Telecommunications

A press advertisement for Vodafone Home plans stated:

“Welcome Vodafone Home
Our new unlimited fibre broadband and landline plans.
Vodafone Power to you.

Fair usage policy applies. See Vodafone.ie/terms”

The complainant viewed the advertisement and noted that a fair usage policy applied. He followed the link provided and noted that it brought him to a page that had links to the terms and conditions for every service that Vodafone provided. He stated that it was virtually impossible for him to find out what the fair usage policy was and he considered that the advertisement should have included a direct link to the terms and conditions of the product advertised.

The advertisers stated that while they were of the view that the advertising was not in breach of the Code, they had taken on board the comments of the complainant. They stated that in order to avoid any future confusion they would amend the terms and conditions section of their website to include a direct link to the terms and conditions for ‘Vodafone Home’ products. They said that this would hold all existing and future Vodafone Home and consumer fixed terms and conditions.

Vodafone also stated that the advertisement would not be used in its current format again.

Complaint Upheld.

The Complaints Committee considered the detail of the complaint and the advertisers’ response. The Complaints Committee welcomed the action being undertaken by Vodafone to amend their website. The Committee, however, referred to an earlier adjudication (Case 22427) in which they had considered that it was misleading to consumers not to have the link to the terms and conditions immediately apparent for consumers. In the light of the fact that the advertisers had not implemented the changes related to the earlier decision, the Committee upheld the complaint.

Action Required:

In view of the fact that the advertisers’ were now amending the terms and conditions to create a direct link to the service advertised no further action was required.