Background
THIS RULING REPLACES THAT PUBLISHED 19 APRIL 2023. THE WORDING OF THE ASSESSMENT HAS CHANGED BUT THE DECISION TO UPHOLD IN PART REMAINS.
Ad description
A Facebook post and a landing page for Green Energy Voucher, seen on 31 January 2023:
a. The paid-for Facebook post included the caption “You wont [sic] believe how many local Hertfordshire homeowners are claiming this £1,500 spray foam discount Homes that have already installed this revolutionary product are seeing saving [sic] on their energy bills. How Spray Foam Insulation can benefit your home: Reduce your energy bills […] Keeps home cool in summer & warm in winter. See if your home is eligible for a £1,500 installation discount”.
The post included a video of before and after photos of a roof with spray foam insulation between the rafters. The video included a voice-over that read out on-screen text that stated “How This Crazy Foam Has Stopped Me From Turning My Heating On!!”, “Now Everyone I Know Is Using This £1500 Discount To Do The Same” and “Click ‘Learn More’ For A Free Eligibility Check!”.
Underneath the video was a banner with the web address “WWW.GREENENERGYVOUCHER.COM”, text that stated “Check Your Eligibility Now” and a button to “Learn more”. Clicking “Learn more” took consumers to ad (b).
b. The landing page included small green text in the top right corner that stated “Advertorial” and a yellow button with larger, bolder white text that stated “CHECK MY ELIGIBILITY”. The page included large text that stated “£1,500 Spray Foam Installation Discount Eligibility Check:”. Underneath text stated “Are you a homeowner?*” with two buttons that were labelled “Yes, with a mortgage” and “Yes, without a mortgage”.
The page included further text, in the style of a news article, that was headed “UK Residents May Now Be Eligible For A £1,500 Spray Foam Installation Discount” and underneath stated “Written by Green Energy Voucher”. The article included information about how spray foam worked as an insulator, that it could regulate the temperature of a home, reduce energy bills, and how readers could check if they were eligible for the discount. It included a number of clickable links, many of which were labelled with text that included “Check Your Eligibility
The footer of the page included very small text that stated “[…] *Green Energy Voucher works with spray foam insulation companies (partners) to provide you with the latest offers. Any offers or discounts are at the discretion of our partners and subject to acceptance and eligibility. […] at our partners discretion, they may offer a discount of £1,500”.
The clickable links prompted consumers to provide their contact details and select the fuel type they used to heat their home. Consumers were redirected to a page that stated “Thank You! FOR YOUR ENQUIRY Great news! It looks like you may be eligible for spray foam insulation. We just need a few further details to make sure you qualify. One of our approved partners will be in contact with you in the next 15 minutes […]. The page included a footer that included the same qualifying text as referenced above.
Issue
The ASA, in relation to ad (a), and the complainant, in relation to ad (b), challenged whether:
1. the ads misleadingly omitted information that spray foam insulation could result in a property being unmortgageable or ineligible for equity release; and
2. the references to a “£1,500 spray foam discount” and “Green Energy Voucher” in the ads were misleading and could be substantiated.
The ASA also challenged whether:
3. the claim “How This Crazy Foam Has Stopped Me From Turning My Heating On!!” in ad (a) misleadingly exaggerated the effectiveness of foam insulation; and
4. the ads falsely implied that the marketer was acting for purposes outside its business and did not make their commercial intent clear.
Response
1. Prism Marketing Group Ltd t/a Green Energy Voucher said that some lenders had previously raised concerns about the use of spray foam insulation which resulted in problems for some people when trying to get a mortgage or equity release on properties that had it. Following a consultation between some spray foam insulation companies and the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), RICS had issued confirmation that spray foam insulation could be acceptable to lenders, provided that the installation was planned and executed properly.
2. Regarding the references to “£1,500 spray foam discount”, they said that all customers of their partner companies received a £1,500 discount if and when they had spray foam installed. They regularly requested invoices from their partner companies to confirm that the discount was consistently applied. They provided an example invoice, which illustrated that the discount had been applied. They also provided a document with information about the on-boarding process for the partners that they worked with, the checks they ran on them and how they ensured they adhered to the offer. Their partners benefited from offering the discount through Green Energy Voucher’s marketing because they would get more business. They vetted all the partners they worked with to ensure they were compliant on a data protection front, there were no warnings against the companies or directors online for being untrustworthy or having bad business practices, and they also carried out credit checks and other cross checks.
They understood that the average price for spray foam insulation was between £3,000 to £5,000 but varied depending on the area of the roof, if they had to remove items from the loft to carry out the work, the different type of foam, travel costs and wages. Their marketing was cheaper and so their partners would spend less on marketing and acquiring the customer. Therefore, with the increase in work and lower cost of marketing, their partners had options to reduce the cost to consumers, including, for example, by not charging for add-ons. Therefore, they could offer the discount while benefiting from more work.
