Background
This Ruling forms part of a wider piece of work on ads from companies which give the impression they are based in the UK but are actually based overseas in countries such as China, identified for investigation following complaints received by the ASA.
Summary of Council decision:
Three issues were investigated, all of which were Upheld.
Ad description
A paid-for Facebook ad and a website for Rosely London, an online clothing retailer:
a. The paid-for Facebook ad, seen on 2 November 2024, was headed “Rosely London”. It featured an image of a jacket and stated, “Embrace ultimate softness with our Rosely Loose Cashmere Jacket”. It included a link to ad (b).
b. The website www.roselylondon.co.uk, seen on 2 November 2024, displayed the logo “ROSELY. LONDON. EST. 1998”. Under the heading “RETURNS”, it stated “[…] You have 30 days from the date of receiving your order to try on your items in the comfort of your home. If you’re not completely satisfied, you can easily return or exchange them. We offer a 30-day Money Back Guarantee. Simply contact us within the 30-day window to arrange a refund or exchange […]”. A “Contact Us” page gave the opening hours for the UK and the email address “[email protected]”. That page also contained a “Contact Us” form.
Issue
- The complainant, who understood the jacket was made from polyester and spandex, challenged whether the claim in ad (a) “ultimate softness with our Rosely Loose Cashmere Jacket” was misleading and could be substantiated.
- The complainant, who experienced difficulties returning products for a refund, also challenged whether the claims in ad (b) “You have 30 days from the date of receiving your order to try on your items in the comfort of your home. If you’re not completely satisfied, you can easily return or exchange them. We offer a 30-day Money Back Guarantee. Simply contact us within the 30-day window to arrange a refund or exchange” were misleading and could be substantiated.
- The ASA challenged whether by omitting the identity and geographical address of the marketer, ad (b) breached the Code.
Response
In relation to point 1, Rosely London said that the product description on their website, linked to from the ad, explicitly stated the jacket was a premium blend of polyester and spandex, which gave the feel of cashmere and did not state it was made of cashmere. They quoted the full product description taken from their website which they said was intended to inform customers about the texture and comfort of the product, rather than to mislead them regarding the actual material.They did not comment on points 2 and 3.
Assessment
The ASA was concerned by Rosely London’s failure to provide their full name and geographical business address, which was a breach of CAP Code (Edition 12) rule 1.7.1 (Compliance). We reminded them of their responsibility to provide this information to the ASA or CAP without delay if requested.
1. Upheld
The ASA considered that consumers would understand the claim “Embrace ultimate softness with our Rosely Loose Cashmere Jacket” in ad (a) to mean that the jacket was made of cashmere. While we understood that the product listing on the website, which was linked to from ad (a), explained that the jacket was made from a blend of polyester and spandex, which gave the feel of cashmere, that was not stated in ad (a). We therefore considered that did not counter the impression given by ad (a) that the jacket was made of cashmere.
Because consumers were likely to understand the claim “ultimate softness with our Rosely Loose Cashmere Jacket” to mean the jacket was made of cashmere, when that was not the case, we concluded that the claim had not been substantiated and was misleading.
On that point, ad (a) breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 3.1, 3.3 (Misleading advertising) and 3.7 (Substantiation).
2. Upheld
The CAP Code stated that marketers must promptly refund consumers who made valid claims under an advertised money-back guarantee.
We considered consumers would understand from the claims in ad (b) “You have 30 days from the date of receiving your order to try on your items in the comfort of your home. If you’re not completely satisfied, you can easily return or exchange them. We offer a 30-day Money Back Guarantee. Simply contact us within the 30-day window to arrange a refund or exchange” to mean they could return their items within 30 days if they were not satisfied with them for any reason and obtain a refund.
We had not seen evidence to show that Rosely London had refunded money to consumers under the money back guarantee.
In the absence of that evidence, we concluded that the claims regarding the money-back guarantee in ad (b) had not been substantiated and were misleading.
On that point, ad (b) breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 3.1 (Misleading advertising) and 3.55 (Guarantees and after-sales service).
3. Upheld
The CAP Code stated that marketing communications must not mislead by omitting material information, hiding it, or presenting it in an untimely manner. For ads that quoted prices for advertised products, the geographical address of the marketer is included within material information.
Ad (b) contained quoted prices for advertised products. While the ad did include an email address and a “Contact Us” form, it omitted the geographical address from which the company operated.
We therefore concluded that because the ad, which quoted prices for advertised products, omitted material information about the advertiser’s geographical address, it breached the Code.
On that point, the ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 3.3, and 3.4.2 (Misleading advertising).
Action
Ads (a) and (b) must not appear again in the form complained of. We told Person(s) unknown t/a Rosely London to ensure their advertising claims, including but not limited to claims about materials used to make products and money-back guarantees, were not misleading and could be substantiated. We also told them to ensure that, where their ads quoted prices for advertised products, they included the geographical address from which they operated.
