Background
This Ruling forms part of a wider piece of work on online choice architecture, identified for investigation following complaints received and intelligence gathered by the ASA. See also related rulings published on 25 September 2024.
Working with:
Papa John’s (GB) Ltd
11 Northfield Drive,
Milton Keynes,
MK15 0DQ
Ad description
Three webpages on the Complete Savings website, www.completesavings.co.uk, a shopper reward programme, seen in February 2024:
a. The first webpage, seen after purchasing an item from Argos, offered a “Welcome Reward”. Text stated, “YOUR WELCOME REWARD £20.87 CASH BACK CREDITED ONTO YOUR CARD”. Smaller text underneath stated, “To claim following this order at Argos Terms and Conditions Apply”. A sub-title stated, “Get your Welcome Reward” and below that text explained “credited onto your card, by signing up for all the cashback rewards of Complete Savings […] FREE for the first 30 days and only £18 per month thereafter”.
The ad contained an online form for consumers to input personal and payment details. A green button was positioned below the form, with the text “YES! Click here now”. Small text underneath the button stated, “I want to sign up for my Complete Savings membership and get my £20.87 cash back credited onto my card!”. On the right was a rolling graphic which detailed three steps “1. Complete the three easy steps”, “2. Claim your £20.87 on the Complete Savings website within the next 90 days” and “3. We will credit £20.87 onto your card”.
Underneath was a grey box which contained text in bold type outlining “the benefits of Complete Savings”, and stated, “£20.87 Welcome Reward. Just send Complete Savings your receipt within the next 90 days and we’ll send you the Cash", “£18 Monthly Bonus”, “10% Cashback”. Further information about “Offer and Billing Details” was positioned in a grey box underneath, with links to Terms of Service and the Privacy Policy.
b. The second webpage, seen after making a booking through Trainline, had a similar format to ad (a) and contained an online form for consumers to sign up to the programme. Text stated, “£20.87 cash back credited onto your card”. Smaller text underneath stated, “To claim after your next booking with Trainline Terms and Conditions Apply”. A sub-title stated, “Get your £20.87 cash back credited onto your card” and below that text explained, “By signing up for all the cashback rewards of Complete Savings […] FREE for the first 30 days and only £18 per month thereafter”.
On the right was a rolling graphic with three steps, including, “1. Complete the three easy steps”, “2. Make a new booking with Trainline within 90 days and claim your £20.87 on the Complete Savings website” and “3. We will credit £20.87 onto your card”.
Underneath was a grey box which contained bolded text outlining “the benefits of Complete Savings” and stated, “£20.87 Welcome Reward. To get your £20.87 cash back, credited onto your card, just make a booking with Trainline within the next 90 days”, “£18 Monthly Bonus”, “10% Cashback”.
c. The third webpage, seen after placing an order with Papa John’s, was similarly formatted to ads (a) and (b). Like ad (a), it offered a “Welcome Reward”, with text stating “YOUR WELCOME REWARD £20.87 CASH BACK CREDITED ONTO YOUR CARD”. The ad contained the same text as ad (b), besides the sub-title, which stated, “Get your Welcome Reward”. The ad referenced Papa John’s where applicable.
Issue
Money Saving Expert, who understood that the cashback reward was available only after further steps had been completed by the consumer, challenged whether the ads were misleading.Response
Webloyalty International Ltd t/a Complete Savings believed the ads contained clear and upfront information that receiving the Welcome Reward was contingent upon joining a membership programme, and in the case of ads (b) and (c), making a second purchase. They said reinforcement and placement of information were essential to provide clarity for consumers of the overall offer and the membership programme. They highlighted that text at the top-left of each ad stated that the Welcome Reward could be claimed following the customer’s order, in ad (a), or following a subsequent purchase with the relevant retailer, in ads (b) and (c).
They also highlighted the dynamic “How to” visual which moved through the three slides with the steps to obtain the Welcome Reward, including claiming the Welcome Reward within 90 days, and in ads (b) and (c), making a second purchase with the relevant retailer. They said in each of the ads, the requirements to claim the Welcome Reward were reiterated twice in a textbox underneath the “How to” visual. Whilst that text was located towards the bottom of the page, Complete Savings said that the “YES!” button used within the ads to sign up to the scheme, dropped down the page as a consumer entered in their details. Because of that, consumers would have to scroll down the page to click the button, at which point they would see those two references to the membership fee next to the “YES!” button in its new position.
