Clothing

The advertisement was on the advertisers’ own website. It was information that pertained to ‘Shipping, Orders & Returns’. The relevant clause read: –

– We provide free shipping throughout Ireland on all orders. International shipping is €20.

The complainant claimed that the advertising was misleading as the advertisers were, they said, charging a delivery fee for orders within Ireland. They said that they were told that the website was to be updated to reflect the charge, however this had not been enacted at the time of the complaint.

The advertisers said that their website was undergoing major renovation. They said that the agency with responsibility for the content of their website had been instructed to change the shipping policy as they had made public this change to the policy with an announcement on their social media channels and through their email newsletter. They said that there was no intention to deceive.

Further Information:
The advertisers’ website since the complaint displayed for a time on its page entitled Shipping, Orders & Returns that domestic shipping incurred a charge of €8.95 and international shipping was €20. This page had changed subsequently to read that rates will be calculated at checkout. The advertisers provided no specific commentary on these changes.

Complaint Upheld:

The Complaints Council considered the detail of the complaint and the advertisers’ response.

The Council noted that examples of the social media announcements of the shipping policy change had not been submitted to the ASA.

As the advertising at the time of the complaint did not accurately reflect the delivery charges then in existence, the Council considered that the advertising was likely to mislead and therefore in breach of section 4.1 of the Code.

Action Required:
The advertising must not reappear in its current form.