms of the approval, endorsement or authorisation.
(Endorsements and Testimonials).
2. Upheld
Ad (b) contained the same claims regarding the legal acceptability of the documents provided as ad (a) and also stated "Change of name in accordance with UK law". It also included the same reference to "excellent customer service" and to the money back guarantee. However, as with ad (a) we considered that the overall impression of the website, which included the word "official" in the URL and in the headline claim "OFFICIAL DEEDS CHANGING NAMES LEGALLY", meant it was ambiguous. Because it was likely to lead consumers to understand that the advertiser was connected with the UK government and that they would be using an official government deed poll service, and because we had not seen evidence that that was the case, we concluded that the website was misleading.
Ad (b) breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules
3.1
3.1
Marketing communications must not materially mislead or be likely to do so.
and
3.3
3.3
Marketing communications must not mislead the consumer 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 the consumer needs to make informed decisions in relation to a product. Whether the omission or presentation of material information is likely to mislead the consumer depends on the context, the medium and, if the medium of the marketing communication is constrained by time or space, the measures that the marketer takes to make that information available to the consumer by other means.
(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
3.50
3.50
Marketing communications must not display a trust mark, quality mark or equivalent without the necessary authorisation. Marketing communications must not claim that the marketer (or any other entity referred to), the marketing communication or the advertised product has been approved, endorsed or authorised by any public or other body if it has not or without complying with the terms of the approval, endorsement or authorisation.
(Endorsements and Testimonials).
3. Upheld
We noted that ad (c) made multiple references to the service as "legal" and "official", most notably in the URL "www.ukofficialdeedpoll.com". As with ads (a) and (b), we considered that implied that consumers would be directed to an official government deed poll service and, because that was not the case, we concluded that it was misleading.
Ad (c) breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules
3.1
3.1
Marketing communications must not materially mislead or be likely to do so.
and
3.3
3.3
Marketing communications must not mislead the consumer 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 the consumer needs to make informed decisions in relation to a product. Whether the omission or presentation of material information is likely to mislead the consumer depends on the context, the medium and, if the medium of the marketing communication is constrained by time or space, the measures that the marketer takes to make that information available to the consumer by other means.
(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
3.50
3.50
Marketing communications must not display a trust mark, quality mark or equivalent without the necessary authorisation. Marketing communications must not claim that the marketer (or any other entity referred to), the marketing communication or the advertised product has been approved, endorsed or authorised by any public or other body if it has not or without complying with the terms of the approval, endorsement or authorisation.
(Endorsements and Testimonials).
Action
The ads must not appear again in their current form. We told Mohammed Saghir Anwar to ensure that he did not imply he offered official government deed poll services in future.
