Ad description
An offer on a daily deal website, www.kgbdeals.co.uk on 26 August 2011, stated "£89 for two nights' bed and breakfast for two people, including a bottle of wine, worth up to £311.80 at The Brooklands Hotel - save up to 71% on a short break in picturesque Scarborough."
Issue
The complainant, who redeemed the offer in February 2012 and did not believe that the offer was worth up to £311.80, challenged whether the savings claim was misleading and could be substantiated.
Response
kgb (UK) Ltd (kgb) said the The Brooklands Hotel confirmed that, at the time the offer was agreed, the total value of a two-night stay including breakfast and a bottle of wine was £311.80. They also said the hotel had since reduced its "rack rates and packages" due to a downturn in business and believed that this would account for any variance between the value of the offer specified in the ad and the date the complainant redeemed it. They submitted an e-mail from the hotel manager which they believed supported this.
Assessment
Upheld
The ASA noted the e-mail from the hotel manager indicated that when the offer was agreed the price of a deluxe room was £130 per night, breakfast was £9.95 per person and a bottle of wine cost £12 and that these prices for a two-night stay, including breakfast for two people, were equal to £311.80. We also noted the hotel said, due to a downturn in business, their prices and packages had been reduced since the offer was agreed.
However, while the hotel said the offer was agreed on 30 September 2011, the complainant purchased the offer on 26 August 2011, and we had not received any evidence that demonstrated on what basis the savings claim was made. We noted the offer stated "£89 value: £311.80 discount: 71% ... £89 for two nights' bed and breakfast for two people, including a bottle of wine, worth up to £311.80" and considered most readers would understand that £311.80 was the maximum price at which a two-night stay for two with breakfast, including a bottle of wine, was offered by the hotel. In the absence of any evidence to demonstrate that, on 26 August 2011, that was the case, we considered that the promotion was likely to mislead about the savings claim. We therefore concluded that the claim that the offer was worth up to £311.80 was misleading.
The ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules
3.1
3.1
Marketing communications must not materially mislead or be likely to do so.
(Misleading advertising),
3.7
3.7
Before distributing or submitting a marketing communication for publication, marketers must hold documentary evidence to prove claims that consumers are likely to regard as objective and that are capable of objective substantiation. The ASA may regard claims as misleading in the absence of adequate substantiation.
(Substantiation),
3.17
3.17
Price statements must not mislead by omission, undue emphasis or distortion. They must relate to the product featured in the marketing communication.
and 3.22 (Prices),
3.39
3.39
Marketing communications that include a price comparison must make the basis of the comparison clear.
CAP has published a Help Note on Retailers' Price Comparisons and a Help Note on Lowest Price Claims and Price Promises.
(Price comparisons),
8.1
8.1
Promoters are responsible for all aspects and all stages of their promotions.
and
8.2
8.2
Promoters must conduct their promotions equitably, promptly and efficiently and be seen to deal fairly and honourably with participants and potential participants. Promoters must avoid causing unnecessary disappointment.
(Sales promotions) and
8.14
8.14
Promoters must ensure that their promotions are conducted under proper supervision and make adequate resources available to administer them. Promoters, agencies and intermediaries should not give consumers justifiable grounds for complaint.
(Administration).
Action
The ad must not appear again in its current form. We told kgb not to make savings claims unless they could be substantiated. We also told them to ensure that future sales promotions dealt fairly with consumers.
CAP Code (Edition 12)
3.1 3.17 3.39 3.7 8.1 8.14 8.2
