Advertisment
The press advertising published on 19th February referred to the following:
“Spend €25 and get €5 off =
€20 OFF On Your Next Grocery Shop
Spend €100 = €20 off on your next €100 grocery shop
Promotion ends Saturday 21st February
Always check the redemption date.
Terms & conditions apply. Voucher is printed at the till. Eligibility dates and threshold spends as per voucher, see in store for details.”
The footnote attached to the advertisement referred to the fact that:
“All offers subject to availability and valid from 19.02.15 until 24.02.15 unless otherwise stated. Customer quotas may apply. See instore for details. Some offers subject to availability and in selected stores.”
Complaint
The complainant said that he spent over €25 in Dunnes Stores on 20th February and did not receive his €5 off voucher as advertised. When he queried this in-store he was informed that the 21st February was the redemption date for the offer. He considered the offer to be misleading as the advertisement had stated that the promotion ended on 21st February.
Response
Despite numerous communications to the advertisers, they failed to respond to the complaint.
Conclusion
Complaint Upheld.
The Complaints Committee expressed their concern at the advertisers’ failure to respond to the complaint. They noted that they had adjudicated on a similar issue previously (Case Ref: 23387) and the advertisers had also failed to respond at that point in time. In the absence of a response from Dunnes Stores the Complaints Committee upheld the complaint under Section 2.7 of the Code.
Action Required:
The advertisement should not run in its current form again and the Committee requested Dunnes Stores to exercise greater care in the preparation of future marketing communications.
