Npower ordered not to re-publish advertisements promoting savings for direct debit customers
August 26th 2011 09:17
The advertising watchdog has told npower not to repeat misleading claims on large annual discounts for dual fuel customers
Npower, the energy giant, has been ordered not to re-publish advertisements promoting savings of £100 a year for direct debit customers.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) ruled this week that the advertisements, which appeared on its website and in promotional emails in April, were misleading and exaggerated.
The email version claimed that dual fuel customers who were not already on direct debit could enjoy a discount of £100 on their bills if they switched to the payment method.
The website version went further and claimed that all of npower’s direct debit customers, both new and existing, could receive a £100 discount on their dual fuel bills.
But a complainant objected that the advertisements were misleading because they did not make clear that the discount was not available to customers on certain tariffs, in particular the Spreading Warmth tariff.
Npower said the the discount was available to Spreading Warmth customers, but admitted it would be of no practical use because Spreading Warmth customers on other payment methods already received a discount equal to the direct debit discount and would lose this extra discount by switching to direct debit.
The company said that, in accordance with the ASA’s ruling, it would ensure that a caveat to this effect is included in future on its website and in direct mailings.
An spokeswoman for npower said: “We are disappointed with the ASA’s findings as we feel we do our best to ensure that our communications to new and existing Spreading Warmth customers are clear about the structure of their tariff, particularly concerning the top-up discount”.
Npower, the energy giant, has been ordered not to re-publish advertisements promoting savings of £100 a year for direct debit customers.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) ruled this week that the advertisements, which appeared on its website and in promotional emails in April, were misleading and exaggerated.
The email version claimed that dual fuel customers who were not already on direct debit could enjoy a discount of £100 on their bills if they switched to the payment method.
The website version went further and claimed that all of npower’s direct debit customers, both new and existing, could receive a £100 discount on their dual fuel bills.
But a complainant objected that the advertisements were misleading because they did not make clear that the discount was not available to customers on certain tariffs, in particular the Spreading Warmth tariff.
Npower said the the discount was available to Spreading Warmth customers, but admitted it would be of no practical use because Spreading Warmth customers on other payment methods already received a discount equal to the direct debit discount and would lose this extra discount by switching to direct debit.
The company said that, in accordance with the ASA’s ruling, it would ensure that a caveat to this effect is included in future on its website and in direct mailings.
An spokeswoman for npower said: “We are disappointed with the ASA’s findings as we feel we do our best to ensure that our communications to new and existing Spreading Warmth customers are clear about the structure of their tariff, particularly concerning the top-up discount”.
| 12 |
| Vote |
Add Comments
Read More
