Background
Summary of Council decision:
Two issues were investigated, both of which were Upheld.
Ad description
A website for Timeshare Advice Centre, www.timeshareadvicecentre.co.uk, seen in March 2016, stated "... The team at Timeshare Advice Centre have a wealth of experience in helping Diamond Resorts International customers to solve issues with their timeshare, points or fractional contracts ... we have already helped a high number of Diamond Resorts International (DRI) timeshare, points & Fractional owners who are looking for way [sic] out of their contracts ...".
The website also featured a map of the British Isles headed "Regional Offices" which showed the location of nine regional offices.
Issue
Kwikchex Ltd challenged whether:
1. the claims that the advertiser had "a wealth of experience in helping Diamond Resorts International customers to solve issues with their timeshare, points or fractional contracts" and "had already helped a high number of Diamond Resorts International (DRI) timeshare, points & Fractional owners who are looking for a way out of their contracts" were misleading and could be substantiated; and
2. the map was misleading, because they did not believe the advertiser had regional offices.
Response
1. European Claims Centre LLC (EEC), trading as Timeshare Advice Centre (TAC), explained that they had an agreement in place with International Timeshare Refund Action (ITRA) to introduce clients to ITRA's consultation centres throughout the UK so that they could contract ITRA services. They further explained that ITRA and ECC had the same shareholders and were therefore legally associated companies.
They explained that TAC had helped Diamond Resorts International (DRI) timeshare owners in two ways. Firstly, they had given telephone assistance to enquiries made by over 145 DRI owners, many of which related to enquiries about their options in relation to disposing of their timeshare and questions in relation to their contractual rights. They said that collectively, their team of advisers had many years of experience in the timeshare industry. At this stage, the assistance was given solely by TAC representatives, and in many cases the assistance provided was sufficient to resolve the enquiry.
Secondly, for clients who wanted to learn more about potential claims against DRI, a TAC representative would recommend the services of ITRA, in the same way that an insurance broker would recommend a specific insurance company. Where a client required further assistance and the assessment of a potential claim, TAC arranged free consultations with an ITRA representative at one of their regional offices. They had generated 34 such consultations and from those consultations, 15 DRI timeshare owners had contracted services with ITRA.
TAC acknowledged that there were several references on the website to it being an independent organisation. They explained that the point they were making was that they were entirely independent from their clients' resorts and other organisations that were affiliated with the resorts. They pointed out that their home page made that clear where it stated, "It is important to stress that Timeshare Advice Centre is entirely independent of the Timeshare Resorts, Groups, ‘Industry Bodies’, ‘Resellers’ or other organisations who benefit (directly or indirectly) from the Timeshare fees that you pay them - so the advice we offer is genuinely unbiased".
2. TAC explained that their regional offices were leased by Client Admin Services Ltd, the UK administration company for ITRA activities in the UK. They provided copies of the lease agreements for each of the offices.
They pointed out that text underneath the map stated "We'll listen to your concerns, advise you on your best options and, if appropriate, put you in touch with the most convenient regional office" and that the map was not headed "Our regional offices". Furthermore, the ad did not state that the regional offices shown were owned by or leased by TAC.
TAC also pointed out that on an "About Us" page, it provided details of the one office that TAC occupies in the UK.
Assessment
1. Upheld
The ASA noted that the ad did not mention TAC's relationship with the ITRA and that the claims appeared alongside text which stated, "Timeshare Advice Centre is an entirely independent organisation, providing expert advice and services to owners of many types of timeshare". We understood TAC had intended to convey that it was independent of the resorts and other affiliated bodies but, given the context in which the claims were presented, we considered that consumers were likely to interpret the claims " ... The team at Timeshare Advice Centre have a wealth of experience in helping Diamond Resorts International customers to solve issues with their timeshare, points or fractional contracts ... we have already helped a high number of Diamond Resorts International (DRI) timeshare, points & Fractional owners who are looking for a way out of their timeshares..." to mean TAC had significant experience of assisting DRI timeshare owners to solve issues regarding their timeshares, including contractual issues, and that the assistance was given solely by TAC representatives.
We also considered that consumers were likely to interpret "a wealth of experience" to mean that TAC, as a company, had considerable experience in assisting consumers with a wide range of issues with their timeshares, rather than that the team of telephone advisers providing the assistance had between them many years of experience in the timeshare industry.
However, we understood that the help provided by TAC consisted only of telephone advice and that more complex issues, including claim assessments and submissions, were referred to ITRA which was a separate legal entity. Because of that, we considered the claims had not been substantiated and concluded they were misleading.
On that point, the ad 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), and
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).
2. Upheld
We noted that the ad did not explicitly state that the regional offices shown were TAC's offices. However, we considered that consumers were likely to infer that the regional offices shown in various locations around the UK were offices owned or leased by TAC, and therefore TAC had premises in different parts of the country. Further, the "About Us" page stated "Timeshare Advice Centre has its UK office in Royal Wootton Bassett, near Swindon, supported by a network of regional offices throughout the UK", which we considered added to the impression that the regional offices shown on the map were TAC offices. We understood that was not the case and that the offices were instead leased by another company on behalf of ITRA. For those reasons, we concluded that the ad was misleading.
On that point, the ad 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), and
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).
Action
The ad must not appear again in its current form. We told Timeshare Advice Centre Ltd to ensure that in future it did not mislead consumers about the extent of the advice and assistance it gave to consumers, and its geographical presence.
