Ad description
A TV ad for equity release provider Reader’s Digest Equity Release, seen in June 2022, stated “Remember these? Thousands of people like you have trusted “Reader’s Digest Guides” to help them get the best out of life through the years”, while images of several “Reader’s Digest Guides” were shown on screen, including “Illustrated Guide to Gardening”, “The Cookery Year” and “Complete Guide to Sewing”. After that an image of the “Complete guide to equity release” appeared and the voiceover stated, “Now a new guide can help you make more of your retirement – it shows you how to release funds from your most valuable asset, your home. Money released will be tax free, and interest rates are usually fixed for life. It also reassures you that you’ll remain the owner of the home you love. Over 55? Your home worth more than £100,000? Read our free guide that explains it all … then if you’re ready, talk to an expert adviser. They’ll explain all the facts and the processes, so you understand your options. Whether you want to give children a start on the property ladder. Pay off your mortgage before you retire. Improve your home, or just enjoy your retirement. Trust Reader’s Digest Equity Release to help you like we always have.”
Superimposed text at different points in the ad stated, “This is a Lifetime Mortgage which will reduce the value of your estate and could affect your entitlement to means-tested benefits”, “Typically loan and accrued interest is repaid upon the end of the plan following death or entry into long-term care. To understand features and risks ask for a personalised illustration”, and at the end “Reader’s Digest Equity Release is a trading style of Responsible Life Limited who only charge an advice fee on completion. Currently £1,690".
Issue
The complainants, who understood Reader’s Digest Equity Release was an equity release provider, challenged whether the ad misleadingly implied that the advice provided by the “Complete guide to equity release” was independent.
Response
Responsible Life Ltd t/a Reader’s Digest Equity Release said the word “advice” had a technical meaning in the financial services industry, and was defined by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) as a recommendation based on an individual’s circumstances and goals to meet FCA requirements. “Independent advice” had to meet the requirements set out in the FCA Handbook. According to those definitions, the “Complete guide to equity release” contained neither “advice” nor “independent advice”. They confirmed that following receipt of the complaints the ad had been withdrawn.
Clearcast said the guide – the contents of which had been approved by Reader’s Digest UK – aimed to educate and inform people about equity release in order to understand better the options available and was sent to consumers on request, with no further obligation to engage with Reader’s Digest Equity Release. The guide featured details of the service, but did not contain advice as that could only be determined by a qualified equity release adviser once they had assessed the consumer’s personal circumstances. They said the ad, voiceover and guide did not claim, directly or indirectly, that the guide was wholly independent.
Clearcast said the ad separately introduced the customer to an advice service provided by Reader’s Digest Equity Release – a relationship shown in the superimposed text. The service was aimed at people who had read the guide, or were already educated and informed and were seeking advice in relation to their personal circumstances. They explained that the expert advisers were employees or Registered Individuals of Responsible Life Ltd, subject to Responsible Life’s Senior Management Certification Regime, and recorded on the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) register under Responsible Life, giving advice under their permissions. Additionally, they were subject to Responsible Life’s Training and Competency Framework which was derived from the FCA Training and Competency Handbook.
Clearcast said that in their view the relationship between Reader’s Digest Equity Release and Responsible Life Ltd was made sufficiently clear in the ad and there was reasonable expectation for the ad to be understood as it was intended - as the marketing of products and services provided by Responsible Life Ltd.
Assessment
Upheld
The ad started by showing several “Reader’s Digest Guides” that covered a range of topics, then introduced a new guide – the “Complete guide to equity release” – before detailing some features of equity release. The ad highlighted the reliability of the guides, stating they were “trusted” and “Trust Reader’s Digest Equity Release to help you like we always have”.
The ASA understood “Reader’s Digest Guides” were a series of guides produced by the general interest magazine Reader’s Digest, and that the guides were typically independently produced and instructive in nature, and did not relate to specific products or services. In that context, we considered consumers would understand Reader’s Digest was a brand that created guides offering independent and impartial advice on a range of subjects, and that the “Complete guide to equity release” also offered independent guidance on the subject of equity release.
While the ad featured superimposed text that stated, “Reader’s Digest Equity Release is a trading style of Responsible Life Limited”, we considered this text was not sufficient to dispel the impression created by the ad – namely that the guide offered independent advice and had been provided by Reader’s Digest. We also considered that while the ad referred to talking to an “expert adviser” about equity release after reading the guide, it did not make clear the adviser would be working on behalf of Responsible Life, selling their financial products, rather than an independent adviser.
We welcomed Reader’s Digest Equity Release’s confirmation that the ad had been withdrawn. However, we considered at the time the ad appeared, it had given the impression that the guide shown was independent when it was not. We therefore concluded the ad was misleading.
The ad breached BCAP Code rules 3.1 3.1 Advertisements must not materially mislead or be likely to do so. (Misleading advertising).
Action
The ad must not be broadcast again in its current form. We told Responsible Life Ltd t/a Reader’s Digest Equity Release to ensure that their future marketing communications did not misleadingly imply that they, or their “Complete guide to equity release”, provided independent advice and guidance on equity release.
