[ASAI]Eircom.Net flat rate not a "bargain" shocker

viking

Latest ASAI newsletter is out and eircom appear once again, nothing like consistency (in a world gone mad...):

Complaint:

A radio advertisement for Eircom Net flat rate was the subject of an objection. The advertisement stated “With Eircom Net flat rate you get 25 hours online a month for €9.99 – that’s just 40c per hour. And if you sign up today, you could win a fabulous sun holiday for you & your family. We’ve got 800 holidays to give away – that’s 25 holidays today and every day until the end of March. It’s a total bargain.” The complainant considered the advertising misleading as the advertisement gives the impression that the Eircom flat rate package is ‘a bargain’ when in fact the Eircom package is the most expensive being offered on the Irish market at the moment. The complainant listed several internet providers who also offered flat rate internet packages that were better value than Eircom’s.

Response:

The advertisers stated that the advertisement promoted their flat rate internet access products. The advert correctly mentions that the entry-level package (Eircom flat rate 25) gives one hour of surfing for just 40c. The hook in the advertisement was the customer incentive which was for the month of March Eircom net gave away 25 free sun holidays every day to customers who subscribed to a flat rate package, up to a total of 800 holidays. Based on their sales during February and March, approximately one in six customers who signed up to a flat rate package won a week’s holiday. They felt that given the fact that the entry level rate product cost €9.99 per month and given that the packages do not tie a consumer into any minimum contract period, they believed that a person would really have to shop around to beat their offer.

Conclusion:

Complaint Upheld.

The Code of Advertising Standards requires that an advertisement should not mislead by inaccuracy, ambiguity, exaggeration, omission or otherwise.

The Committee considered the advertisers’ response. They did not consider that the offer of a customer incentive to some of their subscribers made their internet package “a total bargain” and in the circumstances upheld the complaint.

dahamsta

While I wouldn't encourage people to stop complaining, I find the voluntary nature of the ASAI increasingly frustrating. Eircom know damn well their ads are going to be pulled and are just playing the game. The ASAI should be set on a statutory footing and companies should be fined heavily for fraudulent ads like these.

adam

eircomtribunal

dahamsta wrote:

Eircom know damn well their ads are going to be pulled and are just playing the game.

The ASAI is a fully industry owned fig-leave operation and has no powers to pull an ad. By the time its decisions are made the ads are mostly out of circulation anyway.

For all what it matters, the ASAI have just a consultation process going, advertised in the national newspapers. You can respond with suggestions about how they should change their code. See their website www.asai.ie

P.