ASA Upholds Broadband Advert Complaint Against UK ISP DirectSave Telecom
Posted: 08th Jul, 2009 By: MarkJ
The UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has upheld a complaint against a banner advert for DirectSave Telecom, which stated: "Unlimited Broadband & Free Calls with No Contract from only £9.95.. simple 28 day notice agreement.." The complainant challenged whether the ad was misleading because it did not make clear that a disconnection fee of £50 applied if the service was cancelled within 12 months.
We agree with the ASA that broadband packages claiming to offer no contract and yet including a similar 12 month termination clause can be deeply misleading; effectively resulting in a lengthy contract being imposed by stealth.
ASA Conclusion:
We understood that it was impractical for banner ads to include all terms and conditions because of space limitation. We concluded, however, that because the likely interpretation consumers would take from the ad was that they could elect to leave DirectSave without any obligation, whereas a significant cancellation fee applied for those customers who left within 12 months, the ad was likely to mislead.
We understood that it was impractical for banner ads to include all terms and conditions because of space limitation. We concluded, however, that because the likely interpretation consumers would take from the ad was that they could elect to leave DirectSave without any obligation, whereas a significant cancellation fee applied for those customers who left within 12 months, the ad was likely to mislead.
We agree with the ASA that broadband packages claiming to offer no contract and yet including a similar 12 month termination clause can be deeply misleading; effectively resulting in a lengthy contract being imposed by stealth.
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