Who: The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) and Haven Leisure Ltd
Where: United Kingdom
When: 19 March 2025
Law stated as at: 15 April 2025
What happened:
On 22 December 2024 an ad by Haven Leisure Ltd, a holiday company, appeared on social media with the following text: “Penally Court 4 nights from £55*”. At the bottom of the ad, the following text featured: “*Price based on a Hideaway break in selected grades outside of school holidays”. Users were then invited to click a link through to Haven’s website, on which a second ad was displayed with the text “Accommodation at Penally Court. Caravans 4 nights from £59”.
The complainant challenged whether both of the ads were misleading on the basis that they were unable to find dates at the prices displayed in each of the ads.
In its response, Haven explained that there should have been five dates available for the Hideaway ad at the advertised price. However, only one date was available as two had sold out and two had been incorrectly priced too high.
Haven clarified that due to the lower availability of caravans at the Penally Court Holiday Park, the advertised price could have sold out after one booking. Haven admitted that it had failed to take this into account when publishing the ad.
The complaint was upheld. The ASA found that consumers would have understood both of the ads to mean that there was a significant proportion of holidays available to book at the advertised prices. It also found that the difference in prices between the social media ad and the subsequent ad displayed on Haven’s website would have confused consumers as to the details of the offer.
The ASA restated that as the ads displayed “from” price claims, consumers should have been able to find available dates for those breaks at those “from” prices. Advertisers should also have adequate evidence to substantiate these types of price claims.
As only a small proportion of breaks were available at the advertised prices, which did not cover a substantial range of dates, the ASA held that the claims “4 nights from £55” and “4 nights from £59” were misleading and could not be substantiated. The ads therefore breached the UK Code of Non-broadcast Advertising and Direct and Promotional Marketing (CAP Code) rules 3.1 (misleading advertising), 3.7 (substantiation), 3.17 and 3.22 (prices).
The ASA concluded that Haven must ensure that a significant proportion of breaks across a range of dates are made available at the advertised price when using “from” price claims.
Why this matters:
This decision highlights the importance of making accurate price claims and ensuring that there is sufficient availability when making price offers. When displaying “from” claims, consumers must be able to find the advertiser’s products/services at the advertised price.
