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Bulletin: 19/5
Batch: 258
Reference: 33158
Product: Miscellaneous (Retail)
Advertiser: Argos
Influencer:
Agency:
Medium: Catalogues
ASAI Code 7th Edition: 2.4(c), 4.1, 4.4, 4.9, 4.10, 4.22, 4.27, 4.28(a), 4.28(b), 4.29
“Myla
The Magical Make Up Unicorn€16.99 5+YEARS
1. Myla the Magical Make-Up Unicorn
843/8612Myla will predict your day and your lucky colour!
Apply any colour from the palette to Mylas horn, eyes and wings and watch them magically change!”
The complainant said that the product was advertised at €16.99 but that the price was actually €48.99. She was only made aware of this when she went to purchase the product. She said that there were no in-store notices to alert prospective consumers of the error. She considered the advertisement to be misleading.
The advertisers confirmed that the price of €16.99 was incorrect and the correct price for the item was €48.99. They said that as soon as they noticed the error they immediately issued a store bulletin outlining the printing error and details of the correct price at €48.99, the price of which was reflected in their system and tills. They said their till systems also had a message for their colleagues to explain the error to customers before payment was taken so that the customers had the choice whether to purchase at the correct price or not.
The advertisers said that their policy was to always check catalogues and gift guides prior to print for any advertising and pricing errors. They said that they were unfortunately open to human error, and although they had checking processes in place to limit instances such as this from occurring, sometimes errors did slip through which they then had to rectify. They said that if any errors were found once the catalogue was printed, their teams were immediately made aware and urgent action such as issuing bulletins were taken.
They said that it was not in their interest to have the incorrect price printed in either catalogues or gift guides as they did not want their customers to be disappointed, and operationally it was also not ideal. They said that their senior team have been informed of this complaint and gave assurances that a new process and additional checks have been put in place for the ROI publications this year.
Complaint upheld.
The Complaints Committee considered the detail of the complaint and the advertisers’ response. They noted a human error had occurred and immediate steps were taken to inform in-store customers of the price change.
While the Committee acknowledged the challenges of addressing a pricing error and changes to printed catalogues, nevertheless, the product’s price was incorrect in the advertisement.
In the circumstances the Committee considered that the advertisement was in breach of Sections 4.1 and 4.22 of the Code.
ACTION REQUIRED:
As the catalogue is no longer available there is no further action required. The Committee told the advertisers to exercise care when developing / designing catalogues to ensure product prices are correct.