Complete Savings said each of the ads were preceded by banner ads on the websites of the partnering retailers. They explained that those ads contained information that the reward was dependent on joining a paid programme and, in the case of the banner ads that preceded ads (b) and (c), that it was dependent on making a second purchase with the partnered retailer. They therefore believed that consumers would be aware of those conditions prior to interacting with ads (a)(c).Complete Savings believed that the repeated use of the word “claim”, in describing the process to obtain the cashback reward, conveyed that additional steps were required before the consumer could obtain the Welcome Reward. Similarly, they said that the description of the cashback sum as a “reward” (which they believed, in itself, implied a relationship between an action and an outcome), in conjunction with “join” or “welcome” and disclosures on how it could be claimed, was sufficient to communicate that the cashback was offered in return for: enrolment in the programme; making a second purchase (if applicable); and making a claim. They also said that text in bold stated, “Complete the 3 easy steps below and click Yes to start your Complete Savings membership”, and therefore consumers would understand that they would be subscribing to their membership scheme by completing their details within the webform.
Furthermore, Complete Savings highlighted that it was necessary for consumers to create a password. They believed that passwords were commonly created to register an account and, on that basis, consumers would understand that they were signing up to a membership scheme because it would not be practical to create a password for a one-off cashback offer. They believed consumers would question why they needed to create and confirm a password before providing payment card details.
Complete Savings confirmed that the Welcome Reward could be redeemed by consumers even if they cancelled during the free trial period as stated in the box headed “Offer and Billing Details” in each of the ads. They also clarified that the current wait time was 7?10 days once the consumer had submitted a claim with valid receipts.
Argos Ltd confirmed that they had an affiliate agreement with Webloyalty International Ltd, in which they received a commission fee for every consumer signed up to the Complete Savings programme through their website. They explained that, once a consumer had completed an order on their own website, a banner ad then appeared. If the consumer clicked on that banner ad, they were then directed to ad (a). Argos believed that in both steps of the customer journey, the investigated ads as well as the banner ads seen prior, it was sufficiently clear that consumers must join a paid membership programme and actively claim the cashback. Argos pointed out that the top-left of the ad stated that the Welcome Reward was for signing up to the programme, which was “FREE for the first 30 days and £18 per month thereafter”. They also highlighted that the steps for obtaining the reward were contained within the box headed, “Enjoy all the benefits of Complete Savings”.
Argos also emphasised that the cashback was never described as “free” or a “gift”; they believed the description of the cashback as a “reward” would indicate that it was dependent on actions carried out by the consumer. They believed that impression was reinforced by the material information in the ad and by associating the term with active language such as “join” and “claim”.Trainline.com Ltd t/a Trainline also confirmed that they had an affiliate agreement with Webloyalty and that the ad appeared as both an in-page ad and a pop-up. They emphasised that while they were able to consult with Webloyalty to a certain degree on the presentation of the banner ad, Webloyalty had full control over the presentation of the ads under investigation.They also believed it was sufficiently clear in both their ad, and the preceding webpage, that consumers had to join a paid membership programme, make a second purchase and then claim the Welcome Reward. Trainline emphasised the ‘How To’ visual within the ad, which showed the required steps for consumers to obtain the cashback reward. They also said that, before signing up to the membership, consumers would be exposed five times to messaging that a second purchase was required with Trainline in order to claim cashback. They specifically referenced text in the preceding webpage which stated, “Click here to claim your £20.87 cash back, credited onto your card, when you next book with Trainline” made clear that a second purchase was necessary in order to receive the cashback.
Trainline reiterated the comments made by Argos that the cashback was never described as free and that the use of the word “reward” implied that consumers needed to fulfil an obligation in order to receive the cashback.Papa John’s (GB) Ltd t/a Papa John’s also had a similar affiliate arrangement with Webloyalty. Papa John’s stated the ad appeared as either an in-page ad or a pop-up. Similarly, they emphasised that Webloyalty had full control over the presentation of the ads under investigation, that the use of the word “reward” and “claim” was sufficient to convey to consumers that they would have to fulfil further steps in order to receive the Welcome Reward, and that it was not implied that the cashback would be free.Papa John’s also said that the ad contained an equally prominent statement, “No thanks, please take me back to Papa John’s” to ensure that consumers would not be misled into a transaction they would not have otherwise taken.However, they said that, as a result of the complaint, they had instructed Webloyalty to make changes to the presentation of the ad in order to give consumers greater clarity on the steps required to receive the cashback reward.
Assessment
Upheld
The CAP Code required that marketing communications make clear the extent of the commitment the consumer must make to take advantage of a "free" offer. That Rule applied to claims which were likely to mean the same as “free” in the context of an ad.The ASA understood that Complete Savings partnered with various online retailers to offer a paid monthly cashback subscription, with the first 30 days free.
