Wonga falls foul of ASA after Citizens Advice Bureau complains about lack of APR information in ad
Wonga has faced another ruling from the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) after the Citizens Advice Bureau complained one of the pay day loan company’s ads omitted the Representative Annual Percentage Rate (RAPR).
The TV ad featured an anxious looking man and an animated elderly lady who said: "Yes - you can even pay back early and save money."
The Citizens Advice Bureau said that it understood the claim was an incentive “likely to trigger the requirement” to disclose the RAPR.
Wonga said that it did not consider the phrase to constitute a “comparative figure” and that the ability to repay a loan before the loan is due was a standard feature of many loan products.
Clearcast stated that it had received an assurance from Wonga that the script was compliant with the Consumer Credit Act and did not contain a trigger to disclose the APR.
However, the ASA ruled that the save money" claim was likely to be interpreted as a comparison against other lenders that implied consumers would save money with a Wonga loan. Because of this, the watchdog said, the RAPR should also have been disclosed because of the presence of a comparative indication.
The ad must not appear again in its current form.