ASA bans claim-chaser texting ad
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The Advertising Standards Authority has upheld a complaint against claim management firm PPI Careline, saying a text message sent by the company was misleading and in breach of the advertising code of practice.
PPI Careline sent a text message in June which said: “Urgent! If you took out a bank loan prior to 2007 then you are almost certainly entitled to £2,300 in compensation. To claim reply Yes.”
A complaint was filed with the ASA on the basis that the text was sent unsolicited and that it exaggerated the likelihood of getting compensation as well as the amount of compensation.
The ASA also challenged the ad because it omitted the identity of the company and did not include an opt-out mechanism.
PPI Careline said it bought a small number of text leads from another company and told the company compliant texting was imperative.
The ASA ruled that because the text was sent unsolicited and did not include the ability to opt out, it breached database practice rules. It also judged that the £2,300 compensation amount was not backed up by evidence.
The regulator ruled that the ad must not appear again in its current form.
The ASA says: “We concluded that the ad was misleading and breached the advertising code.”
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