We considered the consumer journey, which preceded the ads, in order to understand its impact on the average consumer’s understanding of the investigated ads. In each case, the consumer arrived at ads (a)(c) from a banner ad that appeared in the checkout page of the relevant retailer’s website which confirmed the consumer’s order. Each preceding webpage contained a variation on the text “By clicking above, you can join our third-party partner programme for 18 pounds/month and claim your reward”. We considered that phrasing implied that joining the partner programme was independent of claiming the advertised Welcome Reward.
Furthermore, the webpages that preceded the ads emphasised that the order had been finalised (“YOUR TRANSACTION IS NOW COMPLETE”; “Your booking is complete”; “Your order is complete”), and therefore, we considered the subsequent offer of cashback appeared to be a reward for making the recent purchase. We also noted that, in the proceeding page before ads (b) and (c), the button which took consumers to the ads was labelled “Get your £20.87”.
We considered that this further implied that, by completing the webform within the ad, consumers would be able to receive the advertised Welcome Reward without further obligation. As such, we considered that consumers would view the ads within that context and that, by clicking the respective buttons which led to the ads, they would be able to claim the advertised cashback without signing up to, or having to pay for, the “partner programme” and would not be subject to any other requirements. We acknowledged that, in the case of ads (b) and (c), text above the button stated that the cashback would be credited when “you next make a booking”. However, we considered that text would be easily overlooked in view of the prominent button labelled “Get your £20.87”, and we considered the average consumer’s overriding impression would be that, by clicking the button, they would be entitled to the welcome reward without further obligation.
We then assessed the ads. Ads (a) and (c) contained a bright graphic of a bank card in the top-right corner which contained the claim, “YOUR WELCOME REWARD £20.87 CASH BACK CREDITED ONTO YOUR CARD”. In the top left, a headline claim stated, “Get your Welcome Reward”. A webform below prompted consumers to enter their details, and, alongside it, three numbered “steps” were presented (“1. Enter your name, address and email”; “2. Provide us with a credit or debit card”; “3. Create a password and click YES!”). The numbers of the steps were in the same font, colour and size as the headline claim, “Get your Welcome Reward”. We therefore considered consumers would infer that the webform was related to the headline claim which referred to the Welcome Reward and that, if they inputted their details, they would be credited with the cashback. We considered that impression was reinforced by the details required of consumers via the webform. We noted that they were prompted to enter their card details, and considered consumers would likely understand that it was necessary to fill out those details so that they could be credited with the cashback. Furthermore, text underneath the sign-up buttons labelled “YES!” in the ads stated, “I want to sign up for my Complete Savings membership and get my £20.87 cash back credited back onto my card”. We considered that text further implied that by inputting one’s personal information within the webform and clicking the button would mean that consumers would immediately receive the cashback reward for free, without any further action necessary from them.
We acknowledged that text underneath the button also stated, “I want to sign up for my Complete Savings membership”, but we noted that it appeared within the context of further text which stated, “…and get my £20.87 cash back credited back onto my card”. Because the text also directly linked the “YES” button with receiving the cashback, we considered that consumers would therefore assume that, by clicking the button, they would automatically receive the cashback reward, regardless of the reference to signing up for a membership scheme. In any case, we noted that the text did not make clear the requirements of receiving the cashback reward or the cost of the membership scheme. We also acknowledged Complete Saving’s argument that consumers would understand they were signing up for a subscription or membership because they had to create a password as part of the webform, and that would not usually be necessary for a one-off payment. However, we considered that it was commonplace for consumers to set up an account with a password, and that practice was not limited to paid-for monthly memberships; for example, consumers are usually required to have an account, and create a password, in order to access free loyalty schemes operated by retailers.
Ad (b) followed the same format as ads (a) and (c). It featured a similar graphic of a credit card, a headline claim, a webform accompanied by the same numbered instructional steps, and the same “YES!” button and associated text. However, the claims within the ad differed somewhat; in ad (b) the claim within the bank card stated, “£20.87 cash back credited onto your card”, and the headline claim on the left stated, “Get your £20.87 cash back credited onto your card”. We considered those features similarly implied that, on the condition that consumers completed the webform, they would receive £20.87 cashback credited onto their card. Furthermore, we considered the reference to “your” cashback in the headline claim (“Get your £20.87 cash back credited onto your card”) reinforced the impression that the consumer had already fulfilled the necessary requirements in order to receive the cashback offer.
However, we understood that to obtain the Welcome Reward advertised in ad (a), consumers were required to subscribe to the paid-for Complete Savings membership and actively claim the reward through the website within 90 days. Consumers similarly had to follow that process in order to claim the Welcome Reward in ad (b) and (c), but in addition, they had to make a second purchase with the relevant retailer within 90 days of the initial purchase.
