Background
This Ruling forms part of a wider piece of work on PPI tax rebate advertising. See also a related ruling published on 31 January 2024.
Summary of Council decision:
Two issues were investigated, both of which were Upheld.
Ad description
Three paid-for Facebook ads for Reclaim My PPI Tax, a PPI tax rebate company, seen in April 2023:
a. The first ad stated “Thousands of UK residents are being refunded tax. You could be eligible to make a claim if you have ever received a PPI refund. Could you have a claim?”
Further text in a green text box stated “HMRC Refunds. HMRC Is Refunding Brits Right Now … £Millions Already Claimed. Check in 60 seconds. Check For Your Refund” and “Claim Your Share Of Over £38 Billion”.
b. The second ad stated “Successful PPI claimants are discovering they could be owed an extra payment. HMRC does not automatically refund overpaid PPI tax. Find out if you could be due money in seconds”.
An image of a crown was included alongside text that stated “HMRC Refunds”. Further text stated “HMRC Is Paying Out. Average claim: £3000”, followed by a bullet-pointed list that stated “HMRC is refunding. Only takes 60 seconds. Helps with the cost of living. Find Out For Free”.
c. The third ad stated “Thousands of UK residents are being refunded tax. You could be eligible to make a claim if you have ever received a PPI refund. Could you have a claim?”
An image with a crown was included, with text that said “HMRC Refunds. Tax Rebate Available. Average Claim: £3000”, followed by a bullet-pointed list that stated “Help with cost of living. 60 second process. It’s free to check. Check Now” and “Claim Your Share Of Over £38 Billion”.
Issue
The ASA challenged whether the ads:
1. misleadingly implied they were from HMRC or for an official government service; and
2. (b) and (c) irresponsibly took advantage of peoples’ concerns about the cost of living crisis.
Response
Reclaim My PPI Tax said the ads were no longer being used and they had not received complaints directly from customers. They explained that it had never been their intention to invoke peoples’ concerns about the cost of living crisis and would consider this possible interpretation when creating future ads.
Assessment
1. & 2. Upheld
The CAP Code stated that marketing communications must not claim that the marketer (or any other entity referred to), the marketing communication or the advertised product had been approved, endorsed or authorised by any public or other body if it had not.
We understood Reclaim My PPI Tax assisted consumers in claiming tax deducted from statutory interest paid alongside payment protection insurance (PPI) refunds. Reclaim My PPI Tax charged a fee for completing the relevant form and contacting HMRC about the tax rebate. There was no official or approved third-party body for issuing such tax rebates. The ads were seen in the context of widespread news coverage about the increasing cost of living. That coverage included a focus on high inflation, which had affected the affordability of goods and services for households and had left some people struggling financially.
All ads included references to “HMRC” and “HMRC Refunds”. Additionally, ad (a) stated “HMRC is Refunding Brits right now”, and ad (b) stated “HMRC is Paying Out”. Ads (b) and (c) included an image of a crown, the same as that used on UK government websites and social media channels. Ads (a) and (c) also made reference to “UK residents”. We considered that presentation and text gave the impression the ads had come from, or had been endorsed by, an official government body. However, we understood the ads had not been endorsed or approved by any official body.
Ads (b) and (c) also stated “Helps with the cost of living”. We considered that risked exploiting some consumers’ concerns about their finances and contributed to the impression those ads were from an official government source that could help with the increased cost of living.
Because the ads gave the impression they had been endorsed or approved by an official government body when they had not, and because ads (b) and (c) took advantage of concerns about the cost of living crisis, we considered they likely to mislead and were irresponsible, respectively, and had therefore breached the Code.
On point 1, ads (a), (b), and (c) breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 3.1 (Misleading advertising), and 3.50 (Endorsements and testimonials).
On point 2, ads (b) and (c) breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rule 1.3 (Social responsibility).
Action
The ads must not appear again in their current form. We told Reclaim My PPI Tax Ltd to ensure that future ads did not give the impression they had been approved or endorsed by a government body if that was not the case. We also told them to ensure that future ads were prepared with a sense of responsibility to consumers and society.
