Background
Summary of Council decision:
Two issues were investigated, both of which were Upheld.
Ad description
A sponsored search ad and a website for a cash-for-gold comparison service, seen in September and October 2013:
a. The sponsored search ad stated "Cash for Gold Comparison - Compare All Major Cash Gold Sites www.compare-the-gold-price.com Get The Best Price for Your Gold".
b. The website, www.compare-the-gold-price.com, stated "Make sure you get the very best cash for your gold with Compare The Gold Price. Use our gold calculator and we'll search our comprehensive database and tell you the BEST PRICE for the gold you want to sell. We do the research so you don't have to. We regularly test a wide range of UK gold buyers with the top 10, by cash received, featured on our site so you can make an informed choice. Make your comparison and then request a FREE gold selling pack - simple!". At the bottom of the page text stated "*Compare Gold Price is the price comparison website for customers looking to sell their gold at the best possible price. Many websites offer to pay the best price for your scrap gold, but the cash you receive can vary significantly. Compare The Gold Price regularly test a wide range of gold buyers with the top 10, by cash received, featured on our site to help you make an informed choice".
Issue
1. Three complainants challenged whether the ads were misleading because they implied that the "comparison" service on www.compare-the-gold-price.com was impartial and independent. They believed that the website was connected to at least the top five companies listed in the comparison rankings.
2. Two of the complainants also challenged whether the ads were misleading because they claimed that the website offered a "comparison" service and that they "regularly test a wide range of UK gold buyers", because they understood that the prices stated on the website never changed and did not reflect the current prices offered by each company.
Response
LCE Ltd t/a Compare the Gold Price did not respond to our enquiries.
Assessment
The ASA was concerned by Compare the Gold Price's lack of response and apparent disregard for the Code, which was a breach of CAP Code (Edition 12) rule 1.7 (Unreasonable delay). We reminded them of their responsibility to respond promptly to our enquiries and we told them to do so in future.
1. Upheld
We noted that text within the sponsored search ad stated "Compare All Major Cash Gold Sites ... Get The Best Price for Your Gold" and that text on the website stated "We do the research so you don't have to. We regularly test a wide range of UK gold buyers with the top 10, by cash received, featured on our site so you can make an informed choice". We considered that those statements implied that Compare the Gold Price regularly surveyed a wide range of gold buyers and only listed those companies that offered the highest prices on their website. We noted that a recent BBC Radio Four programme had discussed the close connections between the top five companies listed in the "top 10" list on the website. We also noted that those top five companies had remained the same for over eight weeks since the first complaint was made. Because we had not seen any documentary evidence to prove that the comparison service offered on www.compare-the-gold-price.com was impartial or independent, we concluded that the ads were likely to mislead.
The ads breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules
3.1
3.1
Marketing communications must not materially mislead or be likely to do so.
and
3.3
3.3
Marketing communications must not mislead the consumer by omitting material information. They must not mislead by hiding material information or presenting it in an unclear, unintelligible, ambiguous or untimely manner.
Material information is information that the consumer needs to make informed decisions in relation to a product. Whether the omission or presentation of material information is likely to mislead the consumer depends on the context, the medium and, if the medium of the marketing communication is constrained by time or space, the measures that the marketer takes to make that information available to the consumer by other means.
(Misleading advertising) and
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).
2. Upheld
We noted that text in the sponsored search ad stated "Get The Best Price for Your Gold" and that text on the website stated "We regularly test a wide range of UK gold buyers with the top 10, by cash received, featured on our site so you can make an informed choice" and considered those statements implied that Compare the Gold Price provided an accurate and up-to-date comparison of the prices offered by the main gold-for-cash websites. We understood that gold prices regularly fluctuated due to many factors ‒ including changes in supply and demand and the rate of inflation ‒ and we therefore considered that the prices offered by cash-for-gold companies would also change frequently. We noted that five out of the eight prices displayed on the home page of www.compare-the-gold-price.com had remained the same for over eight weeks since the first complaint was made. Because Compare the Gold Price did not provide any evidence to demonstrate that the prices listed on their website were genuine or accurate, we concluded that the ads were likely to mislead.
The ads breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules
3.1
3.1
Marketing communications must not materially mislead or be likely to do so.
and
3.3
3.3
Marketing communications must not mislead the consumer by omitting material information. They must not mislead by hiding material information or presenting it in an unclear, unintelligible, ambiguous or untimely manner.
Material information is information that the consumer needs to make informed decisions in relation to a product. Whether the omission or presentation of material information is likely to mislead the consumer depends on the context, the medium and, if the medium of the marketing communication is constrained by time or space, the measures that the marketer takes to make that information available to the consumer by other means.
(Misleading advertising) and
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).
Action
The ads must not appear again in their current form. We told LCE Ltd t/a Compare the Gold Price not to imply that they offered an independent and accurate gold price comparison service if that was not the case. We referred the matter to CAP's Compliance team.
