Ad description
An ad for the Licensed Taxi Drivers Association (LTDA) appeared on the back of a taxi receipt. The front of the receipt included fare information and stated "WARNING See Over". Text on the reverse stated "WARNING Every year in London there are 100's [sic] of rapes and sexual assaults and 1000's [sic] of robberies committed by unlicensed minicab drivers. Don't become a victim only use a traditional licensed taxi REMEMBER NO TAXI SIGN MEANS IT'S NOT A TAXI".
Issue
The complainant challenged whether the claim "Every year in London there are 100's [sic] of rapes and sexual assaults and 1000's [sic] of robberies committed by unlicensed minicab drivers" was misleading and could be substantiated.
Response
Licensed Taxi Drivers Association Ltd (LTDA) did not respond to the ASA's enquiries.
Assessment
Upheld
The ASA was concerned by the LTDA's lack of substantive 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 provide a substantive response to our enquiries and told them to do so in future. Because the LTDA had not provided any evidence to substantiate the claim "Every year in London there are 100's [sic] of rapes and sexual assaults and 1000's [sic] of robberies committed by unlicensed minicab drivers" we concluded that the claim was misleading and in breach of the Code.
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) 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 referred the matter to CAP's Compliance team.
