Welcome Financial Services Ltd Kingston House Centre 27 Business Park Woodhead Road Birstall Batley WF17 9TD Number of complaints: 1

Date: 1 October 2008 Media: Television Sector: Financial Agency: Nine Yards Creative Communications Ltd

Ad
A TV ad for Welcome Financial Services stated "Need a newer car?  Been refused car credit?  Don't worry, whatever your circumstances we've got the perfect solution.  With a huge range of cars, you're sure to find one that's right for you.  All our cars are fully checked and MOTd.  We'll take your old car as full deposit, give you a minimum £1,000 as part exchange and £250 cashback with a finance deal that's perfect for you.  Call Welcome Car Finance today ...".  On-screen text stated "Subject to status ... 19.9%APRtypical.  Part-exchange and cashback will only be offered on the completion of a car sale".

Issue
One viewer challenged whether the ad was misleading because, having completed a purchase, they were unable to determine whether they had benefited from either the part-exchange of their old vehicle or a cashback rebate.

BCAP TV Advertising Code:

5.1;5.2.1;5.2.2;5.2.3

Response
Welcome Car Finance (Welcome) said they offered a minimum of £1,000 against any car, regardless of condition, when it was part-exchanged for a new one; the part-exchange award could also be used towards a deposit on a new vehicle.  They said they also gave their customers £250 as a 'thank you' for their purchase.  That £250 would be paid either as a cheque made payable directly to the customer, in cash or as a discount off the price of their purchase.

Welcome explained that, during the sale process, the sales executive recorded details onto a tailor-made document, which included the customer's car preference and part-exchange award, whether a deposit was to be paid and also gave an example of their likely weekly payment.  They said the customer would then sign the document as an understanding of the negotiation and to indicate their agreement to continue with the purchase.  They said customers were also required to sign a disclaimer to confirm that they had received a £250 cashback rebate or £1,000 part-exchange award where appropriate.  They submitted examples of sales sheets and disclaimers to demonstrate how the sales process was usually recorded.

Having checked their records, however, Welcome Car Finance were unable to confirm that the complainant had received both the £1,000 part-exchange award and £250 cashback.  They believed both may have been awarded, but explained that, due to incomplete documentation, the receipt of either benefit could not be verified.  They said they would ensure that the complainant received his full entitlement and, furthermore, determined to take steps to avoid similar incidents happening in future.  They said this would involve a review of the documentation design to clarify the part-exchange discount to consumers and incorporate training and monitoring of sales staff.  They explained that the £250 cashback scheme had been withdrawn since the ad was broadcast.

Clearcast submitted the supporting material received from Welcome prior to clearance of the ad, which assured them that the £1,000 part-exchange award and £250 cashback rebate would be applied in all circumstances.

Assessment
Upheld
The ASA noted the assurance given to Clearcast to confirm that all customers would benefit from a £250 cashback reward and those who submitted a vehicle in part-exchange would receive a minimum £1,000 rebate from the total price of their purchase.  We also noted the evidence submitted by Welcome and understood their opinion that the complainant's experience was not widely realised.  

We understood that Welcome did not advertise the sale price of their cars.  The complainant advised us that they were not able to find out the sale price of the car they wished to purchase until the paperwork detailing the likely weekly repayments had been drawn up.  We noted the documentation they received did not clarify the sale price of the vehicle or demonstrate that either a cashback rebate or part-exchange award had been taken into account.  Although we recognised that customers were usually asked to sign a disclaimer to acknowledge that the benefits had been applied to the sale, we understood that that had not been the case for the complainant.  It was not possible to verify, therefore, whether the overall cost of the vehicle had been reduced by the minimum £1,000 for part-exchange or whether a cashback of £250 had been applied.

Moreover, we were concerned that it was not clear from the documentation submitted by Welcome that the part-exchange or cashback awards were incorporated into the sales process generally.  Although we understood that customers were usually required to sign a disclaimer to confirm their agreement to continue with the purchase and acknowledge the benefits they received, we considered that the evidence submitted was not sufficiently robust to demonstrate that both a minimum £1,000 part-exchange and £250 cashback had been applied to the sale calculations.  We concluded, therefore, that the claims remained unsubstantiated and were likely to mislead.   We welcomed the advertisers' intention to review their processes to try to clarify the stages of the sale more adequately to customers.

The ad breached CAP (Broadcast) TV Advertising Standards Code rules 5.1 (Misleading advertising) and 5.2.1 (Evidence), but did not breach 5.2.2 (Implications) and 5.2.3 (Qualifications).

Action
The ad must not be broadcast again in its current form unless Welcome can provide satisfactory and robust evidence to demonstrate the awards applied.

Adjudication of the ASA Council (Broadcast)