The ASA received three complaints about a Volvo radio ad with the end line “Made in Sweden, tuned in Britain.” The alleged problem was that the car in question was not made in Sweden. Vicki Hawkins reports.
The third edition of ICO’s guidance on its approach to the issuing of penalties of up to £500,000 was out of date on publication. Chloe Deng investigates how this happened and asks whether, despite this, it is still worth a read.
From 1 July 2015, Ofcom is changing the regime for service number charges. This is likely to impact a significant proportion of TV ads due to altered statutory disclosures. Ben Dunham reports.
As promised, the Coalition Government, in one of its last legislative actions, brought into force the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) (Amendment) Regulations 2015. Stephen Groom reports.
Following a fine for non-registration with ICO as a data controller, financial services call centre Help Direct UK were warned by ICO over numerous spam texts offering reviews of recipients’ pension arrangements. Barney Sich reports on ICO’s action.
The UK parliament has published the Alternative Dispute Resolution for Consumer Disputes (Competent Authorities and Information) Regulations 2015 to promote ADR for consumers. Daisy Jones reports on the impact and changes, especially in relation to e-commerce entities.
Following consultation on a draft, the UK financial services watchdog has published the final version of its guidance on “Social media and Customer Communications.” Sadie Alo reports on the key takeaways for the financial promotions sector.
A press ad for Talk Talk’s “Simply Broadband” package made a “half price” offer of £1.75 a month. BT complained that the reduction was not genuine as £3.50 had not been charged for long enough. Fiona Schneider reports.
A mailing to Amazon account holders offered a 30 DAY FREE TRIAL of its Prime service. Small text in a covering letter said “Paid subscription starts automatically after free trial unless cancelled”. Was this clear enough? George Garrard reports.
Georgia based automobile shipment broker Amerifreight offered customers a $50 discount if they reviewed the service online and increased the charge by $50 if they refused. Tom Sharpe reports on the ensuing enforcement action.
The Gambling Commission has investigated social gaming to determine whether it should be regarded as commercial gambling and regulated under the Gambling Act 2005. Are existing consumer protection laws and regulations not enough? Thomas Spanyol reports.
