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The text message stated:
“Griffins garden furniture is HALF PRICE FROM THIS Sat 17th Aug @ 9am! The best deals on the highest quality outdoor furniture (unsub ‘stop’).
Complaint:
The complainant said that she arrived at the garden centre at 7am on the day of the sale. She was the third person to enter the premises when it opened at 8.30am. When she enquired about the item which was of interest to her she was informed by the owner that it had already been sold.
Complaint
The advertisers said that their premises had opened to the public at approximately 8.30am on the morning of the sale. At approximately 8.10am on the same morning they had received a phone call from a regular customer enquiring about a particular set of furniture. The set of furniture was then sold over the phone to that customer and paid for by credit card. They said that at the time the complainant entered the premises the particular set of furniture, which she had been interested in purchasing, had already been sold.
The advertisers said that they tried to source a similar set of furniture from their supplier for the complainant but were unable to do so as the furniture in question had sold out.
Response
The advertisers said that their premises had opened to the public at approximately 8.30am on the morning of the sale. At approximately 8.10am on the same morning they had received a phone call from a regular customer enquiring about a particular set of furniture. The set of furniture was then sold over the phone to that customer and paid for by credit card. They said that at the time the complainant entered the premises the particular set of furniture, which she had been interested in purchasing, had already been sold.
The advertisers said that they tried to source a similar set of furniture from their supplier for the complainant but were unable to do so as the furniture in question had sold out.
Conclusion
Complaint Upheld.
The Complaints Committee considered the detail of the complaint and the advertisers’ response.
The Committee noted that the advertisement had indicated that the sale would start at 9am. However, 50 minutes before the 9am start, they had sold one product. The Committee did not consider that it was compliant with the Code to sell products before the advertised start time of the sale. They considered that the advertisement was in breach of Section 2.24 of the Code.”
Action Required:
The Complaints Committee told the advertisers that when preparing future marketing communications care should be taken to ensure that terms included in their advertising are adhered to.
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