Ad description
A sponsored search ad for an E111 card stated "E111 Card - Apply Online - Apply for your E111 card today www.nhs-e111-ehic.org.uk/E111 your card in 7 days".
Issue
The complainant challenged whether the website address, www.nhs-e111-ehic.org.uk/E111, misleadingly implied that the advertiser was the NHS and part of the official EHIC card scheme.
Response
European Health Insurance Card, trading as EHIC, did not respond to the ASA's enquiries.
Assessment
Upheld
The ASA was concerned by European Health Insurance Card's lack of response and apparent disregard for the Code, 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 respond promptly to our enquiries and told them to do so in future.
We considered that the use of the term "www.nhs-e111-ehic.org.uk" in the website URL implied that the advertiser was the NHS and the official EHIC card scheme. Because that was not the case, we concluded that the ad was misleading.
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
3.50
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 ad must not appear again in its current form. We told European Health Insurance Card, trading as EHIC, not to imply they were the NHS and part of the official EHIC card scheme. We referred the matter to CAP's Compliance team.
