Currys PC World advertised ‘misleading’ savings claim
Currys PC World has landed in hot water after the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) ruled a regional press ad for a Samsung smart TV it was selling was misleading.
A reader challenged whether the ad, which offered a saving of £400, was misleading and could be substantiated, because the saving was based on the price the TV was sold for a short period a year before.
Currys PC World argued that the ad clearly stated for how long and when the comparison price of £1,299 price applied and the comparison would therefore not mislead consumers.
They admitted that no consumer had paid £1,299 in the period since the date referred to in the ad (27 March to 8 June 2013) but denied that it created a false impression.
The ASA disagreed however, and ruled that consumers would regard the 'was' price as the normal selling price of the TV, and that the savings claim was not based on a meaningful price that consumers were realistically likely to have paid reasonably recently.
The must not appear again in its current form.