Telecommunications

A press insert leaflet for Virgin Media included a comparison table of Virgin Media’s bundle against bundles from Sky and eir.

“Compare for yourself (But there’s really no comparison)

Virgin Media:
€30 a month for 4 months, then €60 a month

Sky:
€57.50 a month

eir:
€62 a month

BROADBAND:
Virgin Media:
Broadband Speed – 360Mb – our fastest broadband ever, now available in almost three-quarters of a million homes across Ireland
Speed Promise – With 360Mb, the expected average speed during peak hours is 360Mb on a wired connection
Community wi-fi – Access to 300,000 hotspots nationwide keeping you connected

Sky:
Broadband Speed – Up to 100 Mb – delivered via eircom copper lines
Speed Promise – x
Community wi-fi – x

Eir:
Broadband Speed – Maximum 100Mb – speed reducing based on distance from eir cabinet. Speeds reduce when using eir Vision.
Speed Promise – x
Community wi-fi – x

HOME PHONE:
Virgin Media:
One Click parental controls – Keep your children safe online
Calls to Irish and UK Mobiles – Unlimited Anytime Calls
Calls to landlines in 22 countries – Unlimited Anytime calls
Phone App – Conveniently turns your smartphone into your home phone

Sky:
One Click parental controls – x
Calls to Irish and UK Mobiles – x
Calls to landlines in 22 countries – x
Phone App – x

Eir:
One Click parental controls – x
Calls to Irish and UK Mobiles – Unlimited Anytime Calls
Calls to landlines in 22 countries – x
Phone App – x

TV:
Virgin Media:
Recording – Record 4 programmes while watching a 5th live
Multi-device Irish Channels – Yes
Box sets and movies on multiple devices – Popular box sets and movies included

Sky:
Recording – Recording conflicts – max 2 recordings
Multi-device Irish Channels – x
Box sets and movies on multiple devices – On demand box sets require a HD/Box set subscription of €15 per month. Sky Movies subscription needed for movies

Eir:
Recording – Recording conflicts – max 2 recordings
Multi-device Irish Channels – Yes
Box sets and movies on multiple devices – On Demand movies – pay per view only

The complainant received the leaflet and noted that it included a comparison of Virgin Media’s bundle with a bundle from Sky and eir. The complainant considered that the bundled advertised by Virgin Media was a triple play bundle with an offer of €30 for a 4 month period. When he telephoned to avail of the offer he was advised that the advertising was in error and the price was for a dual play bundle. In the circumstances he considered that the advertising was misleading.

Virgin Media stated that they recognised the importance of providing clear and transparent advertising that was accurate and did not mislead consumers. They said that this version of the press insert leaflet was the first print batch of inserts to support their new “360Mb broadband” campaign which they launched in early January. They said that they were confident that the promotional offer and price were clearly presented in the totality of the communications leaflet, with clear and accurate pricing on five separate pages, with supporting small print detail and specific product references.

They said that they received some early feedback from customers that the comparison table was confusing to some in that it could infer that the comparison prices were for all three products, broadband, home phone and TV. They said that the prices used in the table were comparing broadband and home phone only, as this was the core element of the offer promoted throughout the brochure. They said that the price comparison with Sky and eir were only for broadband and home phone and the specific product elements used for the basis of comparison were clearly indicated in the small print. Although the purpose of the table was to provide feature comparisons between the broadband, home phone and TV offers from Virgin Media and their competitors, they acknowledged that the price element could be confusing. As a result of this they immediately amended the design of the press insert, which they used for subsequent print batches.

They said that although they were confident that the information provided in the original leaflet was accurate, they did recognise the small risk that the table could be confusing to some customers. They therefore, took immediate action to amend and revise this in subsequent batches. They said that at no time was there any intent to confuse or mislead consumers and their process ensured that the small risk of creating any confusion was speedily remedied.

Complaint upheld.

The Complaints Committee considered the detail of the complaint and the advertisers’ response. The Committee considered that the layout of the comparison table, including the red border around the Virgin Media offering, was likely to lead readers to infer that the price quoted was for a triple play bundle rather than a dual play bundle and was therefore in breach of Sections 2.22 and 2.24 of the Code.


As Virgin Media had amended the advertising no further action required.