Ad description
Claims on the product page for a garden bench sold by Humber Imports on the Amazon website stated "Sale This Month Only 50% Off ... Price: [crossed through] £319 Sale: £159.99 You save: £159.01 (50%)".
Issue
An internet user challenged whether the savings claims were misleading and could be substantiated.
Response
Humber Imports Ltd said they generally sold the bench through their showroom for £319. They provided two showroom invoices for four benches sold for £319 each and two photographs of a bench with a price tag attached.
Assessment
Upheld
The ASA considered that consumers would expect the savings claims to be based on the price at which the bench was usually sold by Humber Imports. We acknowledged that the invoices each showed two benches had been sold through Humber Imports' showroom at £319 each, but considered that two invoices were not suitably robust evidence to confirm that the bench was usually sold at that price. In addition, we noted the ad was seen on the advertiser's Amazon page, where we understood the bench had been advertised for a number of years with a selling price of around £159, which consequently appeared to be the normal selling price through that outlet.
We also considered that photographs of a bench, in an unknown location, with a price label attached was not adequate substantiation to show that the bench was normally sold for £319.
Because we had not seen suitably robust evidence that the bench was usually sold by them for £319 and because their normal Amazon selling price appeared to be £159, we considered that the savings claims had not been substantiated and were therefore 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. (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), 3.40 3.40 Price comparisons must not mislead by falsely claiming a price advantage. Comparisons with a recommended retail prices (RRPs) are likely to mislead if the RRP differs significantly from the price at which the product or service is generally sold. (Price comparisons).
Action
The ad must not appear again in its current form. We told Humber Imports Ltd to ensure that future savings claims reflected the price at which the products were usually sold.