We acknowledged the ads stated that the membership cost was £18 after the first free month and that information appeared on four occasions within the ads, including underneath the headline and in one of the numbered “step” boxes. We also noted that further information within the numbered “step” boxes referred to terms such as “billing” and “membership fee”. In each instance, however, that information was presented in small font and was positioned within a larger paragraph, which we considered was significantly less prominent than the headline or subtitled claims that emphasised the Welcome Reward and cashback offer. We therefore considered consumers were less likely to notice that they would be charged after the trial month. We also noted that two of the four instances were placed under the subtitle “Offer and Billing Details”, located below the sign-up button in the bottom third of the page, and it was necessary to scroll down within the ad for that section to appear.
We acknowledged that Complete Savings said the button would drop down when consumer information was inputted into the webform. However, we were not able to repeat that. In any case, we considered, at that stage, consumers had been primed to click the “YES!” button after completing the form, and would likely overlook that information, which was presented in small text, regardless of whether the button scrolled or not. In addition, we noted that there was another reference to the amount of £18 within the ad; the monthly bonus offered to those who signed up to the cashback scheme was also £18, and that was referenced in a larger and more prominent font within the ad. We considered that this further obfuscated the references to £18 and made the monthly payment commitment unclear to consumers.
We therefore considered the ad did not make the extent of the commitment required adequately clear or upfront to consumers.We acknowledged the advertisers’ comments that the description of the cashback as a “reward” or “Welcome Reward” would imply to consumers that it was contingent on them fulfilling an obligation. However, we considered consumers would interpret that obligation as being the purchase they had just made, and that therefore, they were already eligible for the Welcome Reward. We considered it was not made clear to consumers that the action for which they would be rewarded was joining a paid-for membership scheme and personally claiming the reward through the Complete Savings website, and, in the case of ads (b) and (c), by making a second purchase with that retailer.
We further acknowledged that text in bold type at the top of the page, placed directly above the webform, stated, “Complete the 3 easy steps below and click Yes to start your Complete Savings membership”. Whilst that text referenced the Complete Savings membership and appeared in a bold font, we noted that the size of font remained small in comparison to other text on the page. We also considered that the ads contained a significant amount of information and that it was presented in a number of different ways: a rotating dynamic graphic made up of three slides; three information boxes pointing to the webform; a large credit card icon highlighting the Welcome Reward; and a further box made up of three sub-headings and icon imagery. We considered that such presentation within the ad made the necessary requirements difficult to navigate, access and understand. We further considered the advertisers’ argument that the repeated use of “claim” in relation to the reward was sufficient to imply that consumers were required to actively obtain the reward, rather than being automatically credited. However, we noted that the term “claim” was used only twice in each of the ads, and instead the ads emphasised wording which implied no further action was necessary from consumers, such as “credited onto your card”. Notwithstanding that, we considered the word “claim” was not sufficient to convey that the reward would have to be actively requested by the consumer rather than being automatically applied. In particular, because the wording and the placement of the webform, in the absence of upfront information explaining that the reward must be actively claimed, would imply that the consumer should input their details so that they could receive the cashback as advertised, with no further steps required. With that in mind, we considered that consumers would interpret the action necessary to “claim” the reward was completing the webform, and consequently, that it would be applied to their account upon completion and submission of the webform. In addition, the button which led consumers to ads (b) and (c) was labelled “Get Your £20.87” which we considered would further that impression to consumers. Because the information about the extent of the commitment required to obtain the free cashback was stated only in small font within paragraph text, or in a dynamic slide, which was not permanently appearing, we considered that it was not clear to consumers that they would have to apply for the reward after fulfilling the other required obligations.
The condition to make a second purchase was similarly stated three times in ads (b) and (c); however, each reference was in small text and placed underneath large headlines or subtitles that emphasised the Welcome Reward and its monetary value. The condition to make a second purchase was also stated within the dynamic graphic on the second slide. Whilst we acknowledged that the text was in large font, it did not appear on screen for the duration of the ads, and because of that, we considered it was not sufficiently clear that another purchase was necessary in order to be eligible for the reward.Because the ads implied that consumers had already fulfilled the necessary requirements to receive the “Welcome Reward”, we concluded that the ads breached the Code.
The ads breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 3.1, 3.3 (Misleading advertising), and 3.23 (Free).
Action
The ad must not appear again in the form complained of. We told Webloyalty International Ltd t/a Complete Savings, Argos Ltd, Trainline.com Ltd t/a Trainline, and Papa John’s (GB) Ltd t/a Papa John’s to ensure that future marketing communications made it clear to consumers that to obtain the free cashback or “Welcome Reward” they had to enter into a paid monthly subscription and actively claim the reward. We also told Trainline and Papa John’s to ensure that future marketing communications made sufficiently clear that it was necessary to make a second purchase in order to be eligible for the reward.
