Background
This Ruling forms part of a wider piece of work on rehab clinic referral companies. The ad was identified for investigation following complaints received from the Ethical Marketing Campaign for Addiction Treatment (EMCAT).
Ad description
The website home page www.rehabsuk.com, for Rehabs UK, seen in July 2024 included the claims “We partner with trusted, CQC registered rehab clinics, including luxury clinics, throughout the UK and abroad” and “We don't solely collaborate with rehabilitation facilities; we stand as a distinguished provider of addiction treatments. Our services range from in-home detoxification to outpatient rehabilitation, addiction therapy, online support groups, and comprehensive aftercare programmes. We lean on our expert knowledge and experience in order to find the right rehab or treatment plan for each of our clients, giving them a personalised solution and the best possible beginning to their recovery journey.”
Issue
The complainant, Ethical Marketing Campaign for Addiction Treatment (EMCAT), challenged whether the ad falsely implied that the marketer was acting for purposes outside its business and did not make clear their commercial intent.
Response
Rehabs.uk t/a Rehabs UK stated that they had been active within addiction treatment since 2002 and they were owned by a company that was previously a Care Quality Commission (CQC) registered rehabilitation facility. They confirmed when the website was launched in 2022, that the rehabilitation facility was active but that it closed a few months later. Therefore, the wording on their website was accurate at the time the website launched.
Since the closure of the rehabilitation facility, they had operated as a referral centre only, but their business had recently expanded. They now also managed admissions for one residential rehabilitation facility and one recovery retreat. They did that to support smaller independent rehabilitation centres in the UK who did not have access to large scale marketing. They also wanted to provide access to a range of treatment centres and give impartial guidance.
They explained their role in making referrals was to connect individuals seeking addiction treatment with registered rehabilitation centres, clinics and healthcare professionals. They confirmed that they did not provide any direct addiction therapy or healthcare services and did not employ healthcare professionals.
They stated their role was to assess individuals through an initial consultation and then refer them to CQC registered addiction treatment centres and qualified doctors. They did however provide free online support services themselves to offer guidance and support, and they had provided extensive aftercare at a cost to their organisation. Those services though did not involve clinical treatment and fell outside of the CQC regulation.
They said that their website made clear they did make referrals. For instance, it stated, “We partner with trusted, CQC registered rehab clinics” and “We lean on our expert knowledge and experience in order to find the right rehab or treatment plan for each of our clients”. In addition, the website prominently stated, "Impartial Advice for Addiction Recovery Treatment". They believed the website therefore clearly outlined their role as a connector of clients with appropriately registered and qualified third-party services.
They amended the claim “We don't solely collaborate with rehabilitation facilities; we stand as a distinguished provider of addiction treatments […]” to “We act as a distinguished connector to addiction treatment services. We assist individuals in finding the right professionals for their needs, from in-home detoxification to outpatient rehabilitation, addiction therapy, online support groups, and comprehensive aftercare programmes. Drawing on our expert knowledge and experience, we guide our clients to the most suitable rehab or treatment plan, ensuring they receive a personalised solution and the best possible start to their recovery journey". They believed the amendment made clear their referral based business model.
They explained that making referrals and receiving a fee was standard practice in the industry. That included rehabilitation centres and referral services. They said rehabilitation centres referred clients to other centres if the person’s specific addiction or needs made them unsuitable for treatment at their facility. They said most rehabilitation centres did not make that process clear on their websites.
They said that the ad did not misleadingly imply they were acting for purposes outside their business or that they provided direct treatment services. However, they were willing to make further changes if that was needed.
Assessment
Upheld
The ASA noted that the website had stated, “We don't solely collaborate with rehabilitation facilities; we stand as a distinguished provider of addiction treatments. Our services range from in-home detoxification to outpatient rehabilitation, addiction therapy, online support groups, and comprehensive aftercare programmes.” We considered that consumers were likely to understand that claim, in conjunction with the multiple references to “treatment” on the website, such as “Confidential Addiction Recovery Treatment”, “ALCOHOL HOME DETOX TREATMENT” and “Addiction Rehab Clinics & Treatment Across the UK and Abroad”, to mean that in some circumstances Rehabs UK would provide treatment directly at clinics that they owned or operated, and did not exclusively work with other services.
We acknowledged that they had made a change on their website stating, “We act as a distinguished connector to addiction treatment services” and no longer stated that they were a “distinguished provider of addiction treatments” or that their “services range from in-home detoxification to outpatient rehabilitation, addiction therapy, online support groups, and comprehensive aftercare programmes”. However, we understood that Rehabs UK was a referral centre, as well as managing admissions to two specific services, that connected consumers seeking help for addiction with registered treatment providers and they received payment for doing so. While the amended website, which stated, “We act as a distinguished connector to addiction treatment services. We assist individuals in finding the right professionals for their needs […]” was clearer that they did not provide treatment directly, and they made referrals to third parties, the amended text was low down on the page. Overall, however, the website did not prominently or explicitly make clear what their business model was and how they were funded.
The ad did not make immediately clear that they made referrals for which they received payment for facilitating the placements with partner rehabilitation facilities and instead implied that they also provided treatment directly at clinics that they owned or operated. We therefore concluded that the ad implied that Rehabs UK were acting for purposes outside their business, and did not make clear their commercial intent. The ad therefore breached the Code.
The ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rule 2.3 (Recognition of Marketing Communications).
Action
The ad must not appear again in the form complained of. We told Rehabs.uk t/a Rehabs UK to ensure that they did not falsely imply they were acting for purposes outside their business, not to imply that they provided treatment directly at clinics that they owned or operated if they did not and to make clear that they were a company that received payment for their referral services.
