July 17, 2017

The ASA has ruled that a website ad, which offered an LG TV 55B6 with a “free LG SH7 sound bar” for £1,999, breached CAP Code rules on misleading advertising and “free” claims. A customer, who understood that the TV was previously available for £1,749 without the sound bar, and that the sound bar was sold separately for £259, complained that the “free” claim was misleading.

The ASA said consumers would interpret the “free” claim to mean that the usual selling price of the TV was £1,999, and that the sound bar had been added as part of the promotion for no extra cost. It noted that the price of the TV had regularly changed since May 2016 and had often been available at £1,749. The ASA therefore “did not consider £1,999 to be the usual selling price”.

The ASA said that because consumers were likely to understand that the sound bar had been included with the TV without increasing the price of the product, and because that was not the case, the claim that the sound bar was free was misleading. To read ASA Ruling on John Lewis Partnership plc t/a John Lewis (12 July 2017) click here.