Advertisment
The advertisement which was for personal alarms stated the following:
“Order Today for Free Delivery
Fast, reliable delivery with every order!
Our service is quick and efficient!
Order your personal alarm through our website or over the phone and you will receive it within two working days* free of charge!
*Ordered before 3pm, Monday to Friday
[COURIER BRAND NAME]”
Complaint
The complainant considered the claims regarding the delivery within two working days to be misleading and incorrect. They said that having ordered the product, it was not delivered within two days.
Response
The advertisers said that they were sorry to hear one of their customers felt mislead by their advertising and that this was absolutely not their intention. They said that despite the fact they were unable to control the delivery services they used, they had updated their homepage. They also amended the reference at the checkout to include a footnote that as standard all deliveries would arrive in 2 days but that, however, this did not account for courier delays. They said that although the agreement they had with their couriers regarding the delivery times was 2 working days, they could not 100% guarantee every single one reaches their customers within 2 days, and did not make this claim, as this was in the control of the courier.
Conclusion
Complaint Upheld.
“The Complaints Committee considered the detail of the complaint and the advertisers’ response. They noted the amendment on the website.
The Committee considered that the original statement “… and you will receive it within two working days …” was likely to mislead.
The Committee noted the amendments by way of footnotes made to the advertising to qualify the ‘two working days’ delivery claim but considered that the lack of qualifying language in the claim was likely to mislead.
In the circumstances, the Committee concluded that the unqualified ‘two day delivery’ in the advertising to be in breach of the Code sections 4.1 and 4.4 of the Code.
ACTION REQUIRED:
The advertisement must not appear in the current form again.