Regarding the references to “Green Energy Voucher”, they said that this had been the brand name since January 2021. The three components of the brand name were chosen for the following reasons: “Green” was a colour commonly associated with energy efficiency and renewable products, and their brand regularly promoted those types of products; “Energy” because the products they promoted typically had a direct correlation with energy savings or efficiency, and spray foam insulation was an energy saving product; and “Voucher” because the website was designed to assist consumers in finding the latest deals, discounts, and money saving vouchers for energy saving products.
The ads did not in any way suggest there was a connection between their brand and a government scheme. Only the word ‘green’ was common to both the ‘Green Energy Voucher’ and the government’s ‘Green Homes Grant’. There were no other established grants and funding schemes provided by the government or other similar bodies with which Green Energy Voucher could conceivable be confused or conflated with.
The various partner companies they worked with had their own criteria for assessing eligibility and there was not enough space in ad (a) to include this detail. However, it linked to ad (b). In any case, the ads made clear that the discount was subject to availability and highlighted parts of the ads that they believed demonstrated this.
To be eligible for the discount, the consumer had to be a homeowner, located in an area where their partners had coverage. At that point they qualified for the discount, as long as their home was suitable for spray foam insulation.
They said the offer was applicable across the UK except for a number of areas, which included: British Forces, Guernsey, Isle of Man, Jersey, Kirkwall, Shetland Islands, Northern Ireland and the Outer Hebrides. They provided an image of a map which showed where their main partner had completed installs.
3. They believed that consumers were likely to understand the claim as meaning they could expect to use their heating less than they previously did, or use it on a lower setting. That interpretation was consistent with the advice from RICS, as well as government advice that encouraged people to insulate their homes.
They had removed the ad.
4. They said that Prism Marketing Group Ltd were an online lead generation agency that connected customers with service providers, and that Green Energy Voucher was one of their trading styles that promoted various products, one of which was spray foam installation.
On Green Energy Voucher’s website, prospective customers completed an eligibility form and submitted a request to be connected with one of their service partner companies. Green Energy Voucher then forwarded the customer’s contact information to the partner companies, who subsequently made direct contact with the customer to arrange the spray foam installation, subject to any necessary preliminary surveys.
They said that ad (a) was labelled as “Sponsored” and it was obvious from the text and image that the ad had a commercial purpose. There was nothing about the ad that would have made a consumer think otherwise. That was also the case for ad (b), which was labelled “Advertorial”. The URL “www.greenenergyvoucher.com” implied that the site served a commercial or business purpose.
They understood from the Advertising Code and the Consumer Protection Regulations that advertisers were required to make clear that they were acting for a commercial purpose; they did not mandate that advertisers needed to explain the exact nature of their business model. They did not believe that ads by lead generation companies needed to clarify that they were not the service provider. In any case, they believed that it was clear from ad (b), which consumers were directed to from ad (a), that they were a lead generating business. The nature of their business was clearly stated on the landing page (ad (b)) and was reiterated to consumers when they submitted their personal details via the enquiry form. When consumers clicked on the hyperlink for one of Green Energy Voucher’s partner companies, they were provided with the partner company’s contact details as well as Green Energy Voucher’s privacy policy, which again stipulated that it was a lead-generating company.
Assessment
1. Not upheld
The CAP Code required that marketing communications must not mislead the consumer by omitting material information.
The ASA understood that some mortgage lenders and equity release providers had issued warnings about spray foam loft insulation and that, if it had not been installed to the manufacturer’s recommendation, the property may be difficult to mortgage or obtain equity release.
We understood that the Royal Institution for Chartered Surveyors had issued guidance to consumers about spray foam insulation that advised that consumers should check with their mortgage provider whether their policy allowed the installation of such products.
While we acknowledged that the installation of spray foam insulation could impact on the mortgageability of a property, we understood that potential impact was dependent on a number of different factors, particularly quality of installation and record-keeping, and that would also be the case for other types of home improvement works. Consumers would not expect those potential implications to be stated in an initial ad for the service or be misled by their omission. We did not therefore consider the potential impact was material information which needed to be included in the ads themselves, and concluded that they were not misleading.
On this point, we investigated ads (a) and (b) under CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 3.1 and 3.3 (Misleading advertising) but did not find them in breach.
2. Upheld
We considered consumers would understand the name “Green Energy Voucher” and references to a £1,500 discount on spray foam insulation installation in ads (a) and (b) as referring to established grants and funding schemes provided by the government or other similar bodies. We considered that consumers would expect that by completing the eligibility checker form on the website, they could check whether they were entitled to get a £1,500 discount on the installation of spray foam insulation in their homes.
Ad (b) included small text in the footer that stated that “Green Energy Voucher works with spray foam insulation companies (partners) to provide you with the latest offers. Any offers or discounts are at the discretion of our partners and subject to acceptance and eligibility […] at our partners discretion, they may offer a discount of £1,500”. We considered that wording appeared in very small text at the bottom of the page, and therefore it was likely to be overlooked. Notwithstanding that, even if some consumers had seen it, it was insufficient to override the impression that consumers could get a £1,500 discount on the installation of spray foam insulation if they were eligible. Ad (a) did not include any information that the discount was at the discretion of the installation companies that Green Energy Voucher worked with.
