ASA Adjudication on Judi Thurloe Sports Horses
Judi Thurloe Sports Horses
Pond Head Farm
Oulston
York
YO61 3RD
Date:
31 October 2012
Media:
Internet (on own site), Magazine
Sector:
Agricultural
Number of complaints:
1
Complaint Ref:
A12-200270
Ad
A national press ad and a page on the website, www.judithurloesportshorses.co.uk, for a horse dealer stated "COSBY … 6 year old black and white gelding by Basil 111 Masterpiece V11 out of Kilfian Annie".
Issue
The complainant, who had been to view the horse, challenged whether the ad was misleading and could be substantiated, because the horse's passport showed he was younger than described.
CAP Code (Edition 12)
Response
Judi Thurloe Sportshorses (JTS) acknowledged that at the time the ad appeared, the horse was five years old rather than six and stated that that was due to an error rather than an intentional attempt to mislead consumers. They said that the complainant was made aware of the horse's real age prior to purchase.
Assessment
Upheld
The ASA welcomed JTS's willingness to correct the error after we contacted them. However, we were concerned that the error had remained present for some three months after JTS became aware of it, despite the fact that the price of the horse had been amended twice during that period. We concluded that the ads were misleading.
The ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 3.1 (Misleading advertising) and 3.7 (Substantiation).
Action
We told JTS to ensure that horses were described accurately in future.
