Ad description
A page on the website for Stockport Counselling Services, www.stockport-counselling-services.co.uk/site-map/counsellor-stockport/, seen on 27 September 2024. The page included the heading “Counsellor Stockport”. Text below the heading stated, “Stockport Counselling Services provide a range of therapies and approaches based on what’s best for helping you. And these are provided by Dawn Hazeldine, a BACP qualified, trained and experienced counsellor who has made a positive impact on the people she has helped”.
Issue
The British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP), who said that Dawn Hazeldine was not a member of BACP and that they did not provide training courses or qualifications, challenged whether the ad breached the Code.
Response
Dawn Hazeldine t/a Stockport Counselling Services said that she intended to remove the claim but had struggled to access the website to do so.
Assessment
Upheld
The ASA considered consumers would interpret the claim “Stockport Counselling Services […] are provided by Dawn Hazeldine, a BACP qualified, trained and experienced counsellor” to mean that Dawn Hazeldine was accredited by the BCAP as a member, and that she had received training and qualifications from them. We understood, however, that Dawn Hazeldine was not currently a member of the BACP and that they did not provide training courses or qualifications. We therefore concluded that the ad was misleading and had breached the Code.
The ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 3.1 (Misleading advertising), and 3.50 (Endorsements and testimonials).
Action
The ad must not appear again in its current form. We told Dawn Hazeldine t/a Stockport Counselling Services not to claim or imply in their advertising that they were associated with or endorsed by the BACP or that she had received training and qualifications from them if that was not the case.