We understood that to be eligible for the discount the consumer needed to be a homeowner and live in an area that Green Energy Voucher’s partners covered. If they met that criterion, they would then be contacted by one of Green Energy Voucher’s partners who would need to establish whether the consumer was eligible to have spray foam installed in their home. Green Energy Voucher provided a copy of an invoice which referenced that a discount of £1,500 had been applied. However, it did not reference “Green Energy Voucher”, nor did it mention that the service provided was spray foam insulation installation. In any case, we did not consider one invoice constituted sufficient evidence that all of those who met the eligibility criteria were able to take advantage of the discount. Furthermore, we had not seen evidence to demonstrate that the price before the £1,500 discount was applied was reflective of the cost the provider usually charged for the installation of spray foam insulation and the discount was therefore genuine. We therefore considered we had not been provided with adequate substantiation demonstrating that the advertised voucher was genuinely available.
Therefore, because the ads implied that Green Energy Voucher provided established grants and funding schemes provided by the government or other similar bodies and because they had not demonstrated that the discount was genuine, we concluded that the references to a “£1,500 spray foam discount” and “Green Energy Voucher” in the ads were misleading
On this point, ads (a) and (b) breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 3.1 (Misleading advertising), 3.7 (Substantiation) and 3.9 (Qualification).
3. Upheld
The ad appeared in January 2023, during the middle of winter, at a time where there was widespread news coverage of the increasing cost of living. That coverage had included a focus on a rise in household energy bills, which had outpaced average household incomes, and had left some people struggling to pay. A consequence of this was that some people had delayed putting the heating on.
We considered that consumers would understand the claim “How This Crazy Foam Has Stopped Me From Turning My Heating On” in ad (a) to mean that spray foam insulation was a very effective method of insulating a property, so much so that it could keep a home warm without it needing to be artificially heated. We acknowledged that installing insulation helped to keep homes warmer. However, we expected to see evidence demonstrating that properties that had had spray foam insulation installed did not need to have the central heating on or be heated through other means. However, the advertiser had not provided any evidence to substantiate the claim. Therefore, we concluded that it was misleading.
On this point, ad (a) breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 3.1, 3.7 (Misleading advertising) and 3.11 (Exaggeration).
4. Upheld
The CAP Code stated that marketing communications must not falsely claim or imply that the marketer was acting for purposes outside its trade, business, craft or profession.
We considered that consumers would understand from ads (a) and (b) that Green Energy Voucher would assess consumers’ eligibility to receive a £1,500 discount to use towards having spray foam insulation installed in their home. However, we understood that the purpose of the ads was to gain interest from consumers and then pass their contact details on to the suppliers that they worked with.
Ad (b) included small text at the bottom of the page that stated “*Green Energy Voucher works with spray foam insulation companies (partners) to provide you with the latest offers. Any offers or discounts are at the discretion of our partners and subject to acceptance and eligibility […] we also check to see if there is coverage by our partners in your postcode area […] your details are then passed to one of our partners who will contact you to arrange a survey on your property to see if its eligible to have spray foam installed […].” However, as referenced above at point 2, that wording appeared in very small text in the footer of the page and we considered it was therefore likely to have been overlooked by consumers. Whilst there was an asterisk in the main body of the page, this was alongside the claim “Are you a homeowner?”, and immediately underneath were clickable buttons labelled “Yes, with a mortgage” or “Yes, without a mortgage” that took consumers to the eligibility checker questions. We considered that the asterisked claim did not indicate that Green Energy Voucher were a lead generating company, nor was it relevant to the qualifying information that Green Energy Voucher worked with partners to provide offers and that their details would be passed onto them. Notwithstanding that, even if some consumers had seen the qualification, as referenced above, because the purpose of the ads was to gain interest from consumers and then pass their details onto the suppliers they worked with, and the overall impression they created was that they were a company offering a £1,500 voucher, we concluded that the qualification was insufficient to counter that impression.
Because Green Energy Voucher did not make clear that they were primarily a lead generating business that provided consumers’ contact details to spray foam insulation installers, and instead implied that they were a company offering a £1,500 voucher, we concluded that they misleadingly implied they were acting for purposes outside of their profession and breached the Code.
On this point, ads (a) and (b) breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rule 2.3 (Recognition of marketing communications).
Action
The ads must not appear again in the form complained of. We told Prism Group Marketing Ltd t/a Green Energy Voucher to ensure that future marketing communications did not imply that consumers could get a £1,500 discount or voucher for insulation installation by using their website. We also told them to ensure that they did not exaggerate the efficacy of spray foam insulation, or falsely imply they were acting for purposes outside of their trade and to make clear the nature of their business. We referred the matter to CAP’s Compliance team.
