Tag: ASA

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ASA publishes a ruling upholding four out of five grounds for a complaint against Money Advisor

On 5 May 2021, the Advertising Standards Authority published a ruling against Money Advisor Limited t/a Money Advisor. The complaints related to the claims made on how debts could be ‘written off’.

The ruling records that a TV advertisement for Money Advisor, seen in January 2021, included a voiceover stating “When you’re in debt it’s hard to know where to turn; you can feel trapped by it, you can’t see a way out. Call Money Advisor for help” (with the on-screen text giving examples of debts which had been ‘written off’) (called ‘ad (a)’). Money Advisor’s website also featured a banner with the logo and name of the Money Advice Service (called ‘ad (b)’).

The following complaints were upheld:

– The claim that “We could help you write-off 100 percent of your unaffordable debt” in ad (a) was misleading and could not be substantiated. No evidence was submitted to show that Money Advisor could provide such help.

– Ad (a) misleadingly implied Money Advisor could provide debt advice when it did not have permission from the FCA to do so.

– The claims “Call Money Advisor for help” and “We could help you write-off 100 per cent of your unaffordable debt” in ad (a) were misleading because they suggested Money Advisor provided the service and did not make clear that they passed on leads to third party insolvency practitioners.

– The use of the Money Advice Service name and logo in ad (b) misleadingly suggested an association with that service. The Money Advice Service logo appears “directly underneath a number of five start customer reviews” and this appeared to link the positive customer reviews with the Money Advice Service.

The ASA therefore decided that ad (a) must not be broadcast again, and ad (b) must not appear again in the form complained about.

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ASA publishes ruling banning advert irresponsibly encouraging the use of credit to finance excessive spending on Christmas gifts

On 10 March 2021, the Advertising Standards Authority published a ruling banning an advert by DSG Retail Limited t/a Currys, PC World, Currys PC World deciding it had irresponsibly encouraged the use of credit to finance excessive spending on Christmas gifts.

The advert referred to a ‘buy now, pay later’ regulated credit agreement provided by Creation Consumer Finance Limited under which the consumer would pay no interest if the balance was repaid in the first six months but, if the consumer decided to pay over the agreement’s term (which was longer than 6 month), interest would be charged for the full period of the agreement (including the first 6 months). The representative APR was 24.9%.

The ASA considered “the combination of the sequence of those scenes and the voice-over statement, “Give everyone you love a little ‘oooh’ this Christmas. Buy now, pay nothing for six months” would lead viewers to understand that the dissatisfied individuals in the first part of the ad had not used or considered a ‘pay later’ method to buy or search for those items, but that the gifts shown in the second part of the ad had been purchased using the ‘pay later’ credit option with Currys PC World“.

The ASA decided that “the ad’s messaging explicitly connected the use of a form of credit with deferred payment to buying more expensive gifts, and making people’s loved ones happy with their presents at Christmas as a result“. The ASA went on to decide that “[p]articularly  in the context of the global pandemic and the associated financial difficulties for many people, we concluded the ad irresponsibly encouraged the use of credit to finance excessive spending on Christmas gifts, and was in breach” of BCAP Code rule 1.2 (responsible advertising).

The ASA ruled the advert “must not appear again in the form complained about” and adverts in the future must not “irresponsibly encourage excessive spending through the use of credit, particularly in relation to purchasing higher value Christmas gifts with a ‘pay later’ payment method“.

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ASA publishes ruling banning adverts which irresponsibly encouraged consumers to take credit by linking it with lifting or boosting mood

On 23 December 2020, the Advertising Standards Authority published a ruling banning adverts by influencers deciding they had irresponsibly encouraged customers to take credit with Klarna to pay for goods by linking that with lifting or boosting mood.

The ASA decided that “each ad promoted the use of Klarna’s deferred payment services” and the influencers had “linked buying beauty or clothing products … with enhancing their mood during an uncertain and challenging period, when many people were experiencing difficult circumstances and isolation during the lockdown, including financial concerns and mental health problems“.

The ASA also decided that one of the adverts “linked the use of Klarna with boosting one’s mood in lockdown” and “in the context of the challenging circumstances caused by the lockdown at the time, including impacts on people’s financial and mental health, the ads irresponsibly encouraged the use of credit to improve people’s mood“.

The ASA ruled the “ads must not appear again in its current form“. The ASA also told Klarna Bank AB, and the influencers, that “their future advertising must not irresponsibly encourage the use of Klarna’s deferred payment service, particularly by linking it with lifting or boosting mood“.

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ASA publishes decision on use of phrase “pre-approved” in a consumer credit financial promotion

Earlier today, on 6 May 2020, the UK Advertising Standards Authority published a decision on a consumer credit financial promotion involving ClearScore using the word “pre-approved” without telling the customer that further checks would be needed.

The ASA said “the average consumer would understand the term “pre-approved” in the ad to mean that they were guaranteed to get any loan or product subsequently shown to them as pre-approved when using ClearScore’s services. We noted that the pre-approved offers would be dependent on personal eligibility, subject to the customer providing the correct financial information to ClearScore, and subject to a lender’s own checks. However, there was no information in the ad to indicate that further checks would be made following a pre-approved offer, which could result in the application being declined. Because the claim “pre-approved”, in the context of the ad, was likely to be understood to mean that customers who received “pre-approved” offers would be guaranteed to get those offers, when that was not the case, we concluded that the ad breached the Code”.

The ASA told ClearScore to make sure its advertising complied with CONC and to make it clear that pre-approved offers are subject to additional checks by the lender before approval.

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High-cost short-term credit, Brexit and financial promotions – another decision from the ASA

On 20 March 2019, the Advertising Standards Agency (the ASA) published a decision deciding an advertising email sent by Cash On Go Limited t/a Peachy.co.uk was irresponsible by saying “… no one really knows what’s going on with this whole Brexit malarkey … and some say it could affect the amount of food available … We do not want to believe that Brexit will impact the amount of food available but it’s still a good idea to have a little stockpile ready. That way you’re always prepared for the worst … Things can pop up even when you think everything is going swimmingly … That’s when you might need a little extra help“.

The ASA acknowledge the email used “a light hearted tone“, “did not use definitive language regarding the future” and “concluded that credit decisions should be made after careful consideration“. However, it considered the overall approach was likely to put “emotional pressure on readers” so they would “go further than they would otherwise have been able to afford by taking out a loan and that, if they did not, they risked being unable to feed themselves or their families“.

This is another robust decision by the ASA – it is starting to be increasingly more difficult to publish complaint financial promotions.