The Advertising Standards Authority has published its ruling on a complaint against eBay. The online auction site had published an advert claiming that it was ‘25% cheaper than the High St on brand new items’. The ASA said it ‘considered that, although it might be the case that eBay was cheaper than some high street stores for some new products, the evidence was not sufficient to support such an absolute claim that eBay was cheaper than all high street stores for all new products’.
The ruling demonstrates yet again that the ASA represents a real alternative to more expensive dispute procedures where misleading claims are made about online services and products. It may be however that the ASA would be utterly overwhelmed if all misleading online claims in adverts were to be dealt with by it.
For the full ruling, see http://www.asa.org.uk/asa/adjudications/Public/TF_ADJ_46139.htm
