Pricing and charges

Helpful information on the advertising rules for the pricing of products and services and additional charges, not including legally required costs such as taxes or VAT.

Our rules state that price statements must relate to the product featured in the ad and not a variation of the make or model, and should not mislead by omission, undue emphasis or distortion. We also advise advertisers to refer to the BIS Pricing Practices Guide when preparing their ads.

Another area of complaint we often see is the recommended retail price (RRP) of a product or service. Ordinarily, even if advertisers can provide documentary evidence that the quoted RRP in the ad was recommended by the manufacturer of the product this might not be enough, and any complaints received may get upheld. We require advertisers to be able to demonstrate the product has actually been sold at the advertised price. If an advertiser is the only seller of a product, and so has set the price themselves, it is unlikely to be acceptable to refer to the price as an RRP.

The advertising rules for the pricing of products also state that advertisers shouldn’t use “from” and “up to” claims to exaggerate the availability of a product at a given price. We apply a rule of thumb that 10% of products or services advertised should be available at the “from” or “up to” price stated in the ad, and we have upheld complaints about companies who were unable to sufficiently prove this.

We have also upheld complaints about ads that don’t make additional charges prominent and clear, such as the price of delivery or processing. If a consumer is able to collect the product themselves, delivery charges are not required in the headline price. Any statements that imply delivery is free including those that say “free delivery on orders over £50” or similar, should be avoided if this offer is not attainable for everyone, i.e. additional charges apply to certain postcodes.

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Latest rulings

Wowcher Ltd t/a Wowcher
- Not upheld
- Internet (on own site)
- 15 January 2020
A product listing for a “Grey Memory Foam Divan Bed”, seen on www.wowcher.co.uk on 27 March 2019, included a roundel contained the price “FROM £99” above a scored through price of £469.01. Further down the page in the “Full details” section text stated “We’re ...
Funeralbooker Ltd t/a Beyond
- Upheld
- Internet (on own site)
- 08 January 2020
Claims on a funeral comparison website were misleading.
Warners Group Publications plc
- Upheld
- Internet (social networking)
- 01 April 2020
A Facebook post for a railway magazine promoting a goody bag was banned for failing to disclose that buyers would be tied into a yearly subscription.
BrandAlley UK Ltd t/a BrandAlley, Brand alley
- Upheld
- Internet (on own site)
- 25 March 2020
A website ad making savings claim on a mattress topper was banned for being misleading.

View all rulings

Pricing and charges

Helpful information on the advertising rules for the pricing of products and services and additional charges, not including legally required costs such as taxes or VAT.

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Latest rulings

Wowcher Ltd t/a Wowcher

Funeralbooker Ltd t/a Beyond

Warners Group Publications plc

BrandAlley UK Ltd t/a BrandAlley, Brand alley

Help getting it right

Popular advice

Compulsory costs and charges: VAT

Prices: Recommended retail prices (RRPs)

Compulsory costs and charges: Delivery charges

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