Household (Waste Collection)

Advertisement:

Advertising on Greenstar’s website offered information on their Standard, Light and Prepay Refuse Collection Plans. The following information was provided in relation to their Standard Plan.

“Standard
Standard Plan – €299.00 Annually

General Waste
240 Ltr. – We collect twice every four weeks

Recycling
240 Ltr. – We collect twice every four weeks

When the Standard plan was selected the following information was then provided:

You have selected: Standard Plan
Standard Plan €299.00 Free SMS Bin Day Reminders!

Within five working days we’ll deliver:

1 X 240L purple bin to use for your general waste, we will collect this bin twice every four weeks.

1 X 240L green bin for your recycling, we will collect this bin twice every four weeks.

1 X 240L brown bin for your compost, we will collect this with your general waste bin twice every four weeks.

1 X 140L green bin for your glass, we will collect bin once every four weeks.

Standard Plan also includes:

•FREE text to remind you to put out your bins the night before.
•You can manage your account online with Greenstar you’ll always know where you stand.”

The complainant said that while the price indicated on the advertisers’ website had been €299 for the Standard Plan in the Wexford area, there was no indication that this was a promotional price for new customers only. When he went to renew his Standard Plan contract, which had previously cost him €299.00, the price quoted to him was €389.00.

The advertisers said that the rate for new customers joining their service since January 2013, in the Wexford area, was €299 and this was not an introductory rate. Information for existing customers was available on a different area of the website. In view of the complaint received, however, they said they added the following text to the screen for new customers who wished to sign up:
“SPECIAL: 12 MONTH OFFER ON STANDARD & LIGHT PLANS”

Complaint Upheld.

The Complaints Committee considered the detail of the complaint and the advertisers’ response. They noted the text which the advertisers had added to the homepage of their website to highlight the fact that they had a special 12 month offer on Standard and Light Plans. They also noted, however that when the Standard Plan was clicked there was still nothing to indicate to customers that the €299 charge was applicable to the first year of their contract only and that this could change when that term of their contract was up.

Action Required:

The advertisement should not run in its original form again.