misleading complaint upheld against Eurocycles

nerraw1111

From Advertising Standards Authority for Ireland.

Advertisement:The eurocycles.ie ‘Specials’ webpage had a sales promotion on the Felt AR1 Team Issue bicycle and featured a photograph of the frame of the bicycle. The text read “Felt AR1 Team Issue – Garmin – Slipstream rider Dave Zabriskie ………..the unmistakably zippy ride quality of Felt’s UHC – Nano carbon fiber frameset…..” The price was listed as follows: “Was €7,999.99. €5,307.00. Save 34%.”

Another webpage showed the same bicycle with wheels and this was advertised for sale for €7,999.99.

Complaint:The complainant considered the advertisement to be misleading. He said that the bicycle model Felt AR1 Team Issue without wheels, was advertised for €7,999.99 with a 34% reduction bringing the price down to €5,307. He found out that the price of the same model with wheels was advertised for €7,999.99 and the wheels were worth €2,699. He considered that there was neither an actual reduction in the price of the bicycle frame nor a saving of 34%.

Advertisers’ Response:The advertisers explained that the bicycle in question was a specialised model and was specific to the professional and semi-professional cycling market where the majority of their customers who would purchase such products would seek a price for both the frame and the wheels as separates costs.

They considered the offering as being a matter of choice which provided customers with the opportunity to build a bicycle that meets their preferred specification. They confirmed that the cost of the bicycle was €5,307.00 and that the wheels were not included but that these could be priced or sourced alternatively.


Code Sections:2.24: An advertisement should not mislead, or be likely to mislead, by inaccuracy, ambiguity, exaggeration, omission or otherwise.

Conclusion:
Complaint Upheld.



The Complaints Committee considered the detail of the complaint and the advertisers’ response. The Complaints Committee noted that the ‘before’ price of €7,999.99 quoted for the Felt AR1 bicycle without wheels was in fact also the price of the bicycle with wheels. They considered that it was misleading to claim it was a before price for the frame or that there was a reduction/saving on the before price, and that the promotion breached 2.24 of the Code.





Action Required:
The advertisement should not be presented in this format again.

Possedion

hardly worthwhile taking a complaint that far. yeah ok, we wont advertise like that again...
lot of money for a team bike!

Captain Havoc

I now see why so many companies make up savings.