Advertising Standards Authority censures top West Midlands retailers

TWO of the region’s top listed retailers have been censured over misleading adverts.

The Advertising Standards Authority has ruled against both Poundland and Halfords after it received complaints about their advertising.

The ruling against Black Country-based discount retailer Poundland centred on a complaint that the company was misleading its customers because it was actually selling items in its stores in excess of £1 – such as CDs and DVDs – when the About Us section of its website stipulated the company held to its core value of selling everything for £1.

ASA said it had received complaints that Poundland had conducted sales promotions on products that cost over £1 and therefore its advertising was misleading.

Poundland had responded by saying all its ordinary products were priced at £1, with the exception of items that fell under their ‘conditional spend’ promotion, which were only available at point-of-sale (POS).  

They stated that an average Poundland store stocked approximately 4,000 products and that the ‘conditional spend’ promotion was created in response to consumer demand. It said its own evidence was that a significant proportion of customers would buy items costing more than £1, provided they were clearly marked and located in a special place in the shop.  
 
The company added that the website clearly identified the products that were distinct from their usual £1 items and hence only available through the promotion.  

Nevertheless, ASA ruled that the advertising, regardless of whether or not items were sold via a concession arrangement or as promotion, was misleading and it has told the company that the advertising must not appear again in its current form.  
“We told Poundland Ltd that their future advertising must not state or suggest that every item they sold cost £1,” it said.

Also getting its knuckles rapped was Redditch-based Halfords.

ASA said it had received complaints that online adverts regarding the sale of a children’s bike were misleading. The ad claimed the bike was being offered for £99 – a saving of £100 – and the product had been offered at the full price (£199.99) in 50 of the retailer’s 464 stores from 02/09/14 to 29/09/14 excluding Halfords.com.

The complainant had challenged whether the savings claims were misleading and could be substantiated.

Halfords had said the ad complied with the BIS Pricing Practices Guide and made clear the basis of the comparison and the proportion of stores that had charged the higher price and that the higher price had not been charged online during the specified period.

ASA noted the higher reference price of £199.99 was presented at the top of the ad, beside a link to purchase the bike, and was linked by an asterisk to text that stated “Intervening prices may have been charged”. Further text above the asterisked text stated “Higher price has been charged in 50 of 464 stores from 02/09/14 to 29/09/14 excluding Halfords.com”.

It added: “We noted Halfords’ belief that the ad complied with the BIS Pricing Practices Guide. However, in the context of a website from which consumers could purchase the bike, we considered consumers were likely to understand the higher price, presented prominently at the top of the ad, was the normal selling price available via the website and that the saving represented a saving against that higher price.

“In the absence of evidence to demonstrate that the higher reference price of £199.99 was the normal selling price available via the website, we considered the savings claim was likely to mislead consumers.”

It ruled the ad could not appear again in the same form and informed Halfords that it must ensure future savings claims were not to mislead consumers.

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