Advertisment
The advertisement was a page on the advertisers’ website promoting their newspapers and publications collections subscription.
It said: –
Choose a Subscription
Most Popular- Access Everything
Newspapers.com
Publisher Extra
£24.99** /6 months
Was £49.99 Save 50%
OR
£7.49/month
Was £14.99 Save 50%
Both prices were asterisked which adverted to text below the prices. The text advised, amongst other things, ‘Billed in one payment of £24.99 + tax for a 6 month Publisher Extra subscription’ and ‘Billed in one payment of £7.49 + tax for a 1 month Publisher Extra subscription’
Complaint
The complainant queried whether the price should have been inclusive of VAT.
Response
The advertisers said that they took the complaint and their compliance obligations very seriously. They advised that they were working on updates to ensure that their pricing was compliant with the ASA Code.
The advertisers assured that they would add ‘+tax’ beside the price and that any tax payable was demonstrated as soon as possible in the consumer’s journey. The advertisers said that VAT inclusive prices would be displayed after technical updates to their website. They had hoped these changes would be implemented in Q1 2026. When the Executive requested that VAT be displayed sooner than this so as to be compliant with the Code, the advertisers advised that the soonest the prices could be displayed inclusive of VAT was October/ November 2025 and subsequently confirmed that the changes had been implemented by letter of 6th October 2025.
Conclusion
Upheld:
The Independent Complaints Council considered the detail of the complaint and the advertisers’ response. The Council noted that the advertised prices had been amended to be VAT inclusive.
The Council noted the requirement of the Code that, except in marketing communications addressed primarily to the trade, prices quoted in a marketing communication should normally include VAT and other taxes, duties or inescapable costs to the consumer. In this case, the Council noted that in the original advertising, the prices quoted were exclusive of VAT and that while it had included an asterisk to a footnote which denoted that tax was not included, the product was advertised to the general consumer on a VAT-exclusive basis.
The Council considered that as the original advertising had quoted prices quoted on a VAT-exclusive basis, it had been in breach of Code Sections 4.1 and 4.23.
Action Required:
As the advertising had been amended, no further action was required